Chapter Two: Daddy:

I don�t remember some things about my life, like my first Christmas or the day I first went home. However, my Daddy�s always been there for me. He is a really good man. He taught me how to do many things. He got me my first bicycle. He even stood up to people who were mean to me. Daddy was the person I was ever close to.

Our house had many people come and go from it over the years since I was a little girl. I don�t remember it ever being just us two. From what I recall, we had the nicest house in the neighborhood. Most of everyone lived in trailers and shacks when I was growing up. The only nice places around were the stores and my house. Because of this, many people came to stay and eat at our house. Daddy didn�t mind it and neither did I. That just meant more people to talk to. Some of them left us gifts behind. Daddy wasn�t even worried about people stealing.

�We don�t really have anything worth stealing anyway,� he told me. Nevertheless, many people have come and went in our house. We�ve even had a couple of celebrities come in our house. One of them was an actress while another one was a singer.

The actress was in her twenties and very pretty. I don�t remember her name or why she came to stay with us in the first place. I don�t know of any movies that I�ve seen her in. Then again, I barely see any movies at all. I�m mostly just playing around in the town in general. Everyone else at our house said that they knew who she was. She didn�t really try to talk much to me. That lady always wore rubies and had the men looking at her. I always wondered why she was so skinny all of the time.

�Don�t you ever eat?� I asked. She gave me a funny look.

�I don�t want to be fat,� she said.

�But why?� I asked. She glanced over at me from her mirror.

�Fat is not pretty,� this actress explained, �Thin is way better.� I didn�t understand what she meant by that, but I couldn�t go without Daddy�s cooking. I really could not go with peaches. I really love them. Daddy grew many trees of them just for me. Picking them is the best part. Daddy and I would could in with buckets full of them. Speaking of which, I�m feeling pretty hungry thinking about it.

The other lady that came here was the singer. She was an old lady and Daddy was a huge fan. However, her voice was burnt-out and she just wanted to rest. Daddy was more than happy to help her out.

�Why do you like her so much, Daddy?� I asked. He smiled as he took cookies out of the oven.

�Her voice is so calming,� he said.

�Why doesn�t she sing anymore?� I asked. Daddy frowned at my question.

�Her voice is tired,� he said, �She can�t sing anymore.�

�Oh,� I said, ��Can I go see her?�

�Sure,� Daddy said. I turned down the hall and walked to her room. I found her sitting on her bed, playing her guitar. She mumbled something to herself as she plucked the strings. She would pause and murmur something bad.

�Damn it,� she mumbled, �Why can�t I ever get it right?� I knocked on her door. She lifted her head and stopped.

�Yeah?� she asked. I wandered into the lady�s room.

�What are you doing?� I asked. She smiled and chuckled to herself.

�I�m trying to write a new song,� the lady answered in a raspy voice.

�A song?� I asked.

�Yeah,� she said. I noticed her looking me up and down. I blinked at her rather confused.

�What?� I asked. The lady motioned me over to her.

�Come here, little one,� she said, �Maybe you can help me out.�

�Okay,� I said. I walked over to the lady and stood in front of her. �What do you want me to do?� I asked.

�Just stand there,� she told me.

�Okay�� I mumbled. I stood there for like three hours as she plucked the strings on her guitar and sang in her raspy voice. Afterwards, she smiled at me.

�Thank you,� she said. I bowed my head and left the room. Her song, �Little Cherry Bird,� is still popular to this day. For some reason, Daddy always had red cheeks when he heard that song on the radio. He even turned it off when I was in the room. I tried to ask him, but he refused to answer. It was rather weird to me.