Two Sisters on the Terrace Inspired by the Renoir painting of the same name Rochelle gazed over the small pond, her hands perched delicately on the railing. She looked over her shoulder uneasily. “There she is again!” She thought, staring at a thin girl sitting on a bench, playing with dolls made out of grass. Rochelle enjoyed going on strolls through the park. She loved the pond and the trees, but most of all, she loved the flowers. They were everywhere in the park; They had gone beyond the confines of the flower beds, and Rochelle liked it that way.
		But there was one thing that made her uncomfortable. Every time she visited the park, that little girl was there, a poor girl. Probably homeless. Her mother had taught her to stay away from people like that. “There is no reason that we should be associating with them,” she was told.  Rochelle turned back to the pond sharply. “She’ll be fine on her own.” She said quietly. She could almost feels the young girl’s eyes on her as she watched a duck glide across the pond. Rochelle tried to enjoy the park, she knew she might not get to visit the park for awhile. Her mother was pregnant and once she had her baby, Rochelle would be required to stay at home and help take care of the newborn. She looked back again at the little girl, who had put down her homemade dolls and was picking crab apples of a trees and popping them in her mouth. “She must be really hungry if she’s eating those bitter fruit.” Rochelle thought. A ray of sun flashed in to her eyes from the glowing sunset. With a sigh, Rochelle began walking home, leaving the girl alone in the park, the light quickly fading. When Rochelle stepped through the door of her house, she could tell something was wrong. It was very quiet, too quiet. She went upstairs, and heard something through her parents room. Was that someone crying? She opened the door and inch and peeked in; It was her mother crying. Her father was sitting next to her with a grave expression.  She swung the door wide open and ran over to them. “Honey I lost her.” She choked.  “I lost the baby.” Rochelle hugged her mother tightly. After an entire week, Rochelle couldn’t stand the depressed atmosphere in the house, but she felt guilty leaving her mother. “This is what she needs!” Rochelle thought out loud. “She should get some fresh air.” Rochelle ran to get her mother, and she agreed. Rochelle brought along some food for lunch. She and her Mother were  walking towards the section of the park with the gardens and pond. As they drew closer, Rochelle found the same girl was standing at the railing looking out at the pond, as Rochelle had done yesterday. On a whim, Rochelle strode up to her asked uncertainly. “Would you like to, um, to eat lunch with us?”  She didn’t know what brought her to say it, and she knew how her mother felt about poor people, but she remembered how the only thing the girl had to eat was crab apples. The girl turned her head. Her face showed surprise at first but then formed into a weak smile. Before she could answer, Rochelle lead her to a patch of brightly colored flowers. The three of them sat and ate in silence for a few minutes. “What’s your name?” Rochelle asked. “Anna.” Rochelle smiled, and glanced back at her mother, who was smiling too. Anna was the name her mother had chosen for the baby she lost. Rochelle hadn’t known Anna for very long, but she loved her a lot. She loved her as much as a sister. And she could tell her mother loved her too. Rochelle knew what her mother was thinking, and she was thinking the same thing. “Well, I would have to ask your father first.” Rochelle’s mother said. “Ask him what?” Anna asked quietly. “If he would be willing to adopt you.” Anna’s face broke into a wide grin.