Freckles...Chapter 6 (minor issues with consistency)

She left the three of them downstairs by themselves. She ascended the steps herself, separated from the group. She knew exactly where the young girl would have been. Every step she breathed deeply. Tabitha entered the room. Beside the bed on the floor, in a half huddle, lay little Desmin. She had a smile on her face, with her eyes closed. One of her hands was strangely up on the bed, the fingers clasped together as if holding something. What a sight it was for Tabitha. She crouched low unto the ground next to her goddaughter. She looked at her sweet face—it was in such beautiful visage—and her medium-length red hair was accented by the brightness of her cheeks.

“Poor dear, you must have walked so far this morning.” Tabitha said stroking her girl’s white face. It was warm and tender. Desmin had a glow about her that she had never before seen in her. She seemed brighter and more alive. Not like the statue that had been living with her before. Before Desmin was so solemn and lifeless and now so cheery and vigorous—she is now so full of life. What a contrast from before. It was quite remarkable.

She lay beside her, Tabitha let out a tear. It was quite unexpected, but the feeling of sorrow caught her off guard. She knew why Desmin had come to his house, her house. She expected that Desmin did not feel very at home in her place. It must be strange to sup-planted into a new place away from everything she knew. Tabitha felt that she might have done the same in a similar circumstance. Her tears flowed more readily. She touched Desmin’s hand that was up on the bed. Tabitha let her hand stay there a moment and then gently lifted it off. The little creature stirred only a little and turned in body in towards Tabitha. “Oh, my dear,” whispered Tabitha.

“Mom,” she whispered back and Desmin wrapped her hands around Tabitha. It really set the tears in deeper and with greater frequency. They rolled off her face and found their way to Desmin’s cheek. Each drop made Desmin flinch a little. “Mom, why are you crying? Please don’t cry. We are together now.” Tabitha was shocked by hearing her voice and that she was calling her mother. Not wanting to break the spell, Tabitha said nothing. She would not disturb this moment for the whole world. It was probably the most at peace the little girl had been for some time.

‘The poor child thinks I am her mother and that she is still alive come back for her,’ she said to herself.

The three gentlemen happened upon them in this moment—a crying woman in the embrace of a young child. “It’s Desmin,” said Mark in a resounding voice. Then he fell silent for a time. Tabitha looked up with tear-stained eyes, red on the outsides and still almost brimming over with new tears. Mark sighed silently at the sight and wished to sweep her into his arms again. The two officers were also there, right behind Mark. Silence filled the room and deepened. The only sounds that could be heard were the soft sobs of Tabitha and the tiny sniffles that came from her. It was as if no one wanted to speak and just looked on the sight with awe and respect. They all didn’t want to break the spell that was in the room. Finally, the lieutenant dared to speak and broke the silence, “Oh my gosh,” he said ever so quietly, “She is here. Thank God we have found her.” Tabitha was again looking down at the child with the love of a mother. Desmin was like a child in her arms. Tabitha looked up at them again and said respectfully, “Yes, we have found her.”

“Poor girl,” Freddy remarked with sympathy. To his surprise, when he looked down he noticed the child’s raw red feet. They were bleeding unto the rug besides the bed. “Do you see?” he asked as he pointed to her feet, “Her feet are all red bleeding.” When he said this, Tabitha, looked down and saw it, too. “Must be from all the walking on her bare feet from my house to her house that has caused this. What should we do? Should we wake her?”

“I think she needs to go to the hospital to be checked out!” stated the lieutenant drily. “Mark will you drive her and Tabitha over to Mercy Hospital?” Mark nodded and added, turning away from him to Tabitha. “Let me help carry her to the car.”

“We will follow you in the patrol car there,” was the reply from the lieutenant. Mark turned his head to him and nodded again. Then looked down to Tabitha again.

“Let me help you,” Mark cajoled. Tabitha whispered, “Okay,” as she looked up at him and then back at her. “Sweetheart, we are going to carry you out, okay? Don’t be afraid.” Tabitha shifted her body away from the girl and in reaction to that Desmin clung more tightly to her. Mark bent down and gently pulled Desmin away from Tabitha. Desmin’s lethargic eyes sputtered open for a moment as she was being lifted. She groaned in reply as if it was hurting her to be carried. She arched her back and then fell completely limp in his arms. “Be careful,” added Tabitha. “I will,” reassured Mark.

They all followed Mark down the stairs and through the house. “See you are Mercy Hospital!” the two officers called out after them. “We will follow you in the police car. Tabitha was wringing her hands all the way through the house and did not keep her eyes off of poor Desmin. “Please open the back door,” Mark said, “she is getting heavier by the second,” he laughed. She glided in front of him and opened the door. He put her inside, head first followed by her head. Desmin had already gotten into the other side of the car and she laid Desmin’s head on her lap. To her in that moment, there was only the two of them. She flinched as Mark closed the car, but soon there was only the two of them in the world—Tabitha and her goddaughter.

Mark started up the car and they headed off to Mercy.

In the other car, the lieutenant just watched the whole scene unfold. As soon as Mark fired up his engine, they did as well. With the lieutenant at the wheel, and Freddy in the passenger seat, they pulled away from the curb.

“What a strange happening and situation this is!” said Freddy, “I have never seen anything quite like this!” The lieutenant looked at him and replied, “Yes, it is certainly a strange, but not the strangest thing I have seen. I am just relieved to know that we found her.”

“Yes,” Freddy replied, “but I still wonder what made her come here to her old home?”

“It must have been that she wanted to see her mother. I was there that night when the call came. Do you know what happened when I came into the room?”

“Um, I have only heard stories from the other officers and personnel that were there that night,” came Freddy’s reply, “but what I did hear was horrific. But, you said you were there, so tell me what you saw,” he implored the Freddy. 

The lieutenant began, “I got the call and I was at home with my family. I didn’t know what to expect honestly. There were a million things running through my mind at that time. All I had heard was that a woman was dead and her daughter was there. I hurried and got into my uniform and kissed my wife good-bye and left my house in a hurry. The house was only 10 minutes away from me. I arrived on the scene and there were already 5 unit cars there parked outside the curb that we just left now. The place was crawling with our officer. When I arrived the whole property was DO NOT CROSS: CRIME SCENE and when I got the line, I bent down and went to the other side. Captain Rollins greeted me with a grim face.”

Freddy had not heard this man talk so much. He was generally a quiet man, so he knew that his event had affected him, whether the lieutenant was willing to admit or not. He has said not just five minutes ago that this scene that he had experienced was not the most horrific scene. Freddy thought, ‘Maybe it wasn’t the most horrific for him, but maybe it was a most emotionally poignant. He has kids, so maybe he understands or caught a glimpse of what it might be like to leave a child behind. He is a family man. Now,’ he shook his head to bring himself face into the focus with the lieutenant’s words, ‘it is time to pay attention to the rest of his story.’

“…and I walked through the front door after Captain Rollins explained the situation to me. It seems like an awful dream now. You know the feeling you get when you know what you are about to face and you honestly try to prepare yourself for it, so you feel like you are walking on a cloud, and in this case, a dark cloud. So, anyhow, I walked upstairs. At that time the little girl had not been removed from the scene. She was huddled low on the floor and above her on the bed was her mother. Laying there, stone white cold skin and closed eyes. It was if her mother had fallen asleep but never again stirred up from where she had slept. I looked down at the little girl and told the officers in the room that I was going to move her. The social worker was there, ready to take the little girl. I guess, she had not dared to move the little girl. I picked up the little girl up, who was dressed in her nightgown. She was ice to the touch. I was afraid, after the shock of how cold she was, that she was also dead. She was pale white just like her mother. The little girl did not stir at all. It seemed she already knew about her mother’s death and it was like her whole system gave out.”

Without knowing it, he had a large tear rolling down his eye and it fell unto his cheek. He did not bother to wipe it away. The act of wiping the tear away would be an acknowledgement to him of his weakness and emotions. Freddy saw it, but knew better to mention it.

He continued with his story. “So the girl, I finally noticed, was breathing, which was to my relief. I carried her down to the social worker’s car. The woman was a short Asian woman who had a little bit of an accent. not strong, but slight. I put in the little Desmin in her car. No sooner did I do that, a woman came running unto the scene. I was closet officer to her at the time. I left the car and ran over to her before she could cross the line. I said to her, ‘Ma’am, this is a crime scene, you may not enter!’ Then the woman told her she was the woman’s friend. Apparently she had not been told that the woman was dead. Tabitha, it was. It was her, but I did not know it was her at the time. Then I told her that the woman had died and they were going to take her to the morgue. She asked about the little girl, Desmin. I told her that she was being taking by child services right now. She informed me that she was her godmother and that in her late woman’s will she was going to the designated guardian of the ward. I told her she would have to wait. She started crying and implored me to give her the little girl to take home and said that she thought that she should go with her.  I told her it was impossible for the time being and that she could call Child Services the following date and contact her own lawyer if she needed. Tabitha dropped to the ground, crying.”

He paused in his story to take a breath and at the same time they pulled up at the hospital. Freddy, a little disappointed that he could not hear the rest of the story, sat in quiet reflection as they pulled up to the hospital and parked the car next to Mark and Tabitha’s car. They both got out at the same time. The other car of people was moving more slowly to get out of the car. The two policemen stood besides the car. They saw that there was hardly any movement—they were still and unmoving in the car. Finally, after a long sigh, they started to move about. Mark got out of the car first and rounded to the other side to open the door for Tabitha and Desmin.  Mark lovingly helped Tabitha out of the car and then return to produce the girl from the car. She was very limp when he pulled her out. He carried her in his arm and yet she still did not stir.

What seemed like a long procession heading up to the hospital was this group of people. With Mark and Desmin in the front, followed by Tabitha, and then the lieutenant and finally Freddy walked towards the hospital’s entrance. They were all silence, but everyone’s mind was racing. Mark was thinking about the safefy of the child and he hoped from his lover’s sake that the girl was alright. He cared only a little about the girl, but more deeply and passionately for Tabitha. He wanted to protect her and most of all, at this time, he wanted to get her home and just lay there beside her comforting her. That was his wish and his desire at the present time. He hoped, and thought, that maybe they would keep the girl overnight for observations and to give her an IV of saline to rehydrate the young girl. He wanted some more time along with Tabitha. It is a littlte selfish he thought to himself, but they shook it up as he did not care if he was being selfish at all. Maybe the girl might mean something to him in time, but at the present, he meant nothing to him, except that she meant a lot of Tabitha. If they were, say married, that he vowed to treat her like his own daughter, but in the meantime, as it was not the case, he thought thus.

Tabitha has in a whole other state than Mark. She was thinking solely for the girl and wondered if she was physically alright. She was also a little angry with the girl for leaving without notice and for making her worry so much. Tabitha was fragile and weak and badly needed to eat something, but the gnawing feeling from her stomach, she knew, was more than just hunger, it was a biting anxiety for the girl. At the same time she felt like she could throw up at any time for the nervousness. She thought briefly about Mark, but then her feeling about Desmin overpowered them. She thought she was glad Mark had been there, but also blamed his sudden arrival on Desmin being left alone unattended for hours. Tabitha kicked herself that she had not woken up early, as she usually did, to check on her young goddaughter. If only Mark had not come, then maybe this would not have happened. But maybe after all, it might have happened in any case. It might not have been today, of all days, but another.  She looked ahead of her at Mark and Desmin and lost it for a moment. Tears ran down her cheeks. 

Next was the lieutenant. He mind was occupied with the flashing back memories of the evening that he first saw Desmin. It was too much for him, but he denied to himself that it had had an effect on him. He was in full boss mode. He was thinking about the procedures and the reports that he would have to file that night, while all the details were fresh in his memories. He thought about what the doctors would say about the young girl. He thought about the papers that might need to be filled about if they girl had to stay overnight for observations. He thought about how he might have to call child social services, he thought about everything bureaucratic and procedural.

Freddy’s thoughts were less crowded. He was just a keen observer and just wondered how the whole situation would turnout. He was friends with Tabitha and had a general concern for her. He had a hope that everything would turn out alright and that everyone would be fine. 

Near the door of the hospital, the lieutenant stepped forward to pull the doors wide open. He held it for all of the party and released his hand from the handle after Freddy went through the door. Then he rocketed to the admittance desk. He told the receptionist that he was the Lieutenant and that he had called ahead about a little girl that had run away from home and she had been some hours on the her own in the cold weather with no shoes. The receptionist nodded and got on the phone promptly. Putting down the receiver, she motioned for them to sit down, gave them a clipboard of paper to fill out and said, “One moment,” and left without further explanation.  Kind of an odd woman, to be sure.

In a moment, just like she said, she was back and with a male nurse who was pushing a gurney. Tabitha handed her the papers, and the receptionist put the plastic tag around the girl’s wrist. He asked, as he walked over to them, “Is this the young lady you called about?” he said pointing over to the girl. “Yes,” replied Tabitha. Mark lifted himself and the girl from the chair and set her down on the gurney. Her head rolled to one side and she began to scream, as if it was painful for her to be set down. Her eyes jetted wide open and her head rolled to the other side, then back again, and then to the other side again. Her screamed subsided into a low moan. Desmin’s head finally lay to one side, but her beautiful face was still twisted as if in pain—an extreme pain. 

They all followed the nurse further into the hospital and the receptionist sat back down and checked her phone. Her face was expressionless and it was if she had seen the scene a million times and was not at all surprised by it.

They all followed the nurse through a double door and down a hallway and then another hallway to the elevators. “Where are we going,” asked Tabitha. “To the second floor, ma’am. The first floor is for emergency room only.” She nodded at his reply and they all got unto the elevator together. There was silence again in that metal box surrounding them. The door dinged and the doors opened. The nurse rolled off the gurney and the rest of the party followed. They went a short distance down a hallway and he stopped at room 248. The male nurse pressed a button and the door opened automatically.  It was a two people room, but the first bed was unoccupied, as was the second. He rolled her to the back of the room, pushed the curtain aside and transferred the girl to the stationary bed in the room. “The doctor will be in shortly to talk to you,” he said, and whisked out of the room on another errand he seemed late for.

They all sat there. Tabitha sat in Mark’s lap and the two officers just stood around. Mark had his arms around Tabitha in a loving embrace. She sat looking at the girl’s face lying down in the bed. She was exhausted and all sorts of weary that she couldn’t even begin to describe. put into words or thoughts. Seeing the girl there, lying down, motionless and pale, reminded her of the day she had come to live in her house after she was released from the social services. She had just come into the house and lay down without eating or saying anything. Just like a ghost. It had scared her a lot and reminded her of her lost friend, who was a ghost. The ghost that walked her house was the girl. And now the same look again from the girl—one of quiet desperation. As if she just wanted to give up and fly to the place where her mother was. 

The doctor came in finally. He carried his body upright with his shoulders square and strong. He had a black beard trimmed neatly and close to his face that almost hid his broad jawbones. “Hello, everyone. Who is the guardian of Desmin?” Tabitha rose her hand in response. “That is me, I am Tabitha.” She held out her hand and the doctor shook hands. “I am Dr. Rose” he said when they shook hands. “So, Tabitha, tell me what happened.” “Well, this morning when I woke up Desmin was gone. We finally found her. She had run away to visit her old house where her mother had died. She did not take her coat or her shoes and she walked over an hour to get there. I am worried about hyperthermia and dehydration.”

“Okay, thank you. Let’s have a look at her.” He walked over and called her name “Desmin,” but there was no response. “She is not very responsive. She looks very dehydrated. Her skin is ashen and her eyes are blue underneath. I recommend that she stay overnight for observation and have an IV of saline. We will see how she does tomorrow. I will send the nurse in to do the IV. Everyone should leave except the guardian of the girl. You can please wait outside in the waiting room on the first floor.

Minutes later, the doctor came out, followed by Tabitha. Mark was still waiting outside the door, while the others were downstairs, or so she thought. “I sent the police home. They need to fill out reports anyway” as if he knew what she was thinking. He stepped closer to her. She fell to the floor.