“We can get you something to eat before we look for your parents. If you want?” Davis finally joined in.
The little girl stepped out a little more, allowing me to see her curly hair had matted in areas as if it hadn’t been washed in weeks. She was dirty all over, and her clothes were littered with small holes. Her once pink shoes were now faded, caked in mud, and barely hanging on, tearing in spots. I felt a sharp pain in my chest at the sorry state she was in. It looked like she had not been home for a while, being out here alone. Where were her parents?
“Come on, I won’t hurt you, sweet girl. Can you tell me what you like to eat? We’ll get you whatever you want.” I promised her, stretching my hand out towards her in hopes she would hold it.
She looked at it suspiciously for a good few seconds before very gently placing her hand in my palm. She felt so cold, and she stepped further into the lit path with me. I noticed she had scratches and bruises on her arms and legs. The more I looked at her, the more I saw what a terrible state she was in. I couldn’t understand how a parent could allow this to happen to their child. Were they not out worried and looking for her? Why have I not seen a single missing poster for this child?
“What’s your name?” I asked her, hoping by some miracle she would share.
She stayed quiet, unwilling to speak, but shook her head no again. She had some trauma, probably from having to fend for herself out here for god knows how long. I had to fight back my tears with all my might. There was no way I was going to make her feel bad. Davis had walked ahead of us, so he could call the police without the little girl knowing. Sadly, we couldn’t just take her with us.
“Should we send the big guy over there to get you some McDonalds? Do you like McDonalds?” I asked her, pointing at Davis as I referenced him as the big guy.
Once again, she nodded her head yes. At least we were getting somewhere with her, even if it was something as small as she likes McDonalds. Davis hung up, coming towards me and whispering in my ear.
“They’ll be here in a little while. Derek is going to come in the meantime and look around.”
“That’s great. The little one here said she likes McDonalds, so why don’t you go get her something and we’ll wait for you here?”
“I’ll be back. Don’t steal my fiance from me while I’m gone,” he joked with the little girl, but she shied away, scared. I knew it made Davis feel bad, but he said nothing, giving the girl some space.
Davis left on his bike, causing the girl to jump at the loud sound of its muffler. She squeezed my hand tightly, seeming to have formed some sort of bond with me. I found a nearby bench and had us both sit there as we waited for Derek, the police, or Davis to return. Who would come first?
My question was answered ten minutes later when Derek’s SUV came into view. He stepped down, but didn’t approach me, just gave me a curt nod. I guess Davis told him where we had found her as he headed down the trail we were just on. Derek was smart in not coming over here to talk to the girl. She wouldn’t have answered any of his questions anyway, and he would have scared her too.
“I’m Lisa, by the way. The big guy who went to get you food is my fiance, Davis. I know he looks scary, but he’s a wonderful guy. You are safe with us, okay?” I tried to ease her worries, but she still seemed so lost and scared.
Even with all this caked mud and dirt on her, I could see how beautiful she was. Certain that when properly washed and maintained, her hair had beautiful ringlets, at least it seemed like it would to me. I sighed as she said nothing again. She picked up on my disappointment as she opened her mouth and uttered her first word since finding her.
“Calliope.”
Her voice was but a small whisper in the air, almost making me miss her name. It was beautiful, just like her. At least her parents gave her a nice name.
“That’s a beautiful name, Calliope. I love it. It's very unique.” I smiled at her as her wide, light brown eyes stared up at me.
There was this deep temptation in me to just snatch her up and take her home like another stray I’d found on the street. Only she was not a pet, she was a human and I couldn’t just take her to my house without permission. That was kidnapping, and I was no kidnapper, although at this point, was it kidnapping if her parents weren’t even looking for her? I heard Davis’ bike before he came into view with the food. He jogged over to us, sitting beside me to keep a decent distance from the girl. She was obviously still scared of him.
“Here you go, Darling. I got you nuggets and fries. They were my daughter's favorites at your age.”
Davis handed her the food with a soft smile and the girl looked at me as if asking for permission to grab it. I nodded my head at her, seeing her grab the food so quickly her hands were a blur. Davis and I watched in horror as she devoured the food like she hadn’t eaten in days, which could well likely be the case. I fought those tears back again as I popped a nice soggy fry in my mouth.I’m sorry, but those are the best.
“Calliope, how long have you been out here?” I asked her, hoping maybe she would answer again. She held up three fingers, to my horror. “Three hours?” I hoped, but she shook her head no. “Three days?” Again she shook her head no, and I couldn’t stomach it anymore as I asked my question, really hoping she would say yes, even though it would still be terrible news. “Three weeks?” She nodded her head that time.
She had been out here for three weeks!
What had she done to survive? Had she been at the park this whole time? God, it was a miracle she had been out here by herself for so long without getting hurt. I shuddered at the thought of all the terrible things that could have befallen, that probably befell her. Unable to hold it back anymore, a tear slid down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away before Calliope noticed.
“That’s a long time.” Davis was trying hard to contain the rage he was feeling towards her parents. We both were.
“Did you run away from home, Calliope?”
She shook her head no to my question, which was both good and bad. But what exactly happened? And where were her parents now?
“Can you tell us how you got here?”
She made her fingers trail in front of her, telling me she walked.
“Do you know from which way you came?” Davis asked her this time, probably trying to get a feel for which direction she came from. She pointed towards downtown. At least we have a place to start. There was no way I was letting these parents off the hook when we found them.
