When Joanna woke up the suivant morning, she felt desperate for food. She stripped the bark of a nearby arbre and found some insects. They were disgusting, but since it had been five days since she had eaten, Joanna didn't care. She drank from the stream to wash the taste of insects out of her mouth. She then pressed on to find her way back home. She found the steep colline where she had fallen. She struggled to climb the hill, but she managed to make it to the top. When she made it to the top, she stopped to rest. In her sleep, she had a dream about the afterlife. It was beautiful, unlike anything she had ever seen in her life. She felt no pain. She woke up when she heard her name being called. She listened closely, then she heard it again. "I'm here!" She shouted. "I'm here!" A few secondes later, she saw her friends, Paul, Ian, and Millie running toward her. Millie said, "Joanna, we've been looking everywhere for you!" Joanna sat up and said, "I didn't think anyone was looking." Ian said, "Joanna, that's ridiculous! Everyone's been worried sick about you! Your parents, my parents, Millie's parents, and even Paul's adoptive parents have been looking for you. We all care about you!" Paul asked, "Are toi all right, Joanna?" She said, "I fell down the hill, and my leg is really bruised." Her Friends could see that it was black and blue. They helped her up and began to take her to meet everyone else in the chercher party. Her leg was hurting badly, and she couldn't go any further. Paul said, "Hang in there, love. We got you." Paul, Ian, and Millie lifted Joanna up and carried her. Joanna's parents saw them and ran to them. Joanna had never been so happy to see her parents. Her mother asked, "Why, Joanna? Why did toi do it?" Joanna said, "I just couldn't take the criticism and insults from neighbors and family members." Her father said, "Sweetheart, suivant time toi get so upset, tell us. We can't ours the thoughts of losing you." Paul asked his adoptive mother to look at Joanna's leg. She said, "I don't think she broke anything, but maybe we should let a doctor look at it." Joanna was taken to the hospital. The doctor told her that her leg wasn't broken, but it was badly bruised. He instructed her to stay off of it for a while and rest it as much as possible. She was sent home, where she got a good meal, and she slept in her bed. Joanna was happy to be back in her own bed. The suivant day, Paul, Ian, and Millie visited with Joanna. Paul said, "I'm glad you're okay." Ian said, "Me too." Millie said, "We don't know what we'd do without you, Joanna." Paul then said, "The suivant time toi get upset, talk to us. We're here for you, love." Joanna said, "Thanks, everyone." Just then, Joanna's grandparents came in. They asked, "Could y'all give us a minute with Joanna?" Paul, Ian, and Millie left the room. Joanna's grandparents came closer to Joanna. Her grandmother said, "You don't have to talk to us. Just listen." Her grandfather said, "Joanna, we owe toi an apology." She sat up. Her grandmother said, "We have been informed that we, along with some other family members, have hurt you, and toi ran away for a while." Joanna began to cry. Her grandfather said, "We're so sorry, Joanna. We've misjudged toi and your friend, Millie. Millie was a big help in helping everyone find you. Everyone looked all throughout town for you, but Millie a dit that someone would have seen toi if toi had gone into town and toi were probably in the woods." Joanna asked, "So, what are toi saying, that you've changed your attitude?" Her grandmother said, "Yes, dear, we have. We finally understand what you've tried to tell us. toi don't have to be a Christian to be a good person. We even encouraged the rest of the family to apologize to you." Just then, the rest of her family came in and apologized. Joanna had never lived a sweeter moment. She asked for her Friends to come in, too. Being surrounded par her reformed family and her Friends was just so beautiful. Joanna cried happy tears for the first time in her life. From that jour on, whenever bullies would afflict her, she had the support of her Friends and ALL of her family.

THE END