BRUNSWICK, Maryland — There’s no straight road from Brunswick, Maryland, to Central Texas. If there were, it would run straight through a backyard shed filled with fabric, thread, and compassion.

That’s where Michelle Kitts-Boismenu has spent the last two months—seated at a humming sewing machine, surrounded by stacks of colorful fabric and the names of strangers who have now become part of her life.

When historic floods swept through Texas , taking more than 130 lives, Kitts-Boismenu couldn’t look away.

“I rolled it around in my head and said I need to do something,” she said.

Her “something” turned into stitching. A pillow for every adult victim. A stuffed bear for every child.

Before sewing each one, she read through every obituary. Every name, every story.

Each creation carries

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