We had been living in Detroit, Michigan, when my mother and father took me to buy a new toy for my birthday. I was very excited because I knew exactly what I wanted. We usually didn’t have money to buy new things, so this was a happy moment for me.

I found a beautiful pink horse I had been wanting for the longest time. It brought me such joy to have this pink horse and its removable gold Pegasus wings. I remember always taking the best care of it and playing with my new toy everyday. I always had a great imagination and would fly with my pink Pegasus.

My parents at the time had many financial problems, so we had to move with my grandmother in Texas. My three sisters and I slept on the floor of my parents’ bedroom, which was really a shack next to my grandma’s trailer. None of that mattered to me because playing with my Pegasus toy took me deep into my imaginary world and that always seemed to make me forget what we didn't have.

One day a man came to our home to talk with my dad. His daughter was with him, so I invited her to come play outside with me. We had fun playing with my pretty pink Pegasus and she asked if she could have it. I remember saying no, because I loved my horse so much and it was the only thing I took great care of.

While we continued to play, my grandmother called me indoors to help with something. I told the little girl I would be back in just a moment. When I returned, I saw that the girl was gone and so was my pink horse. Then I watched her father’s car driving away!

I quickly ran after the car and the man stopped. I ran up to his window and asked him if his daughter had my toy. He laughed at me and said no. I looked at the girl in the back seat and she seemed to be hiding something. I couldn’t tell her father that she took my toy and that I wanted it back, so I watched them leave and I burst into tears, sure she had taken what I loved so much at the time.

Heartbroken, I searched for my pink horse. But I knew I wouldn’t find it. Being a child, I was very hurt and saddened by my loss. I no longer had the favorite toy that had brought me so much joy during a time when we had no money—especially for new toys.

The next day I felt so mournful that I stayed inside the little room we called home and watched TV for a long time. But after a while, I decided to go outside and find something to do. Walking past a large trash barrel, I looked in and noticed to my amazement that there was a Pegasus horse! It just like the one I’d lost, only purple. I remember taking it out of the barrel and smiling. It wasn’t new and it wasn’t pink, but it made me happy once again.

I was only eight years old at the time, but I just knew an angel or God had given me what I was missing. I still believe to this day that God is there for us.

Veronica G.

Odessa, TX