Staring at the torn bunny doll on the shelf, Bella walked quietly like a mother would walk past her sleeping baby. Chuckling deeply at herself with the way she walked, she took the doll off the shelf before hugging it tightly, almost suffocating the air left in it.
"Oh, sorry." she muttered quietly before walking toward her window to bask in moonlight. Sitting close to her window with her bunny doll in her hands, she stared at the moon sweetly like a child waiting for Santa as a thought slipped into her mind, hope… Laughing out loud, she held the doll on her chest as she used her other hand to clean the little tears that glistened her eyes.
"Hope?" she murmured. "That's a crazy word, and I like it." she spoke, shining her white teeth in a smile. Looking at the bunny doll, she stroked its fur with a larger smile. "Hope brought us together, right?" she asked, nibbling on her lower lips. Unable to stop the new tears that found their way around her face, she sniffed deeply. "This night is different." She added, staring at the bunny doll and just then, memories of her childhood and years after struck her.
Childhood memories (The Unexpected Charm).
"I am happy for you, Bell. I heard a family wants to adopt you." Her friend, Tiffany, said, hugging her, and Bella couldn't help the giggle that left her lips.
"I can't wait to see them too!" she had said, smiling deeply at Tiffany, who is seven years old and just a year older than her. "I am sure you'd find yourself an adopter too." she had told Tiffany in a hug, and the two friends had gone out to play.
The day came. The day of Bella's adopters' arrival. A special day, she had named it and for hours, she had stared at the short hand of the clock, counting down to the hour they'd pick her up but to her dismay, no one showed up. The sun went to rest, and then morning came, and right on her bed did Bella stay, counting each minute that passed, silently hoping something great would happen.
However, hours became days, and no one ever showed up for her. Even Tiffany later found an adopter after a year, but not her! Every adopter who wanted to adopt her never came. And she was lost.
Year after year, her chances of getting adopted got slimmer and slimmer. But Bella didn't let that dampen her soul. She helped others move, and she helped where she could. She was useful, and that made her happy. The word, Hope, was lost in her dictionary, though there was one thing that kept her going. The countdown to her eighteenth years at Rose Children's Foundation, where she would be let out and face life on her own. So, she did the best she could in learning everything there is to help her survive.
At 10 years old, she was an expert in getting things done. Two more years came to play, and then came the unexpected charm. She was told there were people who wanted to adopt her. But Bella had grown old of hoping and waiting on anyone. So, she didn't pack up and just continued doing her thing.
However, on the said day, the couples came. Happy and chummy, their eyes lit up when they saw her, and she was called their lucky charm.
Present Day.
Sniffing while holding the doll. Bella walked to her shelf again, and there it was. Her own miracle. The two lovely souls who had made her believe in hope. Touching the frame on the shelf, she smiled hard when she remembered the day they took the picture.
Some years later (Picture and the Bunny doll).
"Come on, little charm, we'll be late. Your mother is sweetly waiting for us at the photo store." Her Dad, Mr Edwin, had said, urging her to come down as he typed away on his phone.
"Did she use the word sweetly?" Bella had asked with a chuckle, and just a nod from her father gave the answer.
And she knew... when her mother, Mrs. Edwin uses sweetly, it means she's not happy and probably ready with a speech to let them know how late they are. She must confess, though, she loved it when her mama spoke with so much authority before she started crying, blaming herself on why she didn't pick them up instead.
Getting into her Dad's car and with her seat belt in place, the car moved as Bella opened the car's window to feel the wind.
As her Dad drove on, Bella smiled sweetly at the wind as she imagined her mother's reaction if she were in the car with them. While her Dad embraced her crazy side mainly because he liked it too,her mother never does. She's so protective of her that she won't let her do anything dangerous.
Her lips curled into a smile as they passed the clothing store, which her mother owns. It is the biggest cloth store in the city. While her mother works outdoors, her father works from home. It balances things between them.
"Here we are! Let's hurry before she breaks down." Her father said with a wink as they both walked into the photoshoot store.
"Oh, goodness, I can't..."
"I love you too, babe." Her father had said, hugging her mother so tightly as a smile graced her lips.
"Come here, my little pumpkin," her mother had said, and together, they embraced themselves.
"Oh, I just have a brilliant idea. Let's get our little pumpkin a doll." And with that, her phone was in her hands typing away.
"Come here, choose anyone you like." she had added.
...and right there, Bella scanned through her mama's phone to pick a doll. Scanning through, her eyes saw the cutest bunny doll ever. "I want this!" she had said with a smile, and she got it. It was her first time ever choosing something for herself and getting it.
Present Time.
Walking toward the window, Bella held on to the bunny doll, and the frame as a final memory slipped in. New tears rushed down her face like a dam let loose as she stared at the moon.
"That's why tonight is different. This is the night that fate created a new path for me." she said with a sad smile.
Two years later, after her eighteenth birthday (Their Death)
"It's a good thing I decided to pick you both up today. Now, let's go. I have made a reservation." Her mother said in her fine polished tone.
With her doll in hands, Bella had followed her parents to the car as her father drove to their destination. However, they didn't get there as a drunk driver hit their car right into a pole.
Bella woke up later in a hospital with a torn bunny doll beside her and her parents gone.
They left her cold and alone in the world where all she knew was their love and attention. And Bella thought she'd never find love again... "Her bad luck has shown it claws again." she thought.
However, hope wasn't done with her as it brought another miracle her way.
Present Time.
"Mom, Dad, I miss you both. Darren is an amazing guy and a wonderful father to our kids. I never thought I'd find love again until Darren came into my life. He is a bit of you both", she chuckled. "He is fun, caring, playful, and so protective."
Cleaning off her tears, she added. "Thank you both for coming for me," and right then, she stared at the moon, and she could have sworn it smiled right back at her.