“i beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist.
“his name is andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him now. so how much does a miracle cost?”
“we don’t sell miracles here, little girl. i’m sorry but i can’t help you,” the pharmacist said, softening a little.
“listen, i have the money to pay for it. if it isn’t enough, i will get the rest. just tell me how much it costs.”
the pharmacist’s brother was a well dressed man. he stooped down and asked the little girl, “what kind of a miracle does your brother need?”
“i don’t know,” tess replied with her eyes welling up. “i just know he’s really sick and mommy says he needs an operation. but my daddy can’t pay for it, so i want to use my money.”
“how much do you have?” asked the man from chicago. “one dollar and eleven cents,” tess answered barely audibly. “and it’s all the money i have, but i can get some more if i need to.”
“well, what a coincidence,” smiled the man. “a dollar and eleven cents