Fate

Gracie

She was sitting in the grass underneath her favorite tree playing with her favorite doll. Her mother had given it to her the night she went away. It was the very most special thing.
She brushed the doll's hair with her fingers and pretended that her best good friend was back. She missed her. She thought back to the day that Melody had the picnic with the 3 other people and remembered the handsome man with the green eyes and beard. She smiled at her doll. Thinking of the man always made her smile.
The doll had black hair just like Melody's. Her eyes were blue buttons and her clothes were worn. Just like her best good friend. Her special friend.
She heard two of the older boys in the town run into the park and shout at each other. She didn't like them very much. They were very mean and liked to take her doll away. Her Melody doll. She saw that they were too busy throwing rocks at each other to notice her so she went back to brushing the doll's hair as she hummed to herself a little tune that Melody use to sing to her.
She picked a flower from the grass and placed it in the doll's hair and admired it.
'Such a pretty dolly,' she thought. 'Just like her. So so pretty.'
The boys were getting louder and closer but she ignored them still. She was happily in her own little world. Her happy, special world. She started pretending that the handsome man and Melody were sitting with her under the tree. She spun around with the doll and giggled as she thought, 'look! Look! Look at me! Round and round and round.' Gracie imagined the laughter and joy that Melody and the man would share with her. She often pretended they were there with her. She didn't have any family to imagine. Just Melody and the handsome man.
She was shoved to the ground and her doll was ripped from her hands. The older boys had finally noticed her and began throwing her doll back and fourth to each other as Gracie tried jumping in the air to catch it. They started taunting her and calling her mean names but Gracie didn't care. She just wanted her Melody doll back.
The boys continued throwing the doll to each other as they drifted further and further apart. It was now a competition to see who could throw it farther. Gracie kept trying to catch it. Her little legs were getting tired and she fell into the grass a few times but she never gave up.
Melody always told her to keep going. Never give up on anything. Gracie was trying really hard to obey but one of the older boys had tackled her to the ground and held her there while the other one started throwing and catching her doll by himself.
She felt the boy slap her face and heard the mean names he called her as she struggled to get away. All she could focus on was her Melody doll.
She finally managed to break free and ran after the other boy right as he threw it into the street. She was so happy that they had finally given up on throwing the doll that she ran out into the street to get her.
Gracie didn't see the truck that was heading her way until it was too late.