It was 4am. I crept out the back door, careful not to wake my younger sister. As I softly closed the door behind me, I smiled to myself. I loved the fresh morning breeze, no sound for miles. Even the birds weren’t awake yet. I tiptoed up to the woods, glanced around to make sure nobody had followed me, and darted in.

The air was crisp and cool, the perfect fall day. As I entered a hidden clearing, I smiled. Here was my farm. I ran this farm to help provide for my family (my aunt, uncle, 5 cousins, and my sister) because we didn’t have a lot. My mom died when I was 7 and my sister was 2, and my dad passed away a year later. So, my aunt and uncle took us in. They hated anyone trying to help, especially me. I was the oldest, even of their children. I’m 16, and for four years I’ve been running this secret farm to provide money. Some close friends have also helped, but nobody in my family knows about it. And that’s good. Every time I get money from the farm, I sneak it into my aunt and uncle’s savings jar or I go to the bank and deposit it for them.

I set off to go milk the cows when I saw Charlie rushing toward me. Charlie was 80 years old, but he still helped me on the farm, because he was a good family friend of mine. He was really close to my parents before they passed.

“May! May! It’s urgent! The farm’s going to be shut down!”

I gasped, tears welling in my eyes. “No. No, no, no. This is bad. I need it to provide for my family! How am I supposed to do that if they take it away?” I was crying now, but Charlie didn’t seem to care, because I was like a granddaughter to him. Blinking back tears, I grabbed the necklace my mother gave me. Charlie saw me make the subtle movement, and he smiled. “They would be proud of you.”

I nodded. “I know.” Then, I smiled. “I have an idea.”

Charlie laughed. “There’s my girl. What is it?”

“I show them.”

Charlie was taken aback. “Why? This is a secret farm for a reason. NO ONE IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW!” I laughed and put a hand on Charlie’s arm.

“They can now. That’s what’s become necessary. I can’t keep secrets from them forever. They need to know.”