A Melody Of You

Emma

"You become someone else when you're with children."

I look at Danny and smile. "You think so?"

He takes a sip of his coffee and nods with his childish smile. "You become...soft."

He's grown on me. More and more, I find myself smiling with him and my heart does a warm flutter at the sight of his little smile. He's the only man I don't get annoyed at listening to for over twenty minutes.

So I grow soft for a moment and let him see my heart a little as I say, "Children have a pureness that adults cannot understand sometimes. We grow up and let heartbreak and mistakes take away the childish happiness inside of us. I include myself. We all let our hearts harden at one point where that pureness can't ever be the same. When I am with children, I can find those pure memories that brighten my day. Their smiles...it's enough to remember that there is still hope. They are free. They are brave. They are naive and learn every day. Can't we be like this again?"

I sit back and look at my iced coffee with a soft sigh. "But sometimes we even bring children to reality too soon...we lose ourselves a little bit when we decide to silence their little hearts. When we make them go through the same heartbreak we have gone through. It's not fair to them. They are innocent. We chose not to be innocent when we decided to grow up."

Danny no longer has his grin. He is serious and his eyes search my expression. I can tell he is letting my words sink in. I can tell that it has made his heart flutter with inspiration as his dark eyes sparkle. He only does a small nod and softly says, "You have always been amazing, Emma..."

I look back at him and see that childish smile again. He always does this. He always brings back the small glimpse of the past we shared briefly. A past I tried to move from, but he finds comfort in it. It makes sense to him and for once, I agree. It was his little conversations that I found myself most comfortable. We were always at ease and free. The world wasn't so difficult when I would sit behind my computer and he would wave at me with the same sparkly eyes.

I do a small chuckle and gesture at him. "And you are still quite perceptive."

His eyes grow wide with surprise and he does a small happy scoff. "You remember?"

I roll my eyes at him with a small smirk and stand to throw my cup in the trash. But he quickly follows me and says, "You remember me! You always have! I knew it!"

"Get it together, Danny. You're going to scare the kids." I give my favorite twins in the waiting room a sweet wave and they recognize me. They happily stand to give me a tight hug. "You two are so big!"

My phone suddenly begins to ring and I give it to Danny so he can answer for me as I sit next to the twins to listen to their stories of their new family. Soon, Danny comes back to me and says, "It's Ms. Wong Cristina. She says it's urgent."

I quickly say goodbye to the twins and step to the side after I take my phone from Danny. He quietly talks with the twins as I answer. "Hello, Cristina?"

"Hey, girl. Are you busy right now? I'm just...I don't know what happened with Jordan Valdez. Did the police find anything?"

"They sent in a report this morning, but I have not had time to look for it. Did she go back? Is she hurt again?"

"Her mother came this week and..." Worry makes my stomach flip when I hear the nervous tone in her voice. "She threatened to sue me for reporting her."

I can't help but scoff. Sometimes people are stupid enough to give themselves away. I gesture at Danny to follow me and he quickly says goodbye to the kids before catching up to me. "Don't worry, Cristina. She cannot hurt you but just in case she decides to take this to court in some way, I recommend you get yourself a lawyer. I'll keep you updated."

"O-okay. What...what are you going to do now?"

I take the report from the police department and look through it. A single sentence on his file and Crsitina's threat story is enough for me to close it and start to my office. "I'm going to pay those parents a visit myself."

After getting my badge and doing a quick run-through with my boss, I drive towards Jordan's house. I check the time and realize that the children must be getting home from school now. It is a perfect time to arrive by surprise with families like these.

Danny seems nervous in the passenger seat. He keeps looking out the window to distract himself and then sits back in his seat. He finally finds the courage to ask, "What will happen if you find anything suspicious?"

My heart falls at the process I have memorized many years ago. But I keep firm. I keep strong for that little heart as I explain to Danny the long process.

We respectfully enter the house after we show our warrant. The parents or guardians must abide by our investigation. Any signs of aggression will bring the police into the picture so they can cooperate. While I know where this will end if there is aggression, I still must interview all members of the household. I must ask questions about the living conditions of that household and the resources used for the family. I must ask the child if they feel safe. This is often the hardest part. They are often quiet.

She was very quiet...

They are very afraid to open up because they are used to the threats. But they eventually open up with each hard question. I consider all the rules for child neglect and abuse. I consider the cultures and their regulations. But not a single culture would threaten their child so much by burning their hands on a stovetop if they don't obey. No child should have dark bruises even after a few slaps.

Most of them lie like she does. She is fearful of getting in trouble and getting hurt. She can't even look at me in the eyes.

The hardest part is the separation. I have the authority to either keep this child safe or keep the family together. I always have to choose the child above all. I always decide to choose safety.

With firm respect, I tell the parents of my suspicions and my authority to take the child with me. I tell them that I would rather have her stay with us because I do not find any safety for her. Like most parents, they get angry. They are shooting burning eyes at me and some even start to yell at me. I tell them of their rights to appeal to court to have their child back in 72 hours, excluding Sundays, and to cooperate with us for the rest of this process at our company. I explain to them that we can make an agreement that the parents have to sign and I have to make constant visits to see if the plan is being kept for the child's safety.

I stay strong for the child holding my hand. I stand tall to their threats of suing me or Cristina. Even Danny stays close to my side. He keeps a firm look and his hands are in fists. He is ready to call the police if they get aggressive. But after the agreement to a plan, they let me go. They angrily watch their daughter leave without looking back. Numb tears fall down her cheeks, but I smile at her and she returns it. It almost seems like she is relieved to be in my car. She even looks out the window as we drive off and she watches her family disappear.

I look in the rearview mirror at Jordan. She is expressionless now. I understand her. It's what makes my heart break every time I have to do this. They barely understand what will happen next. Most don't truly start to cry until after court day.

"What now?" Danny sadly says.

"We keep her safe," I say in Korean so she does not understand. "These parents will take us to court. They will try to deny all of this. They will probably sign this contract we make with them to have their daughter back with a few conditions. They will probably take Cristina to court, too."

"Will she be okay? She is only a doctor."

"She will. The only person I am not sure about is Jordan."

"Why?" Danny's eyes carry a shine of fear. He knows more than anyone why.

"Because people have always been good at hiding and lying."

That's another reason why I love children. The only reason why I dedicate my life to them is because even when they don't say a single word, their eyes never lie.