A Faint Cry

Walking happily down a busy street in 2013 you hear a faint cry. Ignoring it because you're already late for your job due to your 9-month-old's spit-up, you begin running. Then something makes you stop. Perhaps it is because you're out of breath, or the yowls are growing louder? Something tugging at your heart, you go and investigate. Peaking around the corner, you see a circle of flowers with a baby swaddled in a red blanket, placed perfectly in the center.

Your parental or nanny instincts kicking in right away, you quickly change the baby's saturated diaper. Your heart melts as you try to make a nine-month-old diaper work for a newborn baby girl. Tears slipping down your face, you pick up this seven-pound six-ounce baby. She stops screaming. The only thing you are sure of is you will not give up this bundle of joy. You can't give this brown-eyed baby girl to the government, who will then put her in an orphanage. You've seen too many young people's lives turned upside down after aging out of the system.

A wave of anger washes over you because this is the government's fault. The government forced a family to give up their brown-eyed baby, all due to her gender. Angry you look for a note, learning she was born May 16th, 2013, meaning she's one day old. As the anger subsides and reality washes over you, you realize there's no possible way to keep this precious baby girl. You already have one child and can't afford the fines for a second. You're barely able to stay afloat, much less add more bills to the ever growing stack of fines sitting on your kitchen counter.

Ignoring the stupid law you hug the baby and begin walking home. Knowing the risks, you open your front door and freeze when you see your boss. Not only does your boss work in the government, but she is also evil. She watches you like a hawk while you take care of children in the orphanage. She hates children and wishes there were none, fully supporting the one-child policy. You've always wondered why she chose to work with kids all day long. Panicking, you scream "get out!" but it's too late. She's seen the baby and your heart sinks. This is the end, and the brown-eyed baby is officially doomed. Well, not necessarily doomed, but your heart is breaking into a gazillion pieces. Within 20 minutes of holding and snuggling her, you had decided to protect this baby with your life.

Your boss fires you because you were late for the tenth time in a row. She then leaves, her dress dramatically sweeping the ground. You know she's going to tattle-tail, because that's all she does. Knowing that the clock is ticking, you gather your things and the two babies and turn to leave. Your partner scrambles to grab their stuff as well, as they have fallen in love with the brown-eyed baby girl just as much as you have. You don't have any plans to leave the province, but you know you can't stay in the house. Your life was fine until a few hours ago, and now it's somehow 100-times better. This is the type of adventure you've been longing for. Your family finally feels complete. You can't help but wonder if the government will end this cruelty, and lift the one child policy. Maybe in 2015, you think to yourself.