Short & Quick

Prompt: If you were given one hundred dollars as a child, how would you have spent it?

Elizabeth Berg says I should write quickly, without thinking too much...

I pictured myself at nine years old. I wanted a Barbie doll for my birthday. I wanted it so badly, I said a *novena--a prayer said nine days in a row for a special intention. My prayers were answered. I became the devoted owner of an 11-inch blond pony-tailed beauty. I adored her. I spent all my allowance on completely accessorized outfits for her. Oh, those pink cardboard packets wrapped in cellophane, each with a coat or dress, shoes, gloves, hat and handbag attached by a fine string. Dreams were made of such things. Certainly if I had become the beneficiary of $100, I would have purchased 20 of those magical little ensembles for Barbie.

*When I was thanking my mom later, I told her about the novena. She said, "My God! What if we hadn't gotten it for you?!" For me, that was never an option. I had prayed a novena, after all. You can't buy faith like that for a hundred bucks.