Sacrifice: Mind and Oak Tree

Sacrifice, so many people sacrifice their lives, their loves, their future. However Tayla was different, Tayla didn't believe in sacrifice under any circumstances. She had been raised by her mother in a one-bedroom apartment in the center of New York City. For a 16 yr. old girl growing up in near poverty, sacrifice was not an option. Tayla took upon the duty to look after her mother. She would cook breakfast, clean the apartment and also get herself ready for school. Her mother, Judy, was extremely ill. After her father had died only two years before Tayla started high school, Judy was literally heartbroken. Her heart developed an irregular beat and she was diagnosed with a very serious heart problem and needed a heart transplant in order to survive.

Because of the death of her father, Tayla and Judy were living on a pension and could not afford to have private health insurance.

At school, Tayla was an ordinary teenager. She associated with a bunch of girls who gossiped and giggled. Tayla never told her friends about the trouble she experiencing at home, she was never one for sympathy. Annitta, Tayla's best friend, was the only one who knew about Judy's heart problem. Annitta was always there for Tayla whenever she found it too hard to cope. To escape what was constantly going through her mind, Tayla would walk up to a hill three blocks away from her home. On the very top of the hill, an oak tree, perfect for sitting in, looked over the city. The view from the tree was magnificent, especially at night. Tayla could see the lights of tinsel town flicker in her mind just like all the thoughts racing through her mind at the speed of light. Every night, usually around the same time, Tayla would sit in the oak tree and wrack her brain with thoughts of how to raise the money in order for her mother to have the operation.

As Tayla walked to school on Friday morning, Annitta jogged up beside her. "Hey Tay, how are ya today?" Tayla replied in her usual manner. "I'm