A SHORT STORY:
ASHERINA
—- A LITTLE SURPRISE —-
This is the third visit to the agency for Raul and Selina. Their decision to adopt an older child still feels right, but the visitations with the agency, all the pictures, all the needy faces, have left them a bit overwhelmed. It still seems like the right thing to do, but there is a gnawing sense of doom when they consider the problems they could be inheriting from these neglected and discarded children. Would an infant be any better? Maybe. The infant would not have suffered the trauma of abandonment or abuse like so many of these orphans, but it is still true that the fruit falls not far from the tree. Without intimate knowledge of the birth parents the child may still be full of many, possibly terrifying, surprises. In light of the risks Selina is committed, and Raul is supportive, and the next appointment will be when they choose, and accept the responsibilities of raising a child that very well may be a special needs child.
“Raul, you know ..” Selina speaks, looking at Raul to make sure he is listening, “I still have this sense of a calling. One of these kids is calling me, calling out to us. I just know it.”
“I sense it too.” Raul replied. “But you have said that so often that it could be I’m just programmed to feel it. I think this will be good for us, for you and me. So I’m totally supportive. But I also know that once we take this plunge, it isn’t going to be about us any more. Our lives will be sucked into an orbit around another creature, one that will have more influence on who and what we become than any other influence we have ever known. I look forward to our next visit, when we will have an extra passenger on the way home. This will change us for the better.” Selina smiles affectionately at Raul as he fumbles to get the keys into the ignition, always the cautious one, checking the doors, the windows, the mirrors. Raul suddenly turns pale, and tenses up, jerking his door open and screaming at Selina. “Get out of the car, quick, we’re not alone.” Selina flings open her door, a taxi screeching as it barely misses her, as she dashes out of the car.
“Holy F****** S***, Raul!. What’s going on? I almost got killed.”
“We threw our overcoats in the back seat before going into the agency. As I was checking the mirror, one of them moved!” Raul explained, still pale, and shaking. “Someone is in the back seat, hiding under our overcoats. I’m calling the police – except my cell is still in the car.”
“I’ll check it out.” Selina said, always the brave one.
“Stay away from the car, Selina!” Raul shouted, but too late. Selina was already peering into the back window.
“Raul, come here!” Selina commanded. “I see the problem. Look at this. We have a little stow-away.”
Raul approached the vehicle and from under the edge of an overcoat, barely visible, was a tiny little hand. Selina was already cautiously opening the door to the back seat, and uncovering a lovely little girl, apparently five or six years old.
“Wow!” Raul exclaimed. “How did she get in there. I was sure I locked the car. Let’s get her back into the building. I’m sure they are looking for her by now.”
“No. They were locking the doors for the night as we left. We’ll take her home and call the authorities from there. She’s barely got any clothes on and she’s cold.” Selina said.
“I’m not so sure about that. It might be kidnapping.” Raul cautioned.
“If anyone was kidnapped, it was us.” Selina joked. “Get in the car and drive. I’ll get in the back and take care of our little surprise.”
“What is your name, Honey?” Selina asked. There was no response, except for a smile and the penetrating stare of two huge sky blue eyes. Selina pulled her close to keep her warm and the little one snuggled up as if she had known Selina since birth. Raul unlocked the apartment door, checking inside, as usual, before allowing the girls to enter. Selina carried the child, covered with an overcoat to keep her warm, her head laying comfortably on Selina’s shoulder. Raul sensed that if there was any way possible, that this little stow-away was from the orphanage, that an important decision has already been made. This little child had bonded with Selina in about the time it took for the light to travel from her eyes to Selina’s. Raul also sensed that things were not as they appeared, that there were some extenuating circumstances that would make this adoption unwise, or impossible. But Selina had come home with a child, and he could see the heart strings already beginning to intertwine. “I hope this works out .. ” Raul thought to himself.
