Once again， I had run away and really do not know why. I would walk out the gate to go to school and then keep walking， and walking， and walking. I had just turned eleven years old the week before. It was almost dark; I was tired， scared， cold， and all alone. I had not eaten all day and was afraid to turn myself over to the police. I knew I would receive another beating once I returned to the Children’s Home Society in 1)Jacksonville， Florida. There was nothing for me to do， except keep on walking.

As darkness fell， I made my way over to the city park located on Park Street. I entered the darkened area and sat down on one of the wooden benches hoping to avoid the police cars. It was cold and I began to shiver uncontrollably. All was quiet except for the passing cars in the distance.

“Well， hello young man.” A voice came from behind me.

I jumped， almost falling off the park bench. My heart was beating ninety miles per hour， and I could feel it thumping in the side of my neck. I 2)gasped and I could hardly catch my breath. I looked up and saw a woman standing behind me in the shadows.

“You look cold，” she said.

“I’m cold. I’m real， real cold.” I continued to shiver.

“Here wrap this around you.”

I watched as she took off her shawl and wrapped it around my shoulders.

“But ain’t you gonna be cold now?”

“I’ll be ok.”

“Is there anything else you need?” she questioned.

“I sure could use some food.”

“Follow me，” she said.

I walked with her about twenty feet， then she stopped under one of the park streetlights.

She held out her hand and said， “Here， you take this letter and give it to the store owner.”

I looked at her outstretched arm but saw nothing in her hand. “There’s nothing in your hand，” I told her.

“Roger， reach out and take the letter from my hand，” she replied.

Slowly I reached out， acting as though I was taking something from her hand.

“Now close your thumb and finger and hold the paper tightly，” she instructed. I closed my thumb and finger as though I were grasping the letter.

“Take it to any store owner.”

“What do I say to them?”

“Nothing，” she replied.

“But what store do I go to?”

“It doesn’t matter，” she said， as she smiled.

I turned and began walking toward Five Points. Several blocks down the road， I came to a store with a woman sitting behind a counter. I opened the door， walked in， and stopped directly in front of her.

“Can I help you?” asked the woman.

I was hesitant to talk and had no idea what I should say. Very slowly I held out my hand toward her. I watched her face to see if she might think I was crazy or something.

“Is that for me?” she asked.

“Yes Ma’am.” I looked down at the floor.

She reached out and as her hand touched mine， I opened my tightly closed fingers and stood there waiting. She pulled back， smiled， and looked down at her hands.

She immediately turned and walked to the back of the store. I began to 3)inch toward the front door for fear she might be calling the police. Just as I made it to the front door， I stopped as I heard someone call my name. I turned around and saw the woman holding a paper plate.

“Roger， here is something for you to eat.”

“How did you know my name?” I asked her.

“It was on the paper.”

“But there wasn’t any paper. I didn’t see any paper，” I told her.

She smiled and motioned for me to eat by twirling her finger in front of her mouth. Within two or three minutes， I had 4)downed the entire plate of food and several Coca Colas.

“Are you full?” she asked.

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Then it’s time for you to go.”

I turned to leave when I felt her hand on my shoulder.

“Here， your paper. You almost forgot your letter，” she said， holding out her hand.

Again seeing nothing， I held out my hand and closed my thumb and finger as though I were taking something from her. Tightly grasping nothing more than air， I walked out into the street and headed back to the park. When I arrived， the old woman was sitting on the park bench. “Did you eat?” she asked.

“Yes Ma’am， and I had two Coca Colas too.”

“Good.”

“How do you do that magic?” I asked her.

“It isn’t magic.”

“But how does everyone know my name?”

“It is written in the letter.”

“Can I have the letter so I can be magic too?” I asked.

She reached out， took my hand， and opened my tightly closed fingers. Whatever was being held between my fingers， she took and placed into her 5)apron pocket. “Would you help someone if they were hungry?” she asked me.

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Would you help someone if they were hurt， cold or scared?”

“Yes Ma’am. I would be their friend.”

“Roger， you are a very lucky little boy. You will never need the magic letter，” she responded.

She stood up， kissed me on the forehead， removed the shawl from my shoulders， and began walking down the sidewalk. I watched as she disappeared into the darkness.

我又一次逃跑了，真的不知道為什么會(huì)這樣。我走出門(mén)去上學(xué)，然后就一直不停地走。上個(gè)星期，我剛滿(mǎn)11歲。天就要黑了，我又累又怕，感覺(jué)很冷，一個(gè)人孤零零的，一整天沒(méi)吃過(guò)東西，很怕被抓進(jìn)警察局。我知道一旦回到佛羅里達(dá)州杰克遜維爾兒童福利院，我肯定又要挨一頓打。除了不停地走，我沒(méi)什么可做的。

天黑了，我走向位于公園街的城市公園。我走進(jìn)一片漆黑的區(qū)域，為了躲開(kāi)警車(chē)，我在其中一張長(zhǎng)凳上坐了下來(lái)。天氣很冷，我的身體不禁開(kāi)始顫抖起來(lái)。四處?kù)o悄悄，只有遠(yuǎn)處路過(guò)的車(chē)輛發(fā)出的聲響。

“喔，年輕人你好啊?！蔽疑砗髠鞒鲆粋€(gè)聲音。

我被嚇得跳了起來(lái)，差點(diǎn)從公園長(zhǎng)凳上摔下來(lái)。心跳狂奔至每小時(shí)90英里（約144.8千米），沿脖子一側(cè)砰砰響跳。我喘息不止，幾乎透不過(guò)氣來(lái)。抬頭往上看，只見(jiàn)一位太太站在我身后的暗處。

“你看上去很冷?！彼f(shuō)。

“我很冷，真的真的感覺(jué)很冷?！蔽依^續(xù)顫抖著。

“拿這個(gè)裹一下身體?！?/p>

我看見(jiàn)她解開(kāi)披肩，把它裹在我的肩上。

“那你不就會(huì)冷了嗎？”

“我沒(méi)事的。”

“你還需要?jiǎng)e的什么嗎？”她問(wèn)道。

“我很想要點(diǎn)吃的?！?/p>

“跟我來(lái)?！彼f(shuō)。

我跟著她走了大概20英尺（約6.1米），然后她在其中一盞公園街燈下停了下來(lái)。

她伸出手說(shuō)道：“你拿著這封信，把它給店家?！?/p>

我看著她伸出的手，但是沒(méi)看見(jiàn)有什么東西在她手上。“你手上沒(méi)東西?！蔽腋嬖V她。

“羅杰，伸出手接過(guò)我手上的信。”她答道。

我慢慢伸出手，裝著好像正從她手上拿過(guò)什么東西似的。

“現(xiàn)在，把拇指和其他手指合起來(lái)，握緊那封信?！彼甘镜馈Ｎ液掀鹉粗负褪种?，好像正在握緊那封信。

“把它拿給隨便一個(gè)店家。”

“我要怎么跟他們說(shuō)？”

“不需要說(shuō)什么。”她答道。

“但我要去哪個(gè)商店呢？”

“沒(méi)關(guān)系。”她笑著說(shuō)。

我轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身，開(kāi)始向五分街走去。沿著那條路走過(guò)幾個(gè)小區(qū)，我來(lái)到一個(gè)商店，里面有個(gè)女人就坐在柜臺(tái)后面。我打開(kāi)門(mén)，走進(jìn)去，徑直走到她面前停了下來(lái)。

“要點(diǎn)什么嗎？”那個(gè)女人問(wèn)道。

我猶豫了一下沒(méi)有說(shuō)話(huà)，想不到該說(shuō)什么。我慢慢向她伸出我的手，并看著她的臉，想知道她會(huì)不會(huì)覺(jué)得我是個(gè)瘋子或者別的什么。

“那個(gè)是給我的嗎？”她問(wèn)道。

“是的，太太?！蔽铱粗匕濉?/p>

她伸出手。當(dāng)她的手碰到我的手時(shí)，我松開(kāi)緊緊合著的手指，站在那里等著。她往后退了退，笑笑，向下看著自己的手。

她馬上轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身，走到商店后面。因?yàn)楹ε滤苍S正在打電話(huà)給警察，我開(kāi)始向前門(mén)挪動(dòng)。當(dāng)我挪到前門(mén)時(shí)，聽(tīng)到有人叫我的名字，于是我停了下來(lái)，轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身，看見(jiàn)那位太太端著一個(gè)紙盤(pán)。

“羅杰，這是給你吃的?！?/p>

“你怎么知道我的名字？”我問(wèn)她。

“紙上寫(xiě)著呢?！?/p>

“但根本就沒(méi)有紙。我沒(méi)看見(jiàn)有什么紙?！蔽腋嬖V她。

她笑了笑，用一根手指在嘴前旋轉(zhuǎn)，比劃著讓我吃。兩三分鐘的時(shí)間，我就吃完整盤(pán)食物了，還喝了幾瓶可口可樂(lè)。

“你飽了嗎？”她問(wèn)道。

“飽了，太太?！?/p>

“那么，你該走了。”

我轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身準(zhǔn)備離開(kāi)，這時(shí)感覺(jué)到她的手放在我肩上。

“這是你的信。你差點(diǎn)忘了。”她邊說(shuō)邊伸出手。

我還是沒(méi)看見(jiàn)任何東西。我伸出手，合上拇指和其他手指，好像從她那拿了些什么。除了空氣，我沒(méi)握到什么。我走上街，走回公園。到那里時(shí)，那個(gè)老太太正坐在公園的長(zhǎng)凳上。 “你吃東西了嗎？”她問(wèn)道。

“吃了，太太，我還喝了兩瓶可口可樂(lè)呢?！?/p>

“太好了?！?/p>

“你怎么懂那個(gè)魔法？”我問(wèn)她。

“那不是魔法?！?/p>

“但每個(gè)人是怎么知道我的名字的？”

“信里寫(xiě)著啊。”

“我能擁有那封信嗎？那樣我就也有魔法了?！蔽覇?wèn)她。

她伸出手握著我的手，打開(kāi)我緊緊合著的手指。她拿過(guò)我手上抓緊的東西，放進(jìn)她工作裙的口袋里?！叭绻腥损囸I，你會(huì)幫助他們嗎？”她問(wèn)我。

“我會(huì)的，太太?！?/p>

“如果有人受傷，感覺(jué)寒冷或者恐懼，你會(huì)幫助他們嗎？”

“我會(huì)，太太。我會(huì)成為他們的朋友。”

“羅杰，你是個(gè)很幸運(yùn)的小男孩。你不再需要那封魔法信了?！彼鸬馈?/p>

她站起來(lái)，吻了吻我的前額，拿走了我肩上的披肩，沿人行道走了。我目送著她漸漸消失在漆黑中。