Finding my Forever

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Now

The world outside the tinted window blurred as a jet-black hatchback drove in the rain down the motorway. It was evening and getting darker as the car drove down the quiet roads towards their destination, which was a quiet town. The wind pushes the grass, forcing it to lie down and submit to its power. Birds were trying to fight against the wind but soon gave up and went with the flow.

"I know this is all new to you, sweetheart but please be good." A soft, hesitant voice broke the silence from the driver's seat.

Please let this one work, Paige Fields thought with a worried and tired sigh. Being a social worker was difficult. Her profession involved seeing different families and children, often helping them solve problems or helping them in a crisis. Her work had always been challenging, but she wouldn't change it for the world. It helped her see the difficulties children and adults faced behind closed doors and opened her eyes. Paige was always taught not to grow attached to her clients, but Elisa Fayers was different.

They had heard of the girl's name more than once within social services. Social workers who had worked with her in the past would say how impossible she was to work with, how cold she was, how she hardly spoke, and when she did, it was sarcastic as anything. No social worker had stayed with Elisa and her case for more than a month, giving up on the child and deeming her hopeless. Stories of her circulated the workplace, which made others shy away from ever having to meet her. The day Paige was called in to meet said little girl, she was ready to turn down her case without even knowing anything about the child. She was ready to say no to her boss, who insisted she was the only person for the job. But the moment Paige laid eyes on the little girl who looked small and vulnerable in the metal chair holding onto a little teddy bear, all her negative thoughts flew out the window. How could she leave this child with lifeless eyes to the jaws of the world?

Elisa Fayers was a particular case and a special little girl who needed love. Who needed a family who loved her despite her odd character, who simply needed to be a child. Reading through her file tugged at Paige's heart as she read the papers which spoke of the little girls' life. The many families she had passed through. She swore to always be there for the lost girl, and eight years later she knew exactly how she functioned. Elisa was like a lot of little 16-year-old girls. But at the same time, she was not. Paige knew exactly what made the child sad, her triggers, and what made her angry and hurt. She knew that the child was patient, but if she wanted something, she would do anything to get it. Paige called this arrogance and stubbornness. But Elisa called it determination. Despite her little trouble-making ways and little tricks she loved to play, especially on Paige, she could not help but love the girl and praise her to her family every time Elisa had done something amazing. Whether it was speaking more than yes or no or just smiling at her, Paige was there for it all and was proud of every small achievement.

Finding a family for Elisa was the hardest. She lived happily with her mother Delilah until she was murdered in cold blood. They never found the killer, and Elisa never saw the incident as she was out cold when they found her, so they closed the case, helping the child move on and hoping they could give her the life she deserved. They had an inkling that Elisa knew or saw something as she would tense at the mere mention of her mother. But to help her heal from the loss, they simply put her into therapy and tried to help her focus on the future, something that didn't work for a girl who didn't want to speak.

She was only eight at the time- desperately needing a family. They had gotten in touch with her father, only for him to refuse to take her in. Paige could not understand what parent wouldn't want their child but knew it would break the little girl's heart, and so instead of telling Elisa that her father didn't want her, she told her that he wasn't able to look after her.