A Chance To Live

  After a final pat, Emily stood up to admire her handiwork. She had just finished planting a new tree in her master's garden. She was covered from head to foot in dirt; however, underneath the grime she had a fairly plain appearance, dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes with a light build. She cleaned herself up and put on fresh clothes from the garden shed that she called home. Emily was to have her lesson of the day starting in 15 minutes.
  "Oh Ma, why do I have to take my lessons with Her!" complained Aberdine, pointing towards Emily.
  "You must because I wish to have my servants able to at least read and write. No more complaining, this is final," Katherine lectured her daughter.
  Aberdine and Katherine were of the Maria family, the masters of Emily and all of the servants working at the Manor. Katherine had inherited the Manor from her uncle who had made his fortune by owning a gold mine in the Amazon rainforest. Naturally, his house was nearby the mine. Therefore, the Marias moved into the middle of nowhere after leaving England. The Marias didn't care, their riches would last them longer than a lifetime.
  After Emily's lesson finished, she walked back to her shed, but instead of pulling out her pens and paper and continuing writing her latest story as she usually would have done, she laid down on her bed as a sudden spell of nausea washed over her. That's where she stayed until the kitchen boy came to fetch her. Emily dragged herself through her evening chores and brought her dinner back to her cramped garden shed.
  The next day she could barely even move. The doctor was called; he informed the Marias that Emily had a rare and deadly disease, Minervite. That night Emily heard a knock at her door. "Come in," she croaked.
  An old man stepped through the door. "My poor girl, I heard tell that a youngn' had caught the disease. How old are you dear?" the old man whispered.
  "10 years old, sir," coughed Emily.
  "10 years, too young, too young. I'm sorry; I've completely forgotten my manners. I'm Dr. Herbert. I study plants and try to find their medicinal properties. I've come to tell you a rumour about a plant that can cure your disease. This flower was documented in a scientist's journal. In his drawing, the flower had big, white petals and the stem sprouted out of a cluster of tiny leaves. The journal states that the flower is located in a clearing beside a tall waterfall within the Amazon rainforest. I'm afraid that's all I can tell you. I wish you the best of luck!" Dr. Herbert told Emily.
  He started heading towards the door. "Thank-you for your help Doctor but I'm bedridden, how am I supposed to find the flower. Also, if I find the flower what am I suppose to do with it?" asked Emily suddenly.
  "I would suggest using one of the flower's petals in a tea. To your first question my answer is that only you can find a way." replied the doctor.
  With that he left, leaving Emily with her own dreary thoughts. She awoke to the beautiful sound of birds singing outside her window. As she attempted to dress herself she heard cart wheels rolling up the drive. When the cart stopped she could hear the driver talking to Ms. Maria. "Here's the healthiest looking child we could find at the orphanage Ms." mumbled the cart driver.
  "Mm, I guess she'll do. Send her to Emily to take over her chores." ordered Katherine Maria.
  After a few minutes there was a soft tapping at Emily's door. Emily called for them to enter. It was the new orphan girl.
  "Hi Emily, my name's Ariel. I'm supposed to take over your chores. I heard you're sick; is there anything I can do to help?" introduced Ariel.
  "Ariel, the first thing you need to do is weed the garden. It shouldn't take you long. Once you're done I'd love for you to go to the library in the house and look for a book about waterfalls in the Amazon rainforest. You do know how to read right? How old are you by the way?" instructed Emily.
  "Indeed, I can read and I'm turning 8 in a month." answered Ariel, "I'll be back as soon as I can."
  2 hours later Ariel returned with a book in her hand. "Here's a book about waterfalls, Emily." exclaimed Ariel, handing the book to Emily.
  "Ariel, you're a darling. It says that the tallest waterfall in the Amazon is located only a little ways from here! I'm looking for a flower that's situated at the base of a tall waterfall. That flower can cure me!" praised Emily.
  Together, Ariel and Emily hatched a plan to sneak away at dawn the next day to go searching for the flower. Ariel insisted she could practically carry Emily, who was light as a feather, the whole way.
  As the sun rose the following morning, Emily and Ariel set out on foot towards the nearest village. From there they would set course to the waterfall. It took them only an hour to reach the village. After another two hours they reached the waterfall. There they encountered a problem. They could see a flower with big, white petals on the other side of the waterfall but they could see no way across the river. Emily spotted a ledge behind the waterfall. Leaving Emily on the bank, Ariel bravely scrambled to the other side, plucked a petal and crawled back. Success!
  Once they reached the Manor, Ariel made the petal in a tea. After drinking the tea Emily fell into a deep slumber. The trip had completely drained all her energy. When she woke up she felt instantly better. It was a miracle; the tea had worked!
  The doctor was called once more but this time to give him the good news of the cure to the disease sweeping the nation. As a reward, Ariel and Emily were each given a large sum of money by the Brazilian government. With the money they bought a house of their own, hired a governess and lived as sisters for the rest of their lives. Emily never saw the kind herbalist that had helped her again.