The Light's Calling

Alix

Alix came from a very broken home. Both of her parents were very self-destructive, and they found themselves in a difficult situation when Alix's mom became pregnant with Alix. It was too late to do anything about it, so Alix made her way into this world in the winter of the year that her parents found out of the pregnancy.

As soon as Alix was born, Alix's dad decided to leave. He came and went, but one day, Alix's dad grabbed her hand without asking for permission. He held onto it very hard until Alix couldn't feel anything. Alix went to her mom to show her what had happened, but her mom just told her that it wasn't a big deal. Alix was only 7 years old, but she remembered that at school the teacher talked about good touch and bad touch, and this was definitely not a good one. She called 911 because she heard that helped, and when a woman on the other answered, she explained what had happened. A police officer and an ambulance were sent to the home where Alix's dad was arrested along with her mom, and Alix rode the ambulance to the local hospital.

When she arrived, she saw a handsome, older man take her hand gently and tell her that everything would be okay. She believed him, and when she finally made it into the emergency room, a nurse told her that her hand would be treated for breaks and swelling.

Alix felt safe for the first time in her life, and when she awoke after surgery, a younger woman told her she would be taking her with her. Alix was sent to a group home, and within a few days, a couple adopted her.

Alix could see their lights before they even entered the room, and she was so overjoyed to be given a new home: one that was safe, filled with love, and where she could discover that light that tried to push its way through her.

In the first few days of moving in with her new parents, Alix found it to be a little scary and too much for her emotions. But, once she started feeling comfortable, she made her way to the garage. There, she noticed that her dad had an old car that definitely need a little bit of work.

She looked at it for quite some time before figuring out what the plan was to fix the car. She could work on the car without anyone bothering her, and she could see whether or not what she did made a difference in the car almost immediately.

She decided to start with the engine and then work her way out from there. She needed to find the keys to the car first, so she looked in the cabinet that she had noticed her parents throw all the car keys in, and she found them all the way in the back.

There they were: the keys were to the 55' Chevy Bel Air Gasser.

This was the car her dad had dreamed of getting for himself as a child, and she could tell
because the key chains were carefully picked out for not just convenience but for the look they would have against the dash.

Every night that Alix worked on the car her light grew, but no one could see it but her, and she knew it. Once she got the car running, she slowly began taking apart the inside, but she was careful to not make anything too obvious in case someone made their way into the garage.

Within a few months, the car was completely done.

Alix didn't talk much, and she kept to herself, so her parents didn't find it odd that she disappeared soon after any meal. She'd make sure to come in every once in a while, just in case they checked in on her in her room. But, she got through it all without ruining the surprise she had in store for her parents.

On the day she had it all ready, she called her dad to come see it, and he couldn't believe that his project car was completed, but not by him, by a young 7-year-old girl he had saved from a very terrible home.

Alix felt so much pride and joy in what she had created, but it would not end on a happy note because months later, her mom would pass away suddenly, and it would just be her and her dad navigating the world alone.