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The photograph showed a two\u2011story white farmhouse with peeling paint, broken windows, and an overgrown yard. It looked like something from a horror movie. But it was a house with land, and the starting bid was less than her month\u2019s rent.<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s best friend, Tasha, thought she\u2019d lost her mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya, honey, there\u2019s a reason it\u2019s so cheap,\u201d Tasha said over coffee the next morning. \u201cThat place probably has a collapsing foundation or black mold. Or both. What about Ethan\u2019s asthma? And where would you even get the money to fix it up?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Maya admitted. \u201cBut I do know that in twenty\u2011nine days, we\u2019ll have nowhere to live. No one will rent to me with my credit score. And this\u2026 this could be something that\u2019s actually ours\u2014something no one can take away.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the morning of the auction, Maya called in sick to her coffee shop job. She put on her nicest outfit\u2014a blue coat she\u2019d bought years ago for job interviews\u2014and tucked the envelope with $900 in cash inside her purse. Her hands trembled as she dropped Ethan off at school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWish me luck, baby,\u201d she said, kissing the top of his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d he asked, confused.<\/p>\n