A parent’s role is not the easiest job in the world. There are so many things to teach our children about the woes of life. But, there are also wins that should be celebrated because those are what give us hope. Teaching children can be the most rewarding activity, but it can be the most humbling thing when our children are able to teach us. This is what happened to Mrs. Sally-Anne Shaw and her husband, Michael Shaw, in our story today, inspired by the readers of Amodays.
They Yearned for a Child
Mr. and Mrs. Shaw had been married for quite some time now. Being high school sweethearts, they knew each other inside and out. They acclaimed the success of their marriage was based on having similar interests, and they were working towards the same goal of having a family. They tried for years to conceive, but for a long time, they had no success. No matter how many years they tried, their relationship was never threatened, because they both knew it would happen if it were meant to.
The joyous day arrived, and Sally-Anne waited nervously for her husband to come home. She had a positive pregnancy test to show him. He was over the moon when he found out, and they promised right there and then that they would do anything to keep this baby safe.
Sally-Anne had originally wanted a large family. She had grown up in a busy household, and she had yearned to have one of her own. They tried with no avail to conceive a sibling for their firstborn, whom they named Rachel. Even though she tried her best not to show it, her husband could tell that she wanted another.
Some Years Went By
As the years went by, the yearning for another child turned into another thing altogether. There is something that is triggered in some mothers where they might be a little overly protective over their children at times. They mean well, because it is based on their love for their offspring, but it can be a little stifling to grow up in such a household where your parents do not let you do anything without their observation of consent.
Rachel had grown into a brave young girl who was not afraid of much. That was interesting, because of how nervous her other was of anything happening to her. One day, Rachel was invited to the birthday party of one of her classmates, and they were going ice skating! Rachel was so excited because she had never been ice skating before because her mother was not happy about the idea.
She first broke the news to her dad about the part. She had learned over the years not to go to her mother first. Her dad seemed like he didn’t mind the idea of her skating over ice, but when she asked her mother, it took nearly a week before she agreed to let her go. The only compromise was that she would wear a helmet, knee, and elbow guards. As embarrassing as this was, she agreed, realizing this was the only way.
Read: After Mother’s Death, Man Arrives at His Parents’ Old House and Hears Sounds from the Basement – a Short Story
Mum Relaxed a Little
As time went by, Sally-Anne started to loosen up with her protective tendencies. She realized that she had raised quite a formidable daughter who knew right from wrong. She would not get herself into any unnecessary danger. Rachel was now nine years old, and this meant that she was making some pretty big decisions without any of her mother’s help. This was a little unsettling for Sally-Anne, who knew this day was coming, but she had not mentally prepared herself for her daughter’s independence.
Rachel sat her parents down one day and started off with an impressive presentation about her wish to walk herself to and from school instead of being driven by one of them. Sally-Anne had a knot in her stomach the entire time. She wanted to protest, but one look from her husband and she knew that this was not an option – she would have to allow this, so she did.
Trending Now
One Day Rachel Didn’t Come Home
Sally-Anne had one or two compromises she asked of Rachel in order for her to agree to let her only daughter walk herself home from school each day. The first was that Rachel would be given a phone so that she could contact her parents and let them know if she was going to stay later or visit a friend’s house after school. She was not allowed to forget to let her parents know, nor was she allowed to not answer when they called. Rachel thought she had hit the jackpot because now she would have a mobile device that she could show off to her friends at school.
This plan worked out for a few weeks, and as each day went by, Sally-Anne grew more and more comfortable with the fact that she had raised a responsible little girl. Every day, Rachel would send a text to her mom telling her what time she will be home, and what she was doing that afternoon. Most days she went home to a friend’s house to do homework, which admittedly, Sally-Anne appreciated, because it gave her time to do the things she normally didn’t have because she was lifting Rachel around.
One day, Sally-Anne was on her way home from running a few errands when she decided it would be a nice surprise to pick her daughter up and take her for an ice cream date as a reward for being so responsible. The only thing is, little Rachel never came out of school with the rest of her schoolmates. Sally-Anne asked her two friends, Hannah and Jessica, if they had seen her, and they just shrugged their shoulders. Sally-Anne went to Rachel’s classroom where she found her teacher looking over some paperwork.
Read: Poor Young Grocery Cashier Receives an Inheritance from a Blind Old Customer — a Short Story
She Hadn’t Gone to School in a Week
Rachel’s teacher told Sally-Anne that she had not seen Rachel that day, in fact, she had not seen her all a week and she had been meaning to phone and check in with Rachel. Sally-Anne’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach, and she told the teacher how strange that was because she had said goodbye to Rachel every day and she had walked with her friends to school. Horrified, Sally-Anne ran from the building, calling up her husband in a flat panic. He arrived at the school soon after they hung up, and together they drove around, calling all of Rachel’s friends and asking if they had seen her.
They drove past their house, just to be sure, and relief washed over them. There she was standing in the driveway. As they got closer, they noticed a little boy running off. Sally-Anne jumped out of the car when it had barely stopped moving, and she ran towards her daughter with the intention to wrap her in her arms, but she stopped. Rachel was holding a tiny baby in her arms, wrapped in a blanket.
They Couldn’t Care For Her
When she asked her where the baby came from, Rachel held the little body closer to her. She told them the baby’s name was Layla, and she was Jasper’s sister. Jasper was one of Rachel’s best friends from her school. He and his sister were being raised by their grandmother because their parents died. Sally-Anne was confused, and suddenly angry – the relief had worn off. She demanded to know why she had not answered her phone when they had called her repeatedly. Rachel looked ashamed, she bowed her head and apologized profusely.
Micheal took Sally-Anne’s arm and suggested he deal with the situation. She agreed, but refused to walk away, she was Rachel’s mother and she deserved to know what was going on. Rachel’s father bent down to her level and asked if he could take the baby. Rachel hesitated, but she let him take her. After seeing him holding her and not taking her away, she relaxed a little and started to explain.
Apparently, Jasper’s grandmother had fallen ill, and that rendered her unable to look after little Layla. Jasper was staying home to care for her, and Rachel had been going home with him to help him care for her. She had been playing with Layla, and that’s why she forgot to answer her phone and let them know.
A Happy Ending
It took a while, but after some serious convincing done on Rachel’s part, Sally-Anne and Michael had agreed to let little Layla and Jasper stay at their house for a while. The agreement would be until their grandmother got better, they hoped that having some proper rest would do her good. After a few months, Sally Anne could not imagine not having the additional little voices in the house. She loved hearing Rachel and Jasper laughing away in her room, playing with their toys, and having another baby to care for, it was everything that she had dreamed of.
When it became clear that their grandmother would not pass away from her illness. However, She was simply not young enough to look after children anymore. So, Sally-Anne asked her if she would mind them adopting her grandchildren. To her delight, and genuine surprise, their grandmother agreed. She had been worried since the children came to her that one day she wouldn’t be there. So, knowing that they had new parents to care for them gave her peace of mind. They joined Sally-Anne’s little family and fulfilled her dreams of having a bigger family, with lots of laughter, and running footsteps. And, to top it all, a seriously messy kitchen!
This story was inspired by an original piece of fiction that first appeared on AmoDays. Any similarities between this story and actual people are purely coincidental
Keep Reading: Boy Cries at His Mom’s Grave Saying ‘Take Me With You’ Until He Feels Woman’s Hand on His Shoulder — a Short Story
