The secret - an Evansson story

3

~September 2009~
A small silver car drove along the dark and wet roads, the only light coming from the headlights of the car. The windshield wipers rapidly moved back and forth, removing the droplets of rain as the downpour continued.

The little girl sat in the backseat of the car, safely buckled into her pink and black car seat. Her head rested against the window as she slept soundly, the only sound being the rain pattering against the roof of the car.

Her parents sat quietly in the front, her father driving carefully while her mother gazed out the window, watching the water drip down the window. It was a peaceful drive home.

The family continued to drive past many exits on the highway until they reached their own, driving down the ramp to an intersection. As they waited patiently for the light to turn green, the mother started humming a song that was softly playing on the radio.

The car inched forward, just as the light turned green, attempting to make a left.

The girl opened her eyes, feeling the motion of the last turn before they were home. Where she could get in her fuzzy pajamas and into her nice warm bed, listening to her mother read her a bedtime story.

Suddenly, the girl was blinded by a pair of headlights that seemed to move closer and closer to her.

"Shit!" Her parent's swears and gasps frightened her as she didn't understand what was happening right away.

A big truck collided with their car, just missing the girl's door. The collision caused the car to skid sideways, slamming into a pole that lit up the streets.

The car was mangled almost beyond recognition from the impact of the truck and pole.

The windshield was shattered along with all four of the car door windows, letting the rain flood the inside of the car.

The airbags suddenly deployed, a little too late. The impact was done, the damage was done, but the pain and discomfort lingered in the girl's body.

The girl opened her eyes slowly, everything blurry. She was confused as everything she saw in front of her was contorted. The girl blinked over and over, trying to see clearly but nothing worked.

Her heart thumped louder and faster as her eyes darted back and forth between her mother and father. Not a muscle was moving, no sounds, nothing.

"Mommy?" She called out, tears rolling down her cheeks as she tried to unbuckle herself and climb to her mother's side. But nothing worked, she was squished between the seats.

The girl turned her head, looking out of the shattered window. Her neck ached as she struggled to hold her head up. Her ears rang as every other sound became muffled.

The truck's headlights illuminated the collision, continuing to blind the girl. A man emerged from the truck, stumbling over to the car with a phone in his hand.

Smoke started to rise from the engine of the car, the rain not strong enough to extinguish the small fire that had started as well. The sight of the fire made the man back away from the unrecognizable car, leaving the child.

Sirens could be heard in the distance as the girl continued to call out for her parents. Red and blue lights flashed throughout the dark streets as the ambulance and police made their way closer to the intersection.

The shock of the collision overcame the child, forcing her muscles to tense and her eyes to widen. She could hear the muffled sounds of the door being ripped off the car. She could feel a pair of hands unbuckle her from the car seat and carry her to safety.

As the paramedic placed her on the stretcher, the girl began to cry. She suffered through excruciating pain, all throughout her body. She could feel blood trickling down her face and arms from the glass that sliced through her skin.

"Everything's gonna be okay." The paramedic said in a low and calming voice as he secured the child's neck with a cervical collar. The ambulance began to speed down the road as the child looked around frantically.

"Mommy?" She called out, her voice barely a whisper. But there was no answer, just a sorrowful look from the paramedic.

The girl had lost consciousness on the rest of the ride to the hospital. She was alone, with no more family left to love and care for her. But the man behind the wheel of the truck had everything.

__

A woman sat in her office, reading through the adoption files of a little girl who had just been emitted into the hospital.

The child needed a home for when she wakes up. But the most important thing was the child needed a family who would be able to care for her.

As the woman read through the girl's file, she noticed that one of the birth parents never signed away their parental rights.

That's a good sign. She thought, flipping through more papers. It was almost always the father that never signed away their rights, and in most cases, it's because the father doesn't know the child exists.

Maybe she could get the birth parents to care for the child, even if it's just temporary.

After scanning through the six year old's file once again, the woman spotted a phone number, belonging to the birth father.

Hi Chris, I was informed that you never signed away your parental rights after the birth of your child 6 years ago. Can we meet up to discuss further details?

It wasn't long, maybe an hour, until the woman received a text from Chris.

Yes, please let me know.

This wasn't the first time the woman has revealed an unknown child to the birth father. It was always the same routine.

Is tomorrow at 11am alright?

The woman just needed a temporary home for the child. But if she could get the girl's parents to keep her, that's one less kid to worry about.

That's perfect, see you then.