Reading Practice The Paper Boat Every morning, Samir made a paper boat and placed it in the small stream behind his house. He was twelve years old, quiet, and always alone. No one knew why he sent the boats, but he never went missing. One morning, a girl named Laila moved in next door. She saw Samir by the stream and walked over. “What do you write inside the boats?” she asked. Samir looked surprised. “Letters,” he said. “For my brother.” “Where is he?” she asked. “Somewhere I can’t reach him,” he answered quietly. Laila asked no more. The next day, she joined him, folding her boat. “Whose letter is your letter?” he asked. “Mother,” she said. “She left last year.” Together, they sent their boats down the stream, two silent messages floating into the unknown. Since then, neither of them has been alone.