Stella heard a crashing sound and woke with a start. There were flames and smoke all around. She grabbed her phone and ran straight out of her house as fast as she could,  just like the family had planned. All of the neighboring houses and the woods were on fire, and there were fire trucks and helicopters everywhere. All of her neighbors were also outside, but she couldn’t find her parents. Emma was at the meeting spot that the family had agreed on by the big oak tree, but their parents were nowhere to be found. 

Suddenly, Stella’s whole house and the neighboring ones came crashing down. Smoke filled the air. It was hard for people to breathe. There was yelling all around. Emma went close to the house to see what was going on, and then she started screaming. Emma never screamed, and Stella knew this was bad. If only she could find her parents so they could comfort Emma. Then Stella realized what Emma must have seen and she started to scream too. She felt dizzy. Emma came over with tears in her eyes and confirmed Stella’s suspicions.

“Our parents are dead,” Emma said in a hoarse voice, and then everything went black. 

When she opened her bright blue eyes again, Stella was in Emma’s car. Emma was next to her smoothing her long brown hair.

“Stella, you fainted!” Emma said breathlessly. “I didn’t know what to do. I brought you in here since the air is cleaner than outside, and you woke up right away. We’re going to drive to Annabelle’s house, but it’s 2 am. It takes 3 hours to get there, so you can sleep in the car.

“Don’t worry I’m not tired”, Stella murmured, but between Emma's classical music and the steady movement of the car on the highway, she was asleep in a few minutes.

Stella woke up, confused. She was in a giant canopy bed in a bright purple room, surrounded by stuffed animals. The light streamed in from the picture windows. She recognized it as Annabelle’s guest room. Why was she in Annabelle’s guest room? Then she remembered what had happened the night before, and she began to cry softly. So much had happened last night that she hadn’t even had time to cry. 

Her crying started to get louder as she realized how soothing it felt. Before long, she was sobbing. 

Then, she heard the door creak open and Emma came in and sat on the bed next to her. She started to cry too. After about five minutes, both of them had cried as much as they could. They sat in silence for a while.

“I bet you're wondering where we're going now,” Emma said finally. Stella nodded. “Remember your aunt Ava from Vermont?”

“Yes,” Stella replied even though she had been two the last time she had seen her aunt.

“You’re going to move in with her.” Emma told her. “She has a bakery, but it’s not doing very well. She’s hoping you can help her out a little bit.”

“Ok, I can do that.” Stella said, “Are you going to buy a house nearby?”

“No”, Emma said, “I’m not going to be coming with you. I applied for a job teaching English in South Korea, and it starts in a month. There’s no point in going to Vermont with you if three weeks later I’m just going to have to get on a plane again. I’m going to rent an apartment in L.A.

“But I need you. You’re my sister,” Stella pleaded.

“I’m really sorry Stella, but I applied for this job two years ago, and now I’m finally able to do it. It will give me a lot of money, and I’m really excited. I know it’s going to be hard for you.”

“ I can do it”, Stella said. “I’ll go to Vermont by myself and help Aunt Ava with the bakery.” Her voice got more confident with each word. “But first, I have to get dressed.”

Emma smiled and hugged Stella, “Annabelle gave me a stack of clothes you can borrow. They’re on the dresser.”

Stella slipped on a rainbow striped dress and neon yellow leggings. Annabelle had a very interesting sense of style. It was much different from Stella’s usual solid colored t-shirt and jeans, but it would have to do. 

Stella and Annabelle quickly gobbled up the frosted flakes that Annabelle’s dad had given them. The girls had a lot of catching up to do before Stella’s flight.

“Ok, so today is Monday. I’m leaving on Saturday, so we have five days together.” Stella explained. “ I was thinking we could come up with some recipes to help with the bakery. I remember we used to have so much fun creating recipes when we were younger.”

“Actually, ever since we moved, I’ve been more into art lately than baking. I just don’t really think baking is very fun anymore.” 

“Oh”, Stella said quietly. It had never really occurred to her that Annabelle would have changed in the six months they had been apart. A lump formed in her throat as she remembered how they used to spend afternoons together in the kitchen tasting each other's masterpieces. 

Baking always seemed to comfort Stella. When she was in the kitchen, she just felt so calm and happy. She also didn’t know how she was going to help her aunt with her bakery if she didn’t even have any ideas.

Seeming to sense Stella’s disappointment, Annabelle tried to make her feel better. “We have a pool now, so we can go swimming together.”

“Okay”, Stella replied. She really liked to swim, and Annabelle knew that. Maybe tomorrow Stella would convince Annabelle to bake with her.

It was already Friday, and Stella still hadn’t had time to bake. The week with Annabelle had been amazing, with swimming and walking in the woods. They had even gone to Universal Studios on Wednesday, but Stella just couldn’t seem to have fun knowing that she’d never see her parents again. How was she ever going to feel happy now that her parents were dead?

She was going to miss Annabelle so much, and even though she wanted to bake, she knew that Anabelle had a going away party planned for her today, and it would be rude to bake then. 

“Stella, We have a little goodbye present for you,” Emma said. She handed Stella a stack of their mom’s old recipes. “I found them in our storage after the fire and figured I should give them to you.”

Stella couldn’t believe it. So many recipes to try out when she got to Vermont! Seeing these made her remember her parents again. She thought of all the times she and her mom had baked together. Sometimes, her mom would let her mix up her own concoctions. As she remembered these things, she felt happy. These memories comforted her. Even though she was so sad about their death, thinking about these memories of them made her feel a little better.

Now Stella just had to get on her flight.

The airport was incredibly crowded, but somehow Stella, Emma, Annabelle, and Annabelle’s dad were able to make it to Stella's flight. Once they got to the gate, they all hugged goodbye.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” Emma said. “I wish I could come with you.”

“I’ll call you when I get there,” Stella promised and waved goodbye to everyone.

The flight was very uneventful, and Stella mostly just slept and wondered what Vermont was going to be like. Aunt Ava had told her that she was going to a very small school with one teacher for each grade. Her teacher was named Mr. Berkeley, and he was strict but kind. Stella hoped she’d like Vermont.

Finally, Stella landed. She stepped off the plane and emerged in a whole new airport. How was she going to find Aunt Ava?

She wandered around for a little while looking for her aunt  until she heard someone calling her name 

“Are you Stella?” a voice said. Stella looked up to see a familiar smiling face. She had found her aunt.

“Yes, hi Aunt Ava!” Stella replied.

Aunt Ava was a lot taller than Stella had remembered. Stella had to tilt her head way up to see her clearly. Aunt Ava pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I haven’t seen you in so long,” she said. “When your family moved to California, I thought I would get a chance to visit, but work at the bakery takes up so much of my time.” She apologized, “And I’m really sorry about your parents.

“Well,” Stella said excitedly, “I’m ready to help you out. I have a whole bunch of my mom’s old recipes that we can try.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun!” Aunt Ava replied, but she seemed to have a little frown on her face.

“What’s wrong Aunt Ava,” Stella asked.

“Well, the bakery has been having some hard times lately, and it’s possible that we might have to sell it. There’s already a coffee shop who’s eager to buy.”

“Oh no,” Stella hadn’t realized that things at the bakery were that bad.

“I have it all under control though. Anyway, let’s get to my house and get you settled in.” Aunt Ava said changing the subject.

The drive to Aunt Ava’s house was so beautiful. There were mountains and woods and breathtaking views.

“I love living here,” Aunt Ava said sensing Stella’s awe. “Everytime I drive around I think about how beautiful it is. 

When they pulled up to Aunt Ava’s big farmhouse style home, Aunt Ava led Stella into a room with two twin sized beds. The walls were pink and there were two white dressers. 

“ Your mom and I shared this bedroom when we were kids,” Aunt Ava said. “And now it’s yours. You must be really tired after your flight, so I’ll let you get some rest before school tomorrow. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

Stella wandered around the room marveling at everything her mom had owned as a kid. There was a little rocking horse, some books, and lots and lots of pictures. There were pictures of her mom as a baby, pictures of her mom as an adult, and everything in between. This brought the same feeling as Stella had felt about the recipes. She felt so much closer to her mom when she was in this bedroom. Even so, Stella was still beside herself with sadness. She felt like a piece of herself was gone, and even though people had been extremely nice to her ever since her parents died, this was the loneliest she’d ever felt. Knowing she’d have to carry the weight of her parents death forever made her feel like she’d never be happy again. Would she just be this sad forever? 

Once Stella had gotten tired of looking around, she got into her brand new flannel pajamas and went to bed.

In the morning, aunt Ava took her to her new school. It was about one quarter the size of her old one even though her old one was just a middle school and this one was elementary and middle school. As they walked up to the old brick building, Stella surveyed the area outside the school. She saw a big tree that would be nice to hang out at during recess. She also saw some woods in the back of the school and wondered whether students were allowed in them.

When they walked into the school, they went straight to the main office. The secretary took Stella to her classroom and Aunt Ava left.

“Hi Stella,” a tall man with dark brown hair and glasses came over, “I’m Mr. Berkeley, your new teacher.”

Stella happened to come in during silent reading time, so Mr. Berkeley gave her a book and showed her to her desk.

Stella tried to read her book, but the thoughts about her parents kept popping into her head. She looked at the clock and realized she had been staring at the same page in her book for ten minutes.

“Stella,” Mr. Berkeley came over, “Are you reading or daydreaming?”

Stella sighed and tried to get back to her book.It was a really interesting book; she just couldn’t focus on it right now. 

Five minutes later, Mr. Berkeley made an announcement. “We’re going to have a pop quiz for math now. Please put your books away and I will pass out the papers.”

This was awful. She hadn’t even been in this school for a day and she had to take a test. Stella tried to stay calm. Math was usually her favorite subject. She took a deep breath and read the first question, but her mind kept on drifting to her parents. She kept remembering the awful night of the fire, and she only got through 5 questions by the end of the class. When she gave it to Mr. Berkeley, he gave her a disapproving glance.

“Stella, I need you to come see me at the end of the day so we can talk”, Mr. Berkeley said. “I’ll tell the office to call your aunt and tell her.”

“Oh no”, Stella whispered to herself. Now she was never going to be able to help at the bakery today. 

Lunch was a lot better than Stella had expected. She hadn’t known whether anyone would want to sit with her because she was the new kid, but the opposite happened. There was even a girl named Molly who gave her a cookie. Aunt Ava had given Stella a delicious lunch. This school didn't have a cafeteria though, so during lunch everyone just pushed their desks together. During recess, some of the kids even invited her to sit with them by the tree she had noticed earlier, but she couldn’t seem to enjoy it. She started thinking about what she would be doing right now if her parents were still alive, and things she would have said to them if she had known they were going to die.

At the end of the day, Stella braced herself. She didn’t want to see what Mr. Berkeley would say.

“Stella, come on in.” Mr. Berkeley said.

When she sat down, Mr. Berkeley talked to her on and on about how it’s important to focus in school. Stella watched the minute hand on the clock going very very very slowly around and around. Finally, they were finished. 

Aunt Ava was waiting for her outside the school. They got in the car and drove to the bakery. Stella was incredibly excited to finally see what it looked like, and even though Aunt Ava was disappointed with her for having to stay after school, she was still very enthusiastic about showing Stella around.

The bakery turned out to be a little smaller than Stella had thought. It was just a little strip of color in between a chinese restaurant and a law firm. When they walked in, a little bell on the door chimed. Inside were the most beautiful baked goods Stella had ever seen. She realized that she wasn’t going to need her mom’s old recipes. Her aunt already had the best ideas.

“Hi, Ava! It’s nice to meet you, Stella.” A voice from behind the desk said. “I’m Andrea, and I help your aunt out at the shop.”

Aunt Ava and Andrea suited Stella up in a uniform, and got her to work. She had helped five customers by the time they closed at four o’clock, and she was extremely proud. 

Aunt Ava gave Stella a broom and told her to sweep up.

“Andrea, you can go.” Aunt Ava said. “Stella and I can handle the clean up today.” Andrea packed up her things and left.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

“Don’t they know we’re closed?” Aunt Ava asked

“I’ll go see who it is,” Stella replied.

Stella opened the door, and three people came in. There were two men. One was clearly in charge because he led the group, but they looked a lot alike with brown hair and brown eyes.There was also a woman who Stella guessed was probably in her twenties with long dirty blonde hair and glasses.

“Can we please speak to your aunt,” the man in the front said. Aunt Ava came out of the kitchen looking worried.

They walked into the back room and talked to aunt Ava. Stella peeked through the window to watch. She knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop, but she told herself that as long as she couldn’t actually hear their voices, this didn’t count as eavesdropping. 

As they talked, Aunt Ava’s always smiling face changed to a worried expression. Stella had never seen Aunt Ava worried, so she knew this was a bad sign. If only she could hear what they were saying. 

Thoughts about her parents kept spinning around her head. Why was it that when there was nothing to do she kept thinking about them? Stella was confused. She didn’t want to have to keep being sad about them, but she felt guilty when she wasn’t. 

After what seemed like hours, everyone grabbed their coats. Stella quickly got her broom and acted like she had been sweeping the entire time. Aunt Ava and the mysterious people came out of the back room.

“Stella, I’m so sorry,” Aunt Ava said sadly. “These are the coffee shop people I told you about. I sold the bakery to them; we need to leave.”

“Wait, what,” Stella thought Aunt Ava had said she had everything under control.

“I realized I didn’t have much of a choice.”

Stella, Aunt Ava, and the owners walked out of the bakery. Stella had never seen Aunt Ava this close to tears. Even the new owners looked sad.

When Stella and Aunt Ava got home, Aunt Ava went right to her room and locked the door. She didn’t come out for half an hour. When she finally came out, Stella breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t known what to do about dinner.

“I ordered pizza, it should arrive soon.” She said, “You don’t need to save me any.” Then she went back upstairs. Stella didn’t know what to do. She knew this wasn’t like her aunt at all. 

When the pizza arrived, Stella sat at the dining table all alone to eat it. She had been very hungry at the bakery, but now she had somehow lost her appetite. After one slice of pizza, Stella was full. 

She went to her room, and logged onto the new computer the school had given her. She had a lot more homework than she was used to at her old school. It took her over an hour to do it all, but as she worked, she started to get an idea. When she was done with her homework, she had hatched a whole plan in her head. She decided to tell Aunt Ava in the morning. 

The next day, she woke up in an elated mood and the reason wasn’t just because it was a Saturday. She couldn’t wait to tell Aunt Ava about her idea.

When she skipped into the dining room, she saw Aunt Ava sipping coffee at the table. Her mood was exactly the opposite of Stella’s.

“Good morning, Stella,” she said sadly. “You sure are in a good mood today.”

“Aunt Ava, I have an idea!” Stella said. “Everyone loves all of the goodies you make, so why don’t we ask the new coffee shop to hire you so that you can sell them there. I know it sounds like it won’t work, but just think about it. People who used to come to your bakery will be very disappointed that it was replaced, and the coffee shop will get a lot more business this way.”

Aunt Ava thought that was an excellent idea. “I’ll call them and see.” She said.

Aunt Ava went into the other room to make the call, and Stella waited impatiently for her to come out. 

Ten minutes later, she did with a huge grin on her face.

 “They said yes! If we get there soon, we can even help them open up today. Do you want to help me bake?”

Stella was overjoyed! She hadn’t realized quite how much she cared about her aunt’s bakery, and this was the happiest she’d felt since her parents died. Stella was still extremely sad about her parents, and she missed Annabelle and Emma so much, but she realized that even though she was still very sad, there were still opportunities to find joy. Just because she was sad about one thing didn’t mean she couldn’t make room to be happy about something else. She knew she’d always miss her parents, but she also knew that it wouldn’t be this bad forever. She also had people she could talk to about it. She didn’t always have to be so lonely, and that made her feel so much better.