The Girl With No Last Name (The Girl #1)

Strange Coincidence

It all began when this child found me —found this life.  Age-wise, she is a child, may even be a baby. Otherwise, she surpassed the literal definition of the word 'child'. She is not a child, she is not even human.

Chapter One:
Strange Coincidence
The first time I remember seeing her was in the hospital when I was having my half-yearly checkup. I overheard a doctor and a nurse talking about a newborn baby found in one of the nursery cribs this morning.

"Did you hear 'bout that newborn?" Asked the nurse. She seemed to be a freshman taking that educational period they have to take under supervision of a doctor. She was a slim, somehow tall woman, with silky black tall hair.

"Yeah. The news has been all over the hospital." Replied the doctor who looked relatively young with glasses that made him look more like a scientist.
"I wonder how she came in there."
"Word was that she first appeared around dawn. It was like she apparated right into that crib. No relatives have been identified. No name. Nothing. Just the girl." The doctor justified.
"They have offered her for adoption. They say she looks abnormally cute." Said the nurse.
"Yeah. I've heard that too. The problem is that her adopter would have to pay for her visit, and that may make lots of people change their minds."

I decided I would go take a look on that mysterious baby, this talk has incited my curiosity enough.

After I received my checkup results, I went in search for the nursery of the hospital. In the main hall, I found a sign that read "newborns department" and signaled to another hallway to the right, which ended in a double door. I passed through to find myself in a waiting room with a counter in the far left corner. I wanted to ask the lady at the counter about the girl I've heard about, but thought she might get suspicious–I was not sure the news was public yet, so I probably shouldn't know about it– and reconsidered my actions.

"Good morning." I tried to sound calm as my interest was building up. The lady behind the counter looked up from her laptop to face me. She was a blonde wearing a baby blue suit that really brought up the color of her honey-colored eyes.
"May I help you with something?" She asked smilingly.
"Actually, I was trying to find the hospital nursery." I replied truthfully.
"Oh. May I ask for the reason? It's not common for people to be entering there."

I felt sweat beads forming on my forehead as I tried to think of a convincing reply to say. I decided truth was my only escape. I have been raised to always speak the truth. I was just trying to shape my response.

"I have heard about a girl offered for adoption and I wanted to take a look." I didn't like the idea of speaking of the girl as if she was on sale, but I couldn't form a better sentence. The nurse eyed me suspiciously.
"Could you please wait for a few seconds?"
"Of course." I replied.
She dialed a number and put the phone handle –the one you talk through– on her ear.
"There's a gentleman here who wishes to see our little baby offered for adoption." She waited a few seconds before replying. "I don't know either. Should he enter?" I guessed she was talking about how I knew about her and I began to worry– I'm not sure why, but I did anyway.

"Okay." She finished and cut the call. She stood up. "Please follow me" and she gestured for me to come. We went through a door at the other end of the room and into a hall and then through a door to the left which read 'Nursery'.
"She's right there." She signaled to a crib in the center of the room. I began to move toward it and then stopped abruptly.

I saw the cutest baby I could ever dream about, standing in that crib and looking directly at me. She could be no more than three months old, but she could still stand! And She had beautiful, silky, copper red hair that tipped her shoulders, a pair of water-pure eyes that you could see the whole universe just by looking into, and naturally colored, glossy rose, puffed lips.
I felt a really strange feeling. It was like I loved her before I could even get to know her. I knew any person would like her, but it wasn't like that. It was like a bond has appeared right there and tethered me to her. She wanted me. But that wasn't the only reason why I stopped in my tracks. Her eyes turned pure red and shimmered just when she glanced at me. She seemed to have that same feeling. She felt that bond, too.
I tried to regain my senses and remember how to walk, but I couldn't find my way back to my own mind. I just kept staring at her while some vague part of my mind kept telling me to move forward 'cause it would look really awkward, but I couldn't get a grip on my mind and senses. About a whole minute passed until I finally realized how to walk.

I moved closer toward her, every part of my body screaming to hold her, I had to keep myself from running. I couldn't wait to lay my fingers on her flawless skin. When I reached her, she seemed on the verge of jumping out to throw her weightless body into my outstretched arms. I lifted her out of the crib easily and gave her a soft hug. I held her in front of me while I considered my only possible decision. I decided to ask the lady whom I almost forgot was standing by the door. I went through a different world whenever I looked through the girl's eyes.

"What steps and documents are necessary for me to adopt her?" I asked enthusiastically.

"I'm not sure about that. You could come with me to the department manager to discuss it."
"Okay." I quickly approved, almost too fast.

She turned and wove out of the door. I was glued to the girl and couldn't put her back in the crib, so I took her with me and followed the lady out. I didn't worry about anything right now, not the documents, not the money, not the discussion I would face in a matter of minutes. Nothing could break this moment of peace other than its source.

I came back to the ground to find myself in a large office with a desk in its center. The room had some bookshelves and posters. Papers were piled on top of the desk, a lot of papers. Behind the desk was a doctor –with no white coat– with short hair and a pair of black-framed glasses. Beneath the glasses I could see a pair of chocolate brown eyes smiling at me heartily. "Good morning." He stood up to shake my hands. He gave me a strange look when he saw the girl in my hands but quickly replaced it with the welcoming expression. I shook his hands and smiled tentatively.
"Good morning doctor." I replied.
"Please call me James."
"James." I corrected and smiled more confidently this time. He gestured for me to sit down on the chair in front of his desk. I sat and waited for him to break the silence.
"You sure are strange." He said finally.
"May I ask why?" I requested.
"This girl wouldn't allow anybody to even touch her. She would eye us with hatred and distrust and then cover herself with her quilt." I was surprised to hear that. It was like she chose me.
"But she invited me to go hold her. She wanted me."
"That certainly is strange. Before I tell you about the documents and procedures needed for you to adopt her, may I ask you a few questions?"
"Feel free to ask whatever you must." Somehow, I wasn't worried about him asking me how did I find about her, or why I am holding her with me.
"Could you describe how you came to know about her? I'm not sure the news is fully public yet."
"I overheard a doctor and a nurse bantering while having my checkup. Honestly, I was curious. And so, I went to find her."
"Are you married? I don't mean to break your privacy or anything, I'm just curious 'cause you're the first male to ask and get interested in her case. The few inquiries we got were mainly from women, but were turned down because of the girl's reaction to them."
"I was married, but my wife died two years ago, and I'm not planning to get remarried anytime soon." I smiled. He furrowed his brows indicating something strange in my sentence, but quickly recovered. All through the conversation, I haven't forgotten the presence of one cute creature with us.
"You know that you will have to pay for the cutie's little visit, right?"
"No problem."
"We will need your personal ID card, your birth certificate, your wife's death certificate, and your marriage license. Please be informed that this adoption will not function as any other due to the fact that we are a hospital and not a child agency."
"Okay. Can I ask just one favor?"
"Yes of course."
"Can the child be named only by her name and not my last name as my religion doesn't allow me to do so?" Islam allows me to foster a child but not to adopt one, which just means that she cannot be named after my last name.
"I think so." He replied.
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