Chapter 1
It was a busy Friday afternoon in Brunswick, Melbourne. Stella, who worked as an Administrative Assistant, was gathering files from her desk as office hours were about to end.Suddenly, Mr. Anderson, the Operations Manager, appeared and made an announcement."Before we wrap up," he said, glancing around at the staff, "I want to thank everyone for their hard work this year. We've exceeded our targets, and the company is doing very well."The room grew quiet."As a token of appreciation, every employee will receive a performance bonus in next week's paycheck."The room erupted in cheers and applause.Stella couldn't help but smile. It had been a difficult year. Her rent had gone up, her car needed repairs, and she had been carefully watching every dollar. The bonus felt like a small weight lifting from her shoulders.
After work, still carrying that feeling of relief, she stopped at a shopping centre where a charity drive for overseas students was being held.
Feeling grateful and overjoyed by the unexpected bonus, Stella decided to make a donation. In her excitement, she hurriedly picked out some school supplies and a book and handed them to one of the donation officers.
"Excuse me, Miss, you should write a short message in the book for the recipient," the officer said.
"Oh, of course," Stella replied.
In a rush, she quickly wrote, "Hope it helps." Without thinking, she also scribbled down her name and home address before handing the book back.
In the Philippines, the school year had just begun, and a group of missionaries was distributing school supply packages to underprivileged students.
One of the volunteers noticed a little girl carrying a plastic bag that contained only a few sheets of paper and a pencil.
"Hi, what's your name?" the volunteer asked kindly.
"Janice," the girl replied shyly.
"Where's your school bag?" the volunteer asked.
Janice lowered her head. She was too embarrassed to admit that she didn't have one. Her mother had sent her to school that day with only paper and a pencil because that was all she could afford.
The volunteer gently took Janice to the line of students waiting to receive the donated packages. Soon, she was handed a lavender backpack filled with school supplies.
When she got home, Janice excitedly opened her new bag. Her eyes widened as she looked at the colorful notebooks, pencils, and other school supplies inside. Then she noticed a book tucked neatly at the bottom of the bag: The Paper Bag Princess.
Curious, she opened it and found a handwritten message from the person who had donated the book.
Janice was only six years old and had not yet learned how to read. Not knowing what the message said, she carefully placed the book inside her clothes cabinet. Although she couldn't enjoy the book yet, she treasured her new backpack and school supplies, which made her excited to go to school every day.
