Hopeful Christine must have gone swimming or had fun in a way that was bad. She said she was going to Arkansas this summer, but now she’s in the ground. Her mother beat her a lot. I bet she's sorry now. I wonder how my parents knew better and kept me safe. Maybe it was the water fountain at school. Somebody should have told Christine. Maybe she touched money then put her fingers in her mouth. Maybe being afraid of almost everything isn’t so bad. Maybe mother is right. She says, “See-- I told you what can happen if you don’t listen to me.” No-- it couldn't have been that way. Nobody ever died. The little girl is happy and hopeful of finding a raspberry water ice that she can eat to cool herself off as she walks home down Main Street in the hot summer sun. There is never anything unhappy in this town. This is The Platform under the tree. She will be ok even if she goes to the toilet and forgets to cover the seat. Her mother didn't kill her. This is not where I grew up. This is Hatboro.