How often does fate knock on our doors? It’s a rare thing in our life. But this is exactly what happened to Anna Uriel. Fate came to her in the form of a little brown-eyed girl with a ponytail.
One day the doorbell rang at her house. On the doorstep stood a girl in a dressing gown, looking about six years old.
“Hello, honey,” Anna said affably. “You must have the wrong address.”
But the girl shook her head. “No, my mother lives here. Please call her.”
“Baby, unfortunately, I can’t help you,” Anna replied. “No one lives here but me.”
At this point the little girl cried. “Please, please. I really want my mommy!”
“Honey, where’s your daddy?” asked Anna.
“Daddy’s home. He told me Mommy would never come back to us, but I don’t believe him. She’s here!”, the girl answered, sobbing.
Then Anna squatted down and looked the girl in the eyes and said: “Sweetheart, I assure you that your mother is not here. How would you like it if I gave you some warm milk and cookies and then walked you to your daddy?”
There was sadness in the girl’s eyes. “All right,” she agreed quietly.
But as soon as Anna was distracted before she took the girl inside, she disappeared. It can’t be! This is some kind of a dream! Anna hurried to a neighbor who lived nearby.
She told Mrs. Freman about the mysterious girl. “She disappeared so quickly and inconspicuously that I began to doubt whether it was real or a dream,” Anna finished her story.
Mrs. Freeman invited Anna into the house and poured her a cup of tea. “There used to be a small family in the house where you live now. They had a daughter. Nice people. However, after a severe illness, the girl’s mother died. The man had to sell the house. I think this is the same girl.”
“What a misfortune!” said Anna regretfully. “To be without her mother so early.”
“What’s their last name…”, Mrs. Freeman wondered. “What’s wrong with my memory, I can’t remember…I remember the girl’s name was Cassie.”
“Cassie, then,” Anna repeated. “When she comes again, I’ll call the police and take her to my place. It’s not right to have a little girl wandering the streets alone.”
Cassie, however, did not come. Anna’s life went on as usual. Anna was a firm believer that everything in life had to be planned. She was going to get married at 25, and three years later become a mother. But after living with her husband for 4 years, she never managed to get pregnant.
She underwent numerous procedures, some of which were very hard for her. A miracle happened! She got pregnant. But the happiness didn’t last long. One month later she lost her child. According to her doctors the probability of a new pregnancy was very low.
Anna’s husband stated that he does not plan to remain childless, he wants to be a father, but he is not going to adopt a child. He left the family. Anna was left alone with her pain. So she could understand the feelings the little girl was experiencing. The oppressive feeling of emptiness did not leave Anna, she could not free herself from it. For months Anna lived waiting for Cassie, but the girl never came.
One winter evening someone knocked on Anna’s door. On the threshold stood Cassie, wrapped in a winter coat. Tears streamed down her little face. “Please, lady, I really need my mother. Daddy is lying on the floor and won’t wake up. Please call her!”
Anna was seized with terror. She quickly threw on her coat and grabbed her purse. “Honey, your name is Cassie, isn’t it? Walk me to the house where you live, please.”
Cassie’s face lit up with a smile. “I knew you’d remember me, Mommy! Come on!”, she squeezed Anna’s hand tightly and led her toward the apartment building. After walking three blocks, they were in the spot.
When they reached the house, Anna saw that the door was unlocked. The woman entered the house and found a man on the floor, unconscious. Anna tried to shake him up. At that moment she smelled a pungent smell of alcohol. With difficulty, Anna dragged Cassie’s father to the couch, and went into the kitchen herself. What a shame!
She fired up the stove to make coffee and then began to clean up. The house was in a state of disrepair. Cassie followed on Anna’s heels. “Mommy, bake me some cookies, please. I missed your cookies so much!”
Anna looked at Cassie and said: “Honey, I’m not your mom, but I can bake you cookies.” An hour later the house was in order and the cookies were baking in the oven. And now the delicious aroma of cookies and coffee was in the air. Anna poured a cup of coffee and went into the room where Cassie’s father lay. She shook him hard. “Wake up!” said Anna demandingly, “Your daughter needs you!”
At that moment the man woke up. He looked with puffy eyes at Anna, and suddenly a spark of hope ran across his face. “Bess?” the man said quietly.
“My name is Anna. Your daughter came to my house looking for her mother,” Anna replied sternly. “The girl needs her father. Be good, pull yourself together and hold yourself together!”
The man got up from the couch with an effort. “I don’t need you or your help! Go away!”
“I don’t care about you, you fool. I came here for Cassie,” Anna hissed. “While you were here feeling sorry for yourself, she was knocking on someone else’s door.”
Anna said goodbye to Cassie, kissed her, and left. She didn’t know if she would ever see Cassie and her disgusting father again. A week went by. One day there was a knock on the door. On the threshold stood a stately, handsome man.
“Hello!” he said with excitement in his voice. “I’ve come to thank you and apologize for my behavior…”
“Excuse me, who are you?”, Anna did not understand what was going on.
A dye of embarrassment flooded the man’s face. “I’m Jeffrey, Cassie’s father. I wanted to say thank you for helping Cassie and me. I’ve been too busy with my own grief, and I haven’t thought at all about my daughter and what she’s going through.”
Anna replied with a smile, “It’s okay. I know firsthand how hard it can be to deal with.”
Jeffrey saw the sadness in Anna’s eyes. “Have you lost someone close to you, too?”
“Yes, my son,” Anna replied, barely holding back tears. “When he died, my husband left me…”
From that moment on, Anna began to see Cassie and Jeffrey more often. They tried to support each other, so they could cope with their grief more easily. After a while Anna and Geoffrey realized that they loved each other. Cassie had already guessed it. Soon they were married.
Two years passed. Fate blessed Anna and she became pregnant. Nine months later a beautiful, healthy boy was born. And Cassie was proud to wear the title of big sister.
