“I’d like to compete in the singing competition, please.” Katie Johnson plunked down five one-dollar bills and the rest in change on the table at the local elementary school.

The man looked up at the young girl. “Do you have a guardian here to sign for you?”

“No, my grandma’s at work.”

“Sorry, but you have to have an adult sign for you. We can’t take minors unless they’re accompanied by an adult.”

Dejected, Katie picked up her entrance fee and stood back from the line of people waiting to pay their money. She looked around for anyone she knew, but they were all strangers to her, having moved into the area just the week before. An empty bench sat behind her, and since she was tired, she walked back to it and sat down. It was a hot trip to get to the school for nothing. Realizing that this town wasn’t going to be her friend after all, tears teased her eyes. She didn’t know any of the kids in the school either, because it was summer vacation.

“Is this seat taken?”

Looking up, she saw an old woman standing beside her with a walker. “No.” Katie grinned, devising her plan. “Are you here with someone?”

“Oh, no. My family’s long dead.” She pointed toward the nursing home across the street as she sat down. “That’s where I live, and my friends are my family.”

“I have a question for you. Would you adopt me for the next ten minutes or so?”

“Adopt you? I don’t even know you.”

Katie reached out and shook the old woman’s hand. “Well, my name’s Katie Johnson. I want to enter the singing contest, but I need an adult to sign for me. My grandma has to work today, so she can’t be here.”

The old woman stared at the young girl. “Where are your parents?”

Katie lowered her eyes. “They died in a car crash three years ago. I’m the oldest of my family and my grandma raises us. We just moved to Wisconsin for her job and live out in the country.”

“How did you get here?”

“I walked, but that’s beside the point. Registration is almost over. Will you do it for me? Will you sign as my guardian so I can sing?”

“That’s a tough decision. If they find out I’m not related to you-”

“They won’t. I doubt I’ll win. I just want to be heard. I want to touch their hearts with my song.”

The old woman grinned. “I bet you could win on your looks alone. That red hair and those freckles tell me that you’re a fighter and you get what you want.” The woman stood up, positioned her walker and strolled beside the girl to the registration table, facing the man behind the table. “She’s with me, and I’ll sign for her.”

“That’s fine,” the man said. “Registration is about over, so make it snappy.”

Katie grinned, handed over her ten dollars and filled out the registration form. As soon as the old woman signed her name, Katie hugged her in thanks.

“Good luck,” the woman whispered. “I’ll be watching.”

“Thank you.” Katie walked inside the building using a side door, joining the crowd of other contestants backstage. They were all practicing their songs and warming up their voices, but Katie didn’t need to. She was ready. She’d been singing the whole way to the school, and knew her song backward and forward.

After the call, the first contestant walked onstage. Curious, Katie peeked out from behind the curtain and saw a packed auditorium with three judges sitting at the front table.

Singing in what sounded like an operatic voice, Katie couldn’t understand the first contestant’s words. His voice sounded like he had something up his nose, and she couldn’t help but shake her head. He hadn’t the privilege of her parents’ tutoring. Being professional musicians, they’d taught her so much before they were taken from her.

“Fantastic voice,” the first judge said. “What a way to kick off this competition.”

“I’d like to know what you were singing,” the second judge said. “Was that even English?”

Katie smiled.

The third judge was even more brutal. “Were you even trying to for a single pitch? That was horrendous and hurt my ears!”

The crowd chuckled, and Katie knew she’d better do her best when her turn came. Her goal wasn’t to win, but to make the people feel her words, in memory of her parents. She wanted them to hear the song, to bring the dead alive again. Winning the money would be nice, but it wasn’t everything in the world.

As soon as the next contestant was called, a well-dressed young girl with blonde curls waltzed on-stage. “My name is Victoria Lynn, and I’ve had six years of voice lessons under the famous Keaton Fitch, from Broadway.” She looked down at herself, grinning. “And I just bought these clothes from New York City, and they cost a ton of money.”

The people in the crowd began to titter, and Katie knew it was because this girl was in love with herself, her money and her clothes. Katie looked down at herself. Even though she was wearing her best dress and shoes, it was nothing compared to the girl on stage. Katie had dusty shoes from walking down a dirt road to get to the competition, and her clothes were old and tattered. But she knew her real goal wasn’t to show off her clothes-it was to share in her song.

The girl began to sing, and it was all Katie could do not to hold her ears. Standing a little bit taller, Katie realized it wasn’t what someone looked like or how much money they spent that made them a good singer. The notes came from inside, and no matter how much someone practiced, songs and feeling couldn’t come from a wallet.

Since there were over thirty contestants, Katie’s interest in others waned and she walked behind the curtain to the other side of the stage. She heard a man humming along with the song on the stage and followed the sound to a small room. Looking around to make sure she was alone, she opened the door and saw the janitor sweeping the floor.

“Oh, I didn’t know who you were,” she said when the man looked up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

He was an older man, slightly hunched over, with a beard and a potbelly. “Oh, it’s no bother. I’d love to have the company. Are you in the competition today?”

“Yes. I’m the last contestant.”

“Are you nervous?”

Katie glanced out the door, swallowing hard, then faced the man. “More than you know. I don’t need to win the contest, but want my song to be heard. Is that too much to ask?”

“Not at all. You know, I’ve been at this job for a long time, and have heard a lot of people sing in this annual competition. Trust me-none of them are worthy of the winnings. Take a peek out there at the crowd, and tell me if they’re impressed.”

Katie walked out of the room and over to the curtain, moving it back ever so slightly. People were everywhere, with cameras set up in the back. She saw several people looking rather disgusted. Some had their arms crossed over their chests, and others were actually leaving. She knew they’d paid good money to see the competition, so for any of them to leave was a true indication of what they thought of the performance thus far.

Katie returned to the janitor. “Thank you for telling me. I know what you mean, and that’s a tough crowd.”

“Sure is, but they’re not hearing any songs that mean anything to the contestants. They’re just spewing out what they think people want to hear.”

“Thank you.” Katie shook the man’s hand, then walked around the back and waited with the contestants again. She stood away from the rest, rehearsing the words in her head, just for something to do.

She paced while waiting, seeing some of the other contestants judging her with cruel eyes because of her old clothes. Katie ignored them. Her goal wasn’t to win a popularity contest-it was to share her song.

While pacing, she listened to the judges, noticing that the third judge had a nasty word for every single contestant. If she could just touch him with her song, she’d have achieved her goal.

After the rest of the contestants had competed, she wiped her sweaty hands on her dress.

“And now, our last contestant,” the female judge said.

While smiling, Katie took a deep breath and headed toward the microphone in the middle of the stage. The old woman who’d signed as her guardian was sitting in the front row of the auditorium, staring up at Katie with a grin.

“What’s your name?” the first judge asked.

“I’m Katie Johnson.”

“We’ve never seen you before. Do you live around here?”

“Yes, I just moved to this area last week.”

“Oh, I see. And what are you going to sing?”

“An original song called Daddy’s Girl.”

The female judge nodded. “Do you have the music for your song so our pianist can accompany you?”

Katie glanced around at the man at the piano. “I didn’t think I’d need it. No, I don’t.”

“That’s fine. Start whenever you’re ready.”

Some of the people in the crowd crossed their arms, seeming to want to find her singing lacking. Katie smiled, took a deep breath and began her song. She sang of the dreams of a father for his daughter, the love of life, of reaching out to others and feeling the connection to her family in her soul.

As she sang the middle part of the song, she studied some of the faces in the crowd. Some people had their mouths opened in awe while a few of the women wiped their tears and one man had his eyes shut as if mesmerized by the words. She didn’t know what to think but persevered, belting out the next to last line. Then, remembering her parents, she sang the last line as sweetly as she could.

When reaching her last note, the crowd went wild. The entire audience stood, clapping and cheering for her. She didn’t know how to react, so she turned and walked off stage, happy to share her song.

“Congratulations,” the first contestant said as she walked backstage. “You sang from your heart and sounded fantastic!”

The rest of the contestants joined in, forming a circle around Katie. Even the spoiled child with clothes from New York shook her hand.

“Would all the contestants return to the stage?” the judge said into the microphone.

Everyone filed out, with Katie on the far end. The judges conferred for a few minutes over the entrants until finally, the third judge, the nastiest of the three, faced the crowd of entrants.

“We didn’t get a chance to talk to Katie Johnson, the last of the contestants, because she walked off-stage. However, it’s not a problem.”

Katie knew at that moment, she’d lost the contest, but at least she’d gotten to share her song, which was all she really wanted to do.

The judge read off the list of three runner-ups to the winner, but Katie’s name wasn’t mentioned. Standing at the edge of the stage, she felt an urge to slip behind the curtains.

“And the winner is…”

Katie lowered her eyes and sighed. At least she’d tried. She’d taken all her cash and borrowed money from her four brothers to pay the entry fee. Now she had to figure out a way to pay them back.

“…Katie Johnson!”

Her mouth fell as she sucked in a breath and looked up, her face turning pale. She’d won? How could that be? She didn’t have the fancy training everyone else in the competition had.

“Katie, would you step center stage so we can talk to you for a moment?” the third judge asked with a smile. He hadn’t smiled at any of the other contestants the whole time, making her dumbfounded.

She approached the microphone. “Yes, sir?”

“We have a few questions for you. First, where did you find that beautiful song?”

She leaned forward and studied the eyes of the people in the crowd. “My father wrote it for me, the day before my parents were killed in a car accident.”

Mumblings through the crowd had her confused. Some of the women covered their mouths and wiped their eyes. Had she said something wrong?

“So who’s your legal guardian now?”

“My grandmother.”

“Is she here?” the female judge asked.

Katie lowered her eyes. This was it. They wouldn’t let her win without her legal guardian. “No. She’s at work so she can support my four brothers and me.”

“How did you get into the competition?” the third judge asked. “Pope, Wisconsin’s singing contest has rules, and minors have to have someone sign for them. I highly doubt you’re eighteen.”

“You’re right. I’m only twelve.” She turned and began walking off-stage.

“Wait!” A voice from the crowd stopped Katie. The old woman with the walker hobbled past the judges and took a microphone. “I’m her guardian in this contest, and I’ll vouch for her.”

“But Mrs. Pope, you have no family left,” the female judge said. “You can’t possibly be related to her.”

“Not by blood, but I adopted her right before this competition. My family founded this town as a friendly place. We’ve always welcomed newcomers as if they were our family. This young girl is no stranger to me, and I’ll vouch for her.”

The janitor walked forward from backstage. “I’ll vouch for her too.”

“As will I,” came a voice from the back of the auditorium. Others joined in, and within a few minutes, the entire auditorium had all declared themselves to be Katie’s guardian.

Mrs. Pope opened her purse and took out her wallet. “As a matter of fact, I’m going to match the five thousand dollar award.” Pulling out a wad of cash, she placed it in front of the judges, then turned to the rest of the crowd. “If you enjoyed Katie’s angelic song, feel free to add to the ten thousand dollars so she can share her voice with others.”

People began walking to the judges’ table, plunking down dollar after dollar. Katie stood on the stage, dumbfounded at the generosity of her new hometown. She approached the microphone, thanking everyone over and over again and enjoying hugs from all around her.

Katie may have been poor and without parents, but that day, she inherited a whole town of friends who’d called themselves her relatives. All she had to do to touch their souls and make them dream was to sing her father’s song.