Essay Question Time!

Read the following passage, then respond to the question with a short essay.

The file has been found!
File is readable -- reading the file.

Sunset is the time of day when our sky meets the outer space solar winds.
There are blue, pink, and purple swirls,
spinning and twisting, like clouds of balloons caught in a whirlwind.

Please type your answer into the box below.

File is there and readable -- reading the mytext file.

Enter Essay Here: Enter your essay here!

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CODE FOLLOWS

<?php
include('includes/header.php');

error_reporting(E_ALL);

echo("<h1>Essay Question Time!</h1>");
echo("<h2>Read the following passage, then respond to the question with a short essay.</h2>");

$myFile = 'essaytext.txt';

if(file_exists($myFile))
{
    echo('The file has been found! <br>');

    $handle = fopen($myFile, 'r');    // try reading the file
    if($handle)
    {
        echo('File is readable -- reading the file. <br><br>');

        // read the contents of the counter file
        $content= fread($handle,  filesize($myFile));
        fclose($handle);
        $content = nl2br($content);    // add new line breaks (i.e., <br>)
        echo("<p> $content</p>");
    }
    else
    {
        echo("Cannot read the $myFile <br>");
    }
}
else
{
    echo('File NOT found! <br>');
}

echo('<h2>Please type your answer into the box below.</h2>');

$step = isset($_POST['step']) ? $_POST['step'] : 0;
$str = isset($_POST['message']) ? $_POST['message'] : '';

$str = htmlspecialchars($str);
echo($str);
echo('<br>');

$file='text4.txt';

if ($step == 1)
{
    $handle = fopen($file, 'w');
    if ($handle)
    {
        echo('Writing message to the text4 file. <br>');

        fwrite($handle, $str);
        fclose($handle);
    }
    else
    {
        echo('Cannot write to the text4 file! <br>');
    }
}
if (file_exists($file))        // does file exist?
{
    $handle = fopen($file, 'r');    // try reading the file
    if ($handle)
    {
        echo('File is there and readable -- reading the mytext file. <br>');

        // read the contents of the mytext file and place in $str
        $str = fread($handle, filesize($file));
        // scrub $str
        $str = htmlspecialchars($str);
        fclose($handle);
    }
    else
    {
        echo("Cannot read the mytext file! <br>");
    }
}
else
{
    echo('File is NOT there -- creating a new mytext file. <br>');

    // create a new mytext file
    $handle = fopen($file, 'w') or die('Could not create file.');
    fwrite($handle, '');
    fclose($handle);
}
// $str = nl2br($str);
?>
<br><br>
<form action="" method="POST">
    <label for="message">Enter Essay Here:</label>
    <textarea id="message" name="message" rows="10" cols="50">
 <?php echo($str); ?>
  </textarea>
    <br><br>
    <input type="hidden" name="step" value="1">
    <input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

<?php
include('includes/footer.php');
?>

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