love for a child.

wrote this in like ten minutes, so hopefully it's not too bad :)

once upon a time there was a little girl who had no home. she had lost her mother and father at the fair, but they never even noticed. after waiting and seeing that they were not going to come looking for her, the little girl ran off. she began to cry, alone, lost, confused. she wondered why her parents didn't love her, why they didn't care when she had left. she walked and walked and walked for a long time, hoping to walk her pain away. she ended up walking everything away. numb and cold, she kept walking and passed through tall trees, deep into the woods. it was getting dark and the wind began to sting to her skin, but the girl didn't care. she didn't try to shield herself from the icy air, nor did she look for light in the blackness, because light meant hope, and the girl had walked all her hope away. she kept walking, a pretty little specter, haunting the forest.

after a few days, the girl came upon a small cabin. a man and a woman sat outside on rocking chairs, and looked at the little girl questioningly as she walked past them and the cabin, taking no notice of anything but the way her feet kicked up the leaves on the ground as she kept walking. by now, the girl looked gaunt and tired. her eyes were empty and she moved limply. the couple approached the little girl, who did not react. they took her by the arms and led her into the house, where they bathed her and fed her and clothed her so that she looked like a normal little girl again. the spoke to her and sang to her, but never once did the little girl look up from the ground or make any noise. other than soft breaths she drew, there was no life left in the little girl. even so, the man and the woman grew to love the little girl, and took care of her like she was their own. 

one day, the couple decided to take the little girl for a walk. they walked and walked, and the man and the woman told more stories and sang more songs, and the little girl felt better. she began to look around, her eyes open for the first time in weeks. she felt warmth ebb through her body as she held hands with the woman on one side and the man on the other. they laughed and smiled and wept for joy when the little girl looked into each of their faces and gave them each a little smile. the walking turned into skipping and the couple swung the girl in between themselves and soon she began laughing. they laughed for a long time. they laughed out of the woods and into the town, and down some roads, and into the park, where they laughed at the fish flitting about in the pond and the squirrels scurrying up the trees. 

another couple nearby saw the man, the woman, and the little girl laughing and they began to cry. it was their baby. the one they had lost. they ran to their baby and screamed and shouted for joy, for finally, after so many weeks of fretting and searching and panicking, they had found their greatest treasure.

when the little girl saw the other couple rushing towards her, she stopped laughing. she knew who they were. feelings of fear and hatred welled up inside of her, and she began to weep. the couple came up to her and tried to take her hands, but she turned away and ran to the woman she had come with, clinging to her with all her might and crying out - 

"mommy!"

Reviews

[Marie]

For 10 minutes it's not bad.