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Sonja, pronounced Son-ya, was a thirty-nine year old recently single mother with one daughter. Because of some idiot getting drunk and running into her husband's car a few months ago, they had had two months of touch and go hoping that Jim would recover, but he never did. Not only did he die, but because he was in the hospital for so long, the funds were quickly depleted that she had access to, and since the hospital bills were never fully covered, Jim's bank account was frozen so she couldn't touch it even though it was willed to her. Now, with money running near the bottom of the barrow, the hospitals and clinics that could take care of her daughter who had something very wrong with her being nowhere near the small town she lived at, and there being a lack of any work there, Sonja took a chance and moved her daughter to a bigger city hoping to find cheaper rent and a job. For now, though, it had been a week, and she still had not found any work, though that was not surprising since she had to be with her daughter all the time until she could put Michaela into school to look after her. Michaela could walk with very special crutches, but because she was growing, and the crutches were made for her almost a year before, she was outgrowing them, and that made it hurt sometimes when she used them. Not only that, but she needed special braces on her legs, which she was also outgrowing. When it got hard for her to walk, Sonja did have a folding wheelchair for her that she put her in when it was difficult for her to navigate certain areas by herself. Now, they were on their last dollar, and Sonja was almost out of ideas for a place to go. Then, by some lucky chance, she found that an old couple were renting out a guest house at a mere fifty dollars a month! She called them to find out about it, and by the stars, her luck continued and the old couple asked them to come and look it over for themselves. Sonja was not picky at all at this point because they were desperate. She took her daughter to the address that was given them, and soon found that this guest house was really just a one room place with enough space that it had a twin bed at one end and a kitchen table at the other end. Near the twin bed, there was also a television, and there was a small walk-in space that had a toilet to one side. They had access to a kitchen and to a bath if they knocked on the joining door that went to the rest of the house. Sonja quickly took them up on this gem of a find. While it was less convenient than Sonja would have liked, it was only fifty dollars a month, and she was not going to find any place that cheap anywhere else. The old couple also didn't take any deposit money when they realized how much she had left, and knew that she had a daughter to feed. Instead, they said she could help them out with the utilities later, after she got working. And this is where we start the story: "I'm sorry that I can't do better right now," Sonja apologized to Michaela. "But this is only until we can get on our feet. I have to see if I can find a job, and I can't really do that until you start school. We will check out the local school tomorrow to see about registering you, okay?"

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