When I came to Gold Mountain, I had squeezed my whole life into two suitcases. I was now attempting to put my whole life into a backpack. I didn't even own a backpack, to start with. I had to ask Daisy if I could borrow one from her. I made the excuse that it was hard to carry things around with the crutches, and I needed a backpack to free up my hands. I hoped she would forgive me when I absconded with it. I stuffed it with a couple changes of clothes, extra underwear, and a few personal items. I took my mother's jewelry box. I slipped my sisters' photo out of the frame and pressed the photo between the pages of my journal. I had two pre-paid Visa cards and a fifty-dollar bill that I had received as wedding gifts. Caydence had also given me a debit card to access the family spen
