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okay. She must have fainted from the shock more than from the smoke,” the doctor said. “You caught her in time. Just make sure she doesn’t sleep in her bedroom tonight. There may still be fumes. If she starts feeling ill, let me know right away, but I think she’ll be fine.”
    “Oh, no, she’ll sleep in my room,” Anna said. She sounded relieved but she was still pale.
    The doctor touched Karla’s cheek. “Sleep tight and no more matches and candles tonight, okay?”
    Karla nodded. She was still confused. Everything had happened so fast. One of the firefighters with a hard hat stepped out of her bedroom. “Okay, we’re done. No major damage. You were very lucky.”
    Then he turned to Karla, and said in a serious and somewhat commanding voice: “Now listen, little girl. You know this could’ve gone bad. You have to be very careful with matches. Next time, tell your mother to be with you and let her light the candle, okay?”
    Karla’s eyes filled with tears. “I wanted to pray for my mama and it all went wrong.” She began to sob again.
    The firefighter looked at Anna startled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize . . .”
    “It’s okay,” Anna said. “Her mother died. I’m her aunt.”
    “So sorry.” His face softened. He gently patted Karla’s head. “Just be careful, honey, okay?”
    Karla nodded and lowered her eyes.
    Anna accompanied the firefighters to the door. After they had left, Karla got up and walked to her bedroom. The wall above the window and part of the ceiling was black. The curtain, all black, was lying on the floor. Otherwise nothing was burnt. It smelled icky, though, and Karla began to feel nauseated. She stepped back out of the room.
    Anna put her hand on her shoulder. “I’ll call the painter tomorrow. We’ll buy a new curtain. It’ll be okay. But tell me, what happened? Why did you light the candle again? I told you not to play with matches when you’re alone.”
    Karla told her about her attempt to make the room look festive, that she had wanted to pray and ask God to bring her mama back, just like he had done with Lazarus.
    “Lazarus?” Anna looked at her puzzled.
    “The priest at Sunday school told us that Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead. He called him in his grave and Lazarus stood up and walked around.”
    Anna sighed. Great, just what we need. Stupid priest. “I’ll try to explain that thing with Lazarus tomorrow, okay? Now let’s just go to bed and get some sleep.”
    Karla was lying next to Anna, listening to her steady breathing. Branches of the tall pine tree next to the window squeaked once in a while in the breeze. The trunk of the tree lit by a lantern behind it cast a long shadow across the bed through the half-open window. It was peaceful after the turmoil of the fire, but Karla couldn’t settle down. Tears kept gathering in her eyes and a feeling of deep disappointment hurt her chest.
    It wasn’t fair. She had wanted to do everything right. She had prayed and God hadn’t answered her. He hadn’t protected her. He had let the curtain burn and the ceiling get all black and ugly. And her mama, who they all said was watching over her, hadn’t helped her, either. Slowly, her sadness turned to anger.
    For the first time, she began to doubt the stories she was told, the stories of a kind and just God who loved his children. “God is mean,” Karla murmured. She wondered if she would now be punished, but nothing happened. It was dark and quiet in the room, no stern voice sounded from Heaven. Karla disentangled herself from Anna’s embrace. She sat up. “God is mean.” Her voice was defiant.
    “Hush.” Anna pulled her down next to her. “Calm down and let’s get some sleep.”
    “I hate God. He doesn’t even listen,” Karla said, her voice breaking.
    Anna sighed. “I guess we might as well forget about sleep. Okay, let’s get up. I’ll make us some tea and milk.”
     
     
    Chapter 10
     
    While the Earl Gray tea was steeping, Anna