They say you can't see the stars very well, so deep into the city, because of all the bright lights, And it's true.1

I thought about giving Evvie, my little sister, her doll back. She loved that doll, and she hadn't kicked any strangers in the shin lately, so why not? The doll was old, and the color was faded to an ugly green. The red dress had turned brown, and the once full head of blond hair the doll had was now a furry mess, from when Evvie gave her a haircut two years ago.2

I had found Evvie with the doll in the backyard of our house. She was sitting cross-legged with her back to me. My heart thundered as I raced up to her, my breath coming in short gasps. Finally I got to her, and grabbed her shoulder. "Evelyn," I had said, using her full name. "What do you think you're doing? I've been looking for you for an hour now."3

She did not respond, just gazed into the little pond in front of her with those sad blue eyes. I looked down at her lap where she was gripping a pair of blue scissors in her small fist and pieces of curly blond hair was scattered about in her lap. At first I thought it was her own hair, and I gasped, horrified. But then I saw the doll. A lonesome figure in the water. The edges of the smile on it's face had run down into a blurry frown. "I wanted to make her prettier," Evvie said in that small voice of her's. "But she got uglier. So I kept cutting and cutting but..." Now she sniffed. "She just kept getting uglier and uglier."4

I told our father about this, and he suggested I take her to the school counselor. We both knew that Evvie had been acting strange since our mother died in that hit-and-run. He didn't know how to take care of girls, so I basically had to become the parent of Evvie. She was only nine years old, yet she continuously dyed her hair strange colors(at the moment it was pink) and cut up the good pairs of pants that I bought her. The counselor told me that this was a good sign, and that my little sister was simply finding ways to express herself. I was still worried.5

I repeatedly told Evvie how much I loved her, but I could tell that she still had doubts. Even as we were snuggled up together in my bed, and the lights of the city illuminated our room. I could feel the stiffness in her tiny body in my arms. "You sleepy yet?" I whispered to her. Our father was in his study which was right in the next room, and I didn't want him to know that we were still awake.6

Evvie shook her head slightly, but her eyes were drooping. I kissed the soft curls atop her head and snuggled closer to her. "Don't let anyone tell you that you're not perfect," I whispered to her before she closed her eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.