Chapter 1 A faint crying sound

• It is a rainy and grey day. I have forgotten to check the weather for today, so I don't have an umbrella to shield myself.
• "Zoe, wait!"
• Upon hearing my name shouted, I turn my head to see who is calling me.
• "Daniel, I have already told you and I won't repeat it. Stop following me."
• "Listen to me one last time, please."
• "I'm not interested, Daniel. I don't want anything to do with you anymore. You have shown me that you're not who you pretended to be. Leave me alone."
• "Please."
• "No."
• Before he can continue insisting, I decide to leave, not caring that my whole body is getting soaked in the heavy rain.
• I run through the streets as fast as my legs will allow. I am just a few blocks away from home. Although we aren't a wealthy family, we have a decent living and it is just my grandmother and me.
• "I'm going to be late for work."
• As I turn the corner, I stop in my tracks when I see a very fancy car stopping a few meters away.
• A man in a suit gets out with an umbrella, covering his face and making it impossible to see clearly what he looks like. I watch as he bends down and leaves a box under a big tree. The way he places that box makes me think there is something delicate inside.
• Instinctively, I hide when the man senses my presence. I don't understand why I react that way. I am not doing anything wrong, yet my instinct is to hide to protect myself.
• After two minutes, I decide to peek out. The car is already gone, getting farther away.
• I sigh in relief knowing he is gone, and continue walking to my destination. I think about ignoring what the man has left, but then I hear a baby crying coming from that small box.
• My body freezes upon hearing that sound. For a moment, I think it is just my imagination. Maybe I am disoriented, I don't know. But as I take a step away, I hear the cry again, too faint.
• My intuition tells me to check the box and see what is inside. Despite the rain and the cold, I choose to follow my instinct.
• I approach the box and kneel in front of it, waiting for another cry or to see if it is my imagination. My hands are trembling, unsure if it is from the cold or from fear of being right about there being a baby in that box.
• "Please, let it not be what I think it is."
• I take a deep breath and with trembling hands, I open the box with my eyes still closed. Slowly, I open my eyes and see that my intuition is correct.
• In that box, which is wet and almost torn, there is a small naked baby. The baby isn't crying or moving.
• Quickly, I pick him up, check his breathing, and realize he isn't breathing. I start administering first aid as we have been taught in school. I try to warm his little body, but it is difficult with the rain.
• I scold myself for not running with the baby to the nearest hospital. I am about to do that, but something catches my eye. Inside the box, there is a ring. It is silver, but I don't pay attention to the engraving. I just grab it and put it in my backpack.
• I take out one of the spare blouses from my backpack and wrapped the baby in it. Then I stand up and start running like never before.
• The hospital is six blocks away. I run without stopping until I arrive.
• "Help! Help, please!"
• My cries catch everyone's attention, and a nurse approaches me to help.
• "He's not breathing."
• After saying those two words, I show her the baby, and she immediately takes him from me. She runs with him and lays him on a stretcher. Several people gather around to help.
• I don't know what is going to happen, so I start praying for that baby.
• "Please, let him live. I beg you!... I beg you!"
• I can't stop begging for the life of that child. I close my eyes tightly, clasp my hands together, and pray nonstop. Until I hear his cry."
• As soon as I hear him cry, I fall to my knees and allow myself to cry freely. My heart feels relieved and pained at the same time.
• How can someone abandon someone in that way?
• I ask myself that question over and over again, until the nurse who had helped me approaches, and asked:
• "Are you her mother?"
• I lift my gaze and look at her, then I look at the little one and feel that it was destiny that had brought us together in this life.
• "Yes, I am."
• "Your daughter will be fine, come with me."
• I nod, after hearing her words, she helps me to stand up and leads me to the room where they will take him.
• "Where are they taking her?"
• "She will be fine, we will take her to the pediatric floor. Don't worry, your daughter will be fine. She's a fighter."
• I look at her surprised to know that it is a girl. I was so scared that I didn't even notice the baby's gender.
• She and I follow the person carrying the baby. She enters a room where there is another mother with her little one in her arms.
• She watches us enter, her gaze reflecting disapproval of the fact that I am young with a newborn baby. I decide to ignore her and pay attention to the nurse and the doctor who is examining the baby.
• "What is the baby's name?"
• I don't know what to answer, I am not her real mother. But by the way, everyone is looking at me, I have no choice but to continue with my lie and say the first name that comes to mind.
• "Mia."
• "It's a beautiful name."
• The nurse next to me looks at me with a smile, it seems like she likes my choice. I return the smile as a thank you.
• I look back at the doctor examining Mia and then he proceeds to speak.
• "Well, it seems that Mia is fine. However, I would like to do an examination. Her body is cold from the rain, we will do a study to see that it does not cause respiratory damage from exposure to water and cold."
• "Okay, do what you have to do, doctor."
• "Of course."
• He nods and looks at me for a moment, then looks back at Mia. The nurse has disappeared and I haven't realized until she returns with a somewhat large nurse's uniform.
• "Here, you need to change your clothes. You're soaked and could catch a cold."
• "Thank you."
• "You're welcome."
• "I'll return it, I promise."
• "Don't worry, you can keep it. I won't need it after all."
• "Thank you very much."