• "Take it," Janelle said, pressing the money into Reina's hand.

    "But I.." she protested, yet could not find the words.

    Janelle wouldn't hear of it. "No, I insist. It's your future, and you need this money."

    "I don't know when I'll be able to pay you back," Reina said, tears forming in her eyes.

    Janelle shook her head. "There is no need to worry about that at this point," she said with a light chuckle. "All that is important right now is that you get to Denver and start your education."

    Reina's tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. This was the moment she'd been waiting for; after all those scholarships had passed her by; here she was with enough money to make her dream come true! It was almost too much...

    She grabbed her best friend in a bear hug and the two held for a long time. Janelle even shed a tear herself; she knew how much it meant to Reina to go to Denver and study Business Law. And now, due to a stroke of luck, she was going to help Reina make that dream come true.

    When the two women broke apart, their eyes were red and their cheeks streaked with tears. They could barely speak. But, standing there at the terminal at SeaTac Airport in Seattle, they knew this was their last chance for good-byes before Reina took the next flight to Denver so she could go to school at UC Denver.

    A taxi pulled up behind Janelle's car, so the two women hugged again and Reina picked up her two suitcases and her purse. "I love you, Nell," Reina said through her sobs.

    Janelle let out a tearful gasp. "I love you too, Rei," she said and waved good-bye. She watched as Reina got in line to check her bags and go through security clearance. Then she got into her car and left. Three hours from now, Reina Dovelin will be in Denver. And six hours from now, she will officially be settled in to her dorm at UCD. And 24 hours from now, she will be sitting in class, learning how to make her dream come true.

    As Janelle exited the airport and made her way onto the freeway to head back home to Enumclaw, she gave a silent thank you to the "Anonymous Benefactor" that made this all possible. She was going to have lunch with him tomorrow; she couldn't wait.