Mandylamented，“HowdoyouknowthisisthebestformeIcouldhaveledanotherlife.....”l</p>

“Idon‘tthinkit‘stherightattitudeforlife.Itseemsyouwillalwaysberegrettingoveryoureachandeverychoiceordecision.”Therewasanedgetohisvoice，buthestayedcool，“Stopcomparingwithothers‘livesandstopmoaningformore.Thefishermanandhiswifeshouldhavebeencontentedwithwhattheyhavereceivedfromthegoldfishandthey‘dbetternotbegformorethantheydeserved.”</p>

Mandyremarkedwithadangeroustone，“AreyoutellingmeIdon‘tdeservethebestoflife”</p>

Locksensedsomething，“Don‘ttwistit.YouknowwhatImeant.Youwouldneverbeabletofigureoutwhatthebestiswhenyouweresixteen.”</p>

Mandymurmuredasifshehadbeeninadream，“HowIwishtobesixteenagain，carefree.”</p>

Lockcamenearertoher，andhuggedher，leavinghiswheelchairbehind，“Thepointis，whateverhappenstoyou，fromnowontosixtyorninety，youwillalwayshaveus.”</p>

Mandyburstintotears，“Ihavenothingexceptyouandthekids.Ifeelcold.Thisworldlooksatmewithviciouseyes.”</p>

“Youcanalwayscountonus，”Lockpromised，“Igiveyoumyword.There‘snopartingofusuntilonedies.Staypositiveandcherisheveryminute.”</p>

MandyleanedagainstLock‘sshoulder，totallyforgettingheshouldnothavestoodupandsupportedherweight.“Iwon‘tfallforit.TheylookasifworriedformebutIguesstheyreallyenjoyedthemselvesseeingmealmostcrashed.”</p>

shelookedatLockandwassuddenlystartled，“Iwasalmosttakenin.......Ishouldn‘thavetoldthemhowIbrokedown......Iwouldneverletthemreceivethewrongmessageasifmylifewereajoke.”</p>

“Don‘toverrespond.”Locksaid，“Theyareyourfriends，andtheyshowedconcernsaboutourlife.Themorepatheticwelook，thefunnieritwouldbewhentheyknowwhatwe‘rereallylike.”</p>

“Yes，someofthemdidtrytoruinmyself-esteemandnearlyconvincedmetopitymyself.Howcanonebesomean”</p>

Locksuggested，“I‘vecomeupwithanidea.Whydon‘tweholdaparty”Hehesitated，“Doesanyofthemhaveafamily”</p>

“No，noneofthemdo.Peopledon‘tgetmarriedthesedays，Iguesstheyareafraidtogivecommitments.”Mandyformedasmileasthoughshefeltsorryforherfriends.</p>

“So，thatsettleseverything.”Locksmiledback，“Weinviteabunchofkids.”</p>

“DoweknowotherkidsbesidesthoseinOscar‘skindergarten”Mandyasked.</p>

“Oh，ofcoursewedo，”announcedLock，“Thereareplentyofkids，Asian，Latino，andblackinthechildren‘shospital.Thiswillbeafund-raisingpartyfordisabledchildren，andmeaswell.”Locksatbackintothewheelchairasquicklyashiskneesallowedtocarryhim，whichamusedMandylikehell.</p>

“Sincetheyaresokind，suretheydon‘tminddonatingsomedollarsforthegoodcourse”Lockquestioned.</p>

“That‘sreallyniceofyou.Allofmyfriendswouldbeverythankfuliftheyareofferedachancetoshowthattheyreallycareforthehandicapped.”Mandybitherlips，tryinghardnottolaugh.</p>

“IsuddenlyrememberIhaveoneortwoacquaintancesonthepress.”Locksneered，“Theywoulddietoseemeonthemoveagain.”</p>