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>