Christmas time. The time of year where everybody stresses over getting gifts for their family and friends. It is especially busy in the small town of Urika. Christmas was just one week away and the town was bustling with people.

Most of the buildings were nicely decorated with bright lights and fresh, white snow. Stores were giving last minute sales and getting ready to close for Christmas. In the middle of it all, there was one family who didn't have the decorations, or money at all.

They was a family of five. A mother and four children. Two of them were girls, while the other two were boys. The girls' name were Rebecca and Amanda. The boys' name were Jack and Ethan.They lived in the poorest part of the city where the houses were small and the streets were dirty.

They had a father who was away in the army, so they never got to see him. And even though they are supposed to get paid, the army of Urika don't get paid unless they complete the training. So, the children's mother had to find a way to get money.

The children's mother went by the name Karen and as a child, she was also poor. So, she didn't have an education since her parents couldn't afford it. When she got married, she expected her husband, Markus, to have money. Although, he had the same problem, but he was able to graduate from high school. After Karen had the first child, Jack, Markus decided to look for some jobs. First he was a chief, then a mechanic, then a shop clerk, and a garbage collector. Rebecca was born, then Ethan, and finally Amanda. After Amanda was born Markus decide to turn to the Army.

None of the children could go to school. Simply because their mother couldn't afford it. They mostly just helped around the house by doing different chores. The Eldest boy, Jack, would take out the garbage and help with any repairs to the house. The eldest daughter, Rebecca, would help with the laundry, and cleaning of the house.The youngest boy, Ethan, would also help with the garbage and anything his mother would need. Amanda, the youngest daughter would help with the sowing and mending of the clothes. When it was time to eat, all the children helped their mother with the food.

One day, Karen got a phone call from the bank.

"Hello Mrs. Peer, my name is Mr. Hogan and I called to inform you that you have been behind on all of your house payments since August 3rd. You have until Tuesday this week to get $10,000 to pay for your bills."

"10,000?! How am I supposed to get $10,000 before Christmas eve!?" Mrs. Peer shockingly said.

"I don't know, find a job or something, but you will loose your house if the money isn't paid", Before Karen responded, Mr.Hogan hung up.

You owe $10,000!! Pay up or you loose the house lady!

Karen slowly hung up the phone. Then, she silently cried to herself.

"How am I going to get all that money? How can I even get a job when I don't have the education for it? And what about the kids?" She sobbed.

Jack was about to take out the garbage when he overheard his mother's conversation. He went back to his siblings and told them everything.

"How much is ten thousand dollars?" Little Amanda asked.

"A whole lot", Rebecca replied.

"Maybe we can help mommy by getting the money for her", Ethan suggested.

"Okay everyone, empty your piggy banks!" Jack said.

All of the children grabbed their piggy banks and emptied them on the floor. Rebecca counted the money as everyone waited in suspense.

"Okay... we only have ten dollars and fifty cents", she said disappointed.

"Isn't that a lot of money?" Amanda asked.

"No, it's far from the amount we need", Jack answered.

"Then where can we get the rest of the money from?" Rebecca asked.

"I have an idea! How about we sneak out and ask for money!" Ethan said.

The children thought about it, and even though it was a bad idea, they had to try something in order to help their mother.

"Okay, we'll sneak out tonight and go to the rich part of the city. We don't need to go too far, just close enough to see some rich people", Jack explained.

All the children agreed to the plan and waited for bedtime.

Later that evening, Karen made dinner with the help of the children, and got ready to deliver the sad news. As soon as everyone had settled into their seats, she cleared her throat.

"Ahem... Children... I have some bad news... We won't be able to live in this house anymore..." She said.

"What?! But I thought that you just needed ten thousand dollars?" Amanda blurted out.

"I do but... Wait... How did you know about that?" Karen asked puzzled.

"Jack told us", Amanda innocently said.

Jack scowled at Amanda for snitching, but it was too late.

"Jack, do you have anything to say about this? How did you know about the bill?" Karen asked.

"Sorry mother... When I was taking out the trash I heard you on the phone. I heard that we had a bill of ten thousand dollars that you needed in order to keep the house..." Jack confessed.

Karen sighed, "Well... At least I don't have to explain to you all about the problem... Now we need to find a solution."

"What about Dad?" Rebecca asked. "Isn't he coming home? Then we will get plenty of money!"

"No... that's another problem... Your dad called yesterday and said that he won't be here for Christmas, and by the time he comes home...*sniff*... We won't have a house anymore", Karen started crying and the children felt sorry for her. 

The rest of the dinner was quiet and somber. Nobody said a word and everyone ate their soup. 

After dinner, the children went to their room(the small house only had two bedrooms: the kids slept in one, and the parents in the other) said their prayers, and pretended to go to sleep. Once their mother left after saying good night, all the children sat up in their beds and got ready to go out.

"Okay, before we go, we have to make sure Mom is asleep", Jack said.

"I'll scout out!" Little Amanda said.

"Okay, but hurry back!" Rebecca said.

Amanda quietly tiptoed out of the room and went down the hallway to her mother.

Amanda slowly crept in her mother's room and saw that she was fast asleep. Amanda went back to her siblings to let them know.

"The coast is clear! Mommy's asleep", she whispered.

"Okay guys, follow me and be very quiet!" Jack warned.

In the order of size, the children followed Jack out of the front door. It was very chilly so the children had to put on what ever extra clothing they could find.

The children roamed around the streets looking for anybody who would help them. They passed by a man who had a thick brown coat on and he seemed to be in a hurry. Jack stopped him so they could speak to him.

"Um, excuse us sir, but we are very poor and our mother needs money in order to keep the house. Can you donate us some spare change?" Jack asked politely.

"No! Go find somewhere else to beg boy, I have business to deal with", the man gruffly said and walked away.

"Well that was rude!" Rebecca angrily said.

"Calm down, this is nothing to get worked up about. I knew that the rich folk would get snobby at us, but we'll keep trying", Jack said.

"Guys look! It's Daddy!" Amanda gasped.

All the children clouded around Amanda to see what she was pointing at. On a long pole was a huge picture of a bunch of men saluting. The headline said:

Welcome to our new soldiers who will serve our country:

Samual Fulton, Arcon Burger, Luke Hash, Markus Peer,   Cromwell Dolle, Brandon Scaltz, Warren Hale. 

Welcome to our new soldiers who will serve our country:

Samual Fulton, Arcon Burger, Luke Hash, Markus Peer, Cromwell Dolle, Brandon Scaltz, and Warren Hale:

Rebecca gasped, "Doesn't this mean that Dad has finished the training?"

"If so then he should be able to come home!" Jack said.

"Horray!" Amanda and Ethan cheered.

"We should tell Mom!" Rebecca said.

"But what if he really isn't coming home?"Ethan asked. "You heard what Mommy said. He called and said he couldn't".

"I wonder why..." Jack thought.

"Maybe because something happened to him", Amanda said.

"Yeah! Then we should go save him!" Ethan agreed.

"But we don't know where he is!" Jack exclaimed.

"I think I do..." Rebecca said.

"You do?" Ethan asked. "How?"

"Well... Before Dad had to leave, I heard him say that he was going to the camp on the other side of the city. When Mom asked how far away it was, he said it was at least a three hour walk. So maybe 30 miles or so?" Rebecca explained.

"Three hours?! 30 miles?! Mom is going to be awake soon! And it is almost Christmas! We still won't have $10,000!" Jack yelled.

"You're not understanding Jack!" Rebecca yelled.

"Yes I am!" Jack yelled back.

"No you don't! When Dad comes home, he will have money with him!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"No! The army doesn't pay you upfront! They only do that for the officers and they only get $1,000!" Jack said.

"You don't know that!" Rebecca snapped.

"Yes I do! You don't know anythi..."

"Guys please stop fighting!" Amanda interrupted.

"Guys, I'm sure we can make the trip! It's only ten o' clock and Mommy had us to go to bed at eight. We have plenty of time to find Dad", Ethan explained.

Jack and Rebecca took a deep breath and calmed down. Without saying a word, they nodded in agreement.

"Yay! So we are going to find Daddy!" Amanda cheered.

The children started their hike to the other side of the city.

The rich part of the city was very different from the poor part of the city. Especially during Christmas time. There were bright lights and tall buildings, and Shops that sold almost anything in the world.The streets were cleaner and showed what money could buy.

There was also a lot of people going to different places.Lots of wealthy people. Compared to the them, the children looked like dirty little Africans far from home. Nobody cared to stop and help them, nor look at them since they were to busy with their own business.

After walking for about an hour, the children stopped at a huge park. The ground was covered in snow and barely anybody was in it. The children were tired and out of hope.

"We've been walking for ever!" Ethan complained. "We should just wait for Dad to come home himself".

"But it was you're idea to do this in the first place", Rebecca said.

"Don't worry guys, I'm sure we'll see Dad soon... Right?" Three hopeless faces stared at Jack, and he loss hope as well.