Orphan Girl Taking Care of Her Little Brother Finds Christmas Gifts on Their Doorstep — Story of the Day

An orphan girl caring for her little brother finds an unexpected Christmas gift waiting at the door of their modest apartment.

Linda Trevor had been waiting years to clock 18, but unlike many other kids who yearned for freedom from their parents’ dictatorship, she wanted it so she could leave the orphanage she and her brother Daniel had lived in since their parents died some years before.

The moment she turned 18, she visited a bank and the orphanage custodian, and they helped her access the little cash in her parents’ trust fund and the other inheritance they got from their parents, a small apartment in the city.

She was wiser than her years, and the orphanage custodian, Mrs. Steinberg was well aware of that fact, so she agreed to let the girl move into the unit with her little brother, who was just six.

The money in the trust fund was just enough to keep them fed and clothed, so Linda had to get more money by doing menial jobs around town.

Mrs. Steinberg had requested that she let her brother remain a while at the orphanage with the other kids while she settled into adult life, but Linda had made him a promise when their parents died.

“Where I go, you go, I’ll never leave you alone on your own,” she had said, and she was not about to break the promise — especially since they pinky swore.

She did her best, but they lived poorly in their apartment. Still, the two were very glad to be together, even if they had to live hand to mouth.

When Christmas came, Daniel, who did not yet know that Santa was mostly just the grownups gifting their kids things anonymously, started hoping for a game console.

“This is the kind I would love and I can’t wait for Santa to bring it to me,” he told his sister the evening before Christmas.

He did not see the little grimace she made because...