I wasnt even looking at my son when I shoved the pram by the old garage and walked off to get a breather. Amy, panting and glancing over her shoulder, finally stopped. Shed left the babys pram beside a dilapidated garage on the edge of town and just walked away. Her heart hammered so hard it felt like it might leap out of her chest, so she quickened her pace.
For a split second a terrifying thought flickered through her mind was this the biggest, most horrible mistake she could ever make? Is it right to treat a living person like this? A flash of lightning split the sky, thunder roared, and the downpour grew worse. Amy had actually been hoping for the rain; hardly anyone wanders the streets when its pouring, so shed have a better chance of staying unnoticed. Then again, who would even see her out in that forgotten backstreet on the outskirts? The whole area is just a maze of abandoned garages and stray dogs.
She halted, forced herself to turn around. Did I just do the most inhuman thing by abandoning my child? she thought. She shook her head. To herself she felt justified, as if she were just shedding a burden. Her conscience felt clean. When she finally made it back home, she collapsed onto the couch in her night clothes and fell into a deep, restless sleep.
***
Grace was screaming at her husband so loudly she eventually hoarse. Simon sat stonecold, taking in every word she spat out. Hed just sold the flat hed inherited from his parents. He wanted to explain, but Grace wouldnt let him get a word in.
People work their whole lives to own a home, so they can have a decent old age, and you she choked. Get out of here! Leave!
Where am I supposed to go? he asked.
Never have I seen a row this frantic. Its like demons possess you, she snapped. Simon didnt really care where hed go. They lived in a spacious twobed flat, and the flat was being let out for extra income. That rent was supposed to be a nice cushion for their retirement; now it was all collapsed.
What really boiled Graces blood wasnt just the sale, but the fact Simon hadnt consulted her. For about two hours she kept replaying why shed shouted so hard. Shed always been the steady, balanced type, and this outburst felt completely out of character. Something invisible seemed to have snatched control of her words.
Simon, who usually tried to find a compromise in any tiff, finally snapped. Fine, Im leaving, then dont come crying later! He didnt feel like giving a justification. He walked out of the flat with his head held high, slamming the door as hard as he could a little show of pride, you know.
Outside it was still bucketing down. He had nowhere to go. Hed lost his parents when he was twenty, and he didnt want to bother friends with his marital drama. He wasnt looking to whinge about his life; he just didnt want to be a quarrelsome marketstall lady.
He got into his car, thinking hed spend the night wherever. When he saw Grace watching him from the window, he drove off a bit further, thinking shed just have to stew in her own thoughts. Maybe shed regret her harsh words. Temperamental, he muttered to himself.
A little later, after the adrenaline faded, Simon realised hed sold the flat without consulting Grace a real mistake. The hormones and all that medication had left Grace a mess. Shed been dreaming of having a child, doing everything she could to make that happen, but nothing worked. The treatments cost a fortune, more than they could ever count, and only brought more health woes. Sometimes it felt like they were working for the clinic rather than the other way round.
He asked himself a serious question: does he want a healthy partner or a happy one? Hed already come to terms with the fact theyd never have a child of their own. He never even entertained the idea of ditching Grace for someone else. If the kids arent mine, why have them at all? he thought. Maybe they should adopt a little one and raise him.
He tried to tell Grace all this, but she shut him down, taking it as an attack. Is there someone else? she snapped. Is that why you want me to give up? Then Ive got no reason to keep living. She couldnt believe hed give up on the idea of having his own kids. It was clear shed never be truly happy without a child.
Simon drove out onto the main road and remembered the little garage he owned on the towns edge a place he could spend the night. They barely used it, just stored tyres and bits of junk that didnt quite merit a bin run. They only thought of it twice a year when they needed to change tyres.
The streets were empty; it was a Sunday, people were staying at home. The rain was coming down so hard the drains were struggling. Simon floored the accelerator, not afraid of a water splash. He wanted to get to the garage fast; there was an old electric kettle he needed to collect.
Grace, unaware of the car outside, started to panic. She instantly regretted her words and wanted to call her husband to apologise, but something held her back.
Simon arrived at the garage in record time. He saw the pram right away. He didnt even think about the baby inside until he stepped out of the car and heard a loud wail. All the fights with Grace vanished from his mind; they meant nothing now. The child was naked, shivering, soaked through, and clearly hungry.
In a perfect world hed called an ambulance. Inside the pram lay a crumpled birth certificate and, oddly enough, some raw meat. He didnt have time to wonder why the meat was there he just grabbed the baby and drove it home.
Grace, holding the infant and trying to make sense of her husbands rambling explanation, couldnt believe anyone would leave a child out in such weather. A fleeting thought turned into another: Fate. Thats just fate. Could it really be coincidence that her husband stumbled upon an abandoned baby?
They eventually handed the child over to the authorities. Grace clutched the little boy until the very end, reluctant to let go. Simon recounted where and when hed found him. The police were baffled by the meat in the pram and assumed something had happened to the mother.
Maybe the mother was on her way to the shop, got caught in the storm, and tried to cut through the garages. Something went wrong, Grace theorised. Or perhaps she wanted to get rid of him? Simon shot back, Ive never seen a shop selling meat and then packing it in a bag for a baby. People who dump children dont buy meat, Grace insisted, feeling Simon was right. Maybe she wanted the stray dogs to finish the job, make it look like an accident. Loving mothers never abandon their kids. She shivered, picturing a pack of dogs, her face turning pale.
Simon winced at his own words, recalling the horrible news footage about abandoned children. That never happens, Grace said, visualising the dogs, looking completely whiteknuckled. You know what doesnt happen? Gifts from fate. All those years we fought for the chance to have a child, and now I even sold the flat to try and get us to a top clinic, to make you happy.
Grace didnt answer. She was ashamed, her mind a fog she couldnt explain. Somewhere deep down she felt a strange relief at finally letting go of her anger. If the row hadnt happened, she might never have thrown Simon out of the house, and hed never found the baby. Who knows what would have become of that little boy?
In the end, they decided to adopt the child as soon as they could. It took ages to sort the paperwork, but they never doubted their choice. Earlier theyd been adamant about never taking in a baby from a home, terrified they wouldnt love a strangers child. This time there were no arguments. Both Grace and Simon felt a fierce protectiveness, almost as if they were fighting for the right to bring the boy home.
The real mother was caught quickly. At first she claimed stray dogs had attacked her, forcing her to dump the pram, but the police saw through the lie. No one can sleep easy knowing someones child is being harmed.
How will people view a mother who ran away in a minute of danger? Amy (whod been on the scene) asked. People wont think fear makes you blind. I was terrified and could only think of my own shame. Her last words summed up why shed abandoned the baby instead of taking it to a proper cradle.
Grace, thinking about that woman, felt such a burning anger it was hard to breathe. She couldnt wish evil on anyone, but this case was a clear exception. Amy didnt just leave a baby; she left him to be torn apart by stray dogs. Could she still be called a human after that?
Simon once tried to dissect Amys motives, but Grace cut him off. It doesnt matter why she did it no money, tired, wants to sleep, needs work. Theres never an excuse. She threw the baby out with the pram, hoping to be rid of it. And you know the worst part? No matter how many times shes punished, no one can ever stop her from having more children. That thought drives me mad. Its just not fair that women like her can keep on reproducing.
Five years later, Amy finally realised the magnitude of her mistake. If she could change anything, shed have left the baby at the hospital. Her actions didnt frighten her now; she tells herself she had no other option back then. Shed wanted freedom, a night out, a life without any strings. She had no nasty habits, was fit, a tall blonde with striking eyes, owned a flat, and worked for a transport firm earned enough to get by. The punishment didnt hit her; what hurt was the public judgment and the angry messages from strangers who could never grasp how hard itd been for her. Shed always loved the attention of men, wasnt ready to give up that freedom for a child.
Still, Grace was right in a way nobody can stop Amy from having another child and living happily, regardless of her past.
Five years on, Amy met a man and had a daughter. The marriage fell apart after two years because of an affair. She left for a wealthy lover, and the daughter stayed with her exhusband.
At first, Grace sometimes thought about Amy. After a year, her anger cooled a bit. She wanted to believe Amy regretted what shed done. Grace believed in karma, convinced life would eventually punish a woman whod acted so cruelly. She didnt wish her death, just a lonely, reflective existence. Justice, she figured, is a neverending debate, and honest people still suffer while the vile seem to thrive. So they both decided not to dwell on it.
Whats the point of overthinking? Simon said, putting a final nail in the conversation. Yet his words held a sliver of truth. Theyd changed something theyd given the abandoned boy a family.
They named the boy Leo, a name both Grace and Simon loved. He was healthy, ate well, slept soundly, and hit his milestones. Grace, standing by his crib, felt an overwhelming joy. Nothing could dim that feeling, not even the doctors bleak prognosis about her infertility.
Grace had often heard that couples who adopt eventually find their own babies, but that never happened for them. Still, they didnt wait for a miracle. The real miracle was the day the little lad arrived at their doorstep, and they brought him home together.
