Maria seemed to find it amusing at the time.

She gave me a faint glance, then set the umbrella down and turned to leave.

But I quickly handed the umbrella back to her and frantically rummaged through my backpack.

"I can give you money—I have a lot of money."

"Look, this is all the money I've saved."

In reality, my "lot of money" was just a little over a hundred dollars.

But that was everything I had.

Maria's voice was a bit muffled.

"Kid, I'll be your mom."

After she said that, I smiled.

For seven years straight, she never went back on her word.

Whenever I needed a mom,...