Emma was getting ready for work. She quickly made her husband some sandwiches, wrapped them in foil, and placed them on the table.
Mike worked at a garage, and since they didnt get proper lunch breaks, he always had to bring something from home.
Emma herself worked as a cook in a café. Her job was a bit farther from home, so she had to wake up an hour earlier than her husband.
Outside, rain had begun to drizzle, and Emma grabbed the umbrella that lay in the hallway. It slipped from her hand and clattered loudly on the floor. She froze, then peeked into the bedroomher husband hadnt woken.
Emma smiled to herself.
“Clumsy me,” she murmured before slipping quietly out the door.
The bus arrived surprisingly fast. Emma sat by the window, gazing at the city as it passed by. Her thoughts drifted to her life.
She was no longer a young girlnearing thirty, happily married. Though they werent wealthy, they got by, and she thought they were happy.
Yet one thing weighed on her heartshe and Mike had no children. She longed for a baby, whether a boy or a girl, it didnt matter.
For three long years of marriage, Emma had gone for tests, but doctors could only shrug and say everything was fine.
The bus stopped. Emma paid her fare and stepped outjust a short walk through the park, and shed reach the café.
After a few steps along the path, she stopped abruptly. On a wet bench sat a little girl, crying. She wore a thin jacket, shivering in the cold, tears mixing with raindrops on her cheeks.
Emma approached gently.
“Hello, love. Why are you sitting here alone?”
“Mum put me out,” the girl sniffled.
“Put you out?” Emma frowned. How could anyone leave a child in the rain?
“She was asleep, and I was hungry. I woke her up, and” The girl hiccupped. “She shouted. And then I was here.”
“Whats your name?”
“Sophie.”
Emma bit her lip. “What should I do with you, Sophie?” She checked her watch. “Come on, lets go. Where do you live? Far from here?”
“No, just nearby.” The girl pointed vaguely.
They walked in the direction Sophie indicated, and within minutes stood outside a flat. Emma rang the bell, but no one answered for a long time.
Finally, the door opened to reveal a disheveled woman in a stained dressing gown. Unwashed, tangled hair framed her tired face.
She blinked at Emma, then at Sophie, and wordlessly stepped aside.
“Come in.”
Emma stepped over the threshold. The flat smelled foulstale and sour. Dirty clothes littered the floor, and dust coated the furniture. Then, her eyes caught a photo on the shelf.
She stiffened.
Shed seen it beforein Mikes old album. Only, that version was cropped, leaving just him. This one showed him standing beside a younger, pretty womanthe same woman now slumped in front of her.
Emma turned, studying the woman properly.
“Well?” the woman snapped.
“What do you mean, ‘well’?” Emma straightened. “Your daughter was sitting in the park, crying! Dont you care what happens to her?”
“Mind your own business! Go raise your own kids if youve got any!” The woman spun toward Sophie. “Whereve you been?”
The girl darted into another room and shut the door. Emma realized there was nothing more to say and left.
All day, her thoughts churnedSophie, the photo, the woman who must have once meant something to Mike.
That evening, she handed him the picture.
“Love, whos this with you?”
Mike sighed. “Thats Laura. We were together for years, even talked about marriage. But she met someone else and left.”
“Why did you cut the photo?”
“Because she lied. When we split, she was pregnant. She told me she didnt keep the baby. I left town, met you. We moved back here togetherIve hidden nothing. But why ask now?”
Emma told him everythingSophie, the flat, the woman.
Mike listened carefully. “How old is the girl?”
When Emma told him, he fell silent.
“Where did you say they live?”
She told him, then went to bed, exhausted. Sometime past midnight, she woke to find the kitchen light on. Peering in, she saw Mike sitting at the table, lost in thought.
The next day, he knocked on Lauras door. Sophie answered, staring at the stranger who smiled at her.
“Hello! You must be Sophie. Wheres your mum?”
The girl turned and ran inside.
“Mum! Someones here!”
Laura appeared, disheveled as before. Mike barely recognized the woman hed once loved.
“You? What do you want?”
He stepped inside without waiting, breathing in the stale air.
“Laura, I need the truth. Sophies ageshe could be mine. Is she?”
Laura sank into a chair, looking up at him with tired eyes.
“Lend us a tenner, will you? Alimony, you never paid. Ive raised her myselfnot a penny from you. Just fifty quid?”
“You lied to me. You said you didnt keep the baby.”
“I wanted to, but Daniel said hed be her dad. Then he left when she was three months olddidnt want another mans kid. I tried finding you, but youd gone.”
“Ill get a test. If shes mine, Im taking her.”
“Take her now! Shes underfoot, always needing food, clothesI cant even buy myself a drink half the time. Just give me the money, yeah?”
Sophie crept forward.
“Are you my dad?” Her big eyes searched his face.
Mikes voice thickened. “Yes, Sophie. I want you to come live with me. Would you like that?”
The girl glanced nervously at her mother.
“You wont be mean?”
Mike swallowed hard. “Never.”
Sophie nodded.
“Okay.”
He stroked her hair, then turned to leave. Laura hurried after him.
“Waitthe money?”
Mike handed her a few notes. Her face lit up.
Then he stopped. He couldnt leave her like this.
Sophie still stood in the hall, eyes full of sadness.
“Get your coat. Were going.”
One thought burned in his mind: *Shes mine. I wont leave her here.*
Half an hour later, Sophie stepped into Mike and Emmas home. She recognized the woman whod brought her back that morning. Emma stared, struggling to believe this was real.
Later, after a bath and a meal, Sophie played with the cat while Emma turned to Mike.
“Are you sure this is right? You barely know her.”
“Ill learn. Of course its righthow else should I treat my own child?”
Emma walked to the kitchen, sat down, and cried.
*Why is this happening to me?*
Shed wanted children so badly, yet couldnt conceive. Shed have cherished every moment.
Now this girl. How should she feel? She couldnt be cruelbut what if she failed?
Anger surgedat Mike, at Laura, at life itself. Then, a small hand touched her head.
She thought it was Mike. But when she looked up, it was Sophie.
“Are you sad? I cry a lot too. Want me to tell you a happy story? I know one.”
Emma pulled the girl into a tight hug.
A year passed. Mike took the testmore for paperwork than doubt. From the start, theyd decided Sophie was staying, no matter what.
Emma grew to love her as her own. They poured all their unused love into each other.
Mike adored her too. They were a happy family.
Then, one day, Emma fell ill. It came out of nowherea sudden weakness at work, then waking in hospital.
“Whats wrong with me?” Shed never been frail.
“Tests will confirm soon,” the doctor said. “But for now, rest. Your familys on their way.”
Mike and Sophie arrived, worried.
“Mum-Emma, whats wrong?”
“Nothing, sweetheart. Just need a rest.”
The doctor returned, smiling.
“Well, my dear, you mightve mentioned you were pregnant! No more scares like this, alright? Youre expectingthats all. Well send you home today.”
Emma sat bolt upright.
“What? Pregnant? Mike, whats he saying?”
But it was true. Her dream had come true. She gave birth to a healthy boy, James.
Sophie helped with everythinga wise little girl beyond her years.
Emma couldnt have managed without her.
Later, little Lucy arrived. Mike and Emmas joy overflowedtheir family was now full, happy, and whole.
And Emma knewthis happiness had walked into her life with a small girl who had the
