The Forgotten One

Chapter Four

             “Madi, this is where you’re going to stay for a little while.” 

              The nice lady that picked me up from the hospital carried me into a big house. I clung to her neck, burying my face in her shoulder. She smelled pretty and she had a nice smile. I knew that she wouldn’t let the bad guys hurt me anymore.

              “Are there any kids here?”

              “Sure there are. Lots of kids live here. This is what we call a group home. There’s a very nice lady that will take care of you, Mrs. Lewis. She takes care of all the kids here. It’s very late and they’re all sleeping. I’m going to help you get ready for bed and you can meet some of the other kids tomorrow, okay?”

              “What’s your name?” I twirled my fingers in the lady’s long, dark hair. It was softer than my mommy’s hair was.

              “I’m Mrs. Jensen. I’ll come see you sometimes. Maybe in awhile we can find you a family to live with, but for now, you’ll be safe here. I promise.”

              Mrs. Jensen carried me into the bathroom and set me on the toilet. She ran a bath with bubbles in it and helped me take off the pajamas the hospital had given me. I got into the bath water and let her wash my hair and back, sitting still and trying really hard to be a good girl. I liked this lady and I didn’t want her to send me back to stay with my daddy and the bad men again.

              “Can I have Barbie pajamas?” I asked as Mrs. Jensen helped me out of the bathtub and dried me off. “I like Barbie.”

              “I don’t know if there’s any Barbie pajamas around here, but let me see what I can find. Can you wait here for me?”

              “Okay.” I sat on the toilet again with my towel wrapped around me. The house was quiet and scary when the lady was gone.

              “Look what I found. There’s no Barbie pajamas but I found some Barbie panties and a My Little Pony nightgown. Is that okay?” Mrs. Jensen came back in the room and showed me the pajamas.

              “I like horsies.” I looked at the pretty nightgown. It was pink, my favorite color, and had sparkly horsies on it.

              “Good. Let’s get you dressed and I’ll put you to bed.”

              I let Mrs. Jensen put the clothes on me and brush out my hair. She was really careful and didn’t pull. She held my hand and took me down the hall to a room with a whole bunch of beds in it. Some of the beds were stacked on top of each other. It was dark in the room but I could see other kids laying in the beds. There were more than I knew how to count.              

              “Do I have to stay here by myself? Can’t you stay with me?” I was scared of the dark.