Hope’s head rose up from the desk. Her eyebrow was raised confusingly. “Excuse me?”
“You’re my sister,” the guy repeated.
Hope rolled her eyes. “This is not a very good joke.”
“Its not a joke. You were born at…” Hope heard papers shifting.
“Memphis Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee. I have your birth certificate in my hand.”
Hope started laughing. Giggling at first but then it progressed into a roar. Justin’s mouth dropped open as he looked over at the young man sitting beside him. Justin pointed at the phone, “J.C., she is laughing at me.”
The older man shrugged. “Put her on speaker phone.” He mouthed. Justin clicked on the button laughter filled the air. He put the phone on the hook and shrugged at the other man.
The laughter died down a bit. “I’m sorry…that…that’s just so funny.” Hope again giggled.
“What is so funny about it?” the guy asked.
“You have to have the wrong person because…because,” Hope giggled loudly again. “Its just that nobody knows where I was born.” “How…”
“I’m adopted…”
The guy’s mouth fell open as they looked at each other with big round eyes. How could this be? Was this another dead end? Were they wrong? Perhaps…she isn’t the Hope they have been looking for the last year and a half ever since Justin’s parents had told them they had another child after him. A girl in fact.
Hope continued. “From what I have been told my real parents and older brother died in a house fire when I was only months old. My certificate and everything burned with the house. Supposedly, neighbors told them my name or something. That’s all I know. I suppose the hospital would have a copy of the birth certificate; but seriously do you know how many Hope’s are born in the world? Its almost an impossible task.”
“Not when you know what you’re looking for. Hope the people you are living with, Linda Shields and Glenn Shields, stole you from our home during a house fire. Except, you and mine both birth certificates were in a fireproof box. Which means you are my long lost sister,” Justin explained.
Hope stood to get the cramps out of her legs. All of this information was coming to quick to suddenly and she didn’t know how to handle it. Her hand rubbed her eyes. “Lets say I was stolen or kidnapped. If I changed my last name and you haven’t seen me in like years how did you find me?” Hope started pacing like a nervous child waiting to get its birthday present.
“Ever since you were kidnapped we would put out a missing person’s report. Just recently we put one on America’s Most Wanted and did a sketch thingy on how you would look at 18. A anyominous person called in and said she knew you.”
Hope stopped burning a hole in the floor to lean her back against the bookshelf. “Why would you call? Wouldn’t the station or somebody call the house? I don’t know I am so confused.” Hope turned to knock her head against the case. Why me? Why me? Why me? Why me?
“The station tried to call but somebody answered saying something like ‘leave us alone you’re crazy’. So we figured if I would call I could say I was one of your friends or something.” Justin looked over at J.C. with pleading eyes.
“I still don’t understand I saw my adoption papers. Wait, I’m not 18.” J
ustin lowered his head. He wished he knew what thoughts were going inside of her head right now. Just one thought was all he asked for. “J.C. hand me that certificate. In your certificate you were pronounced Hopeless Cecil Timberlake at nine o’clock on March 20, 1983.”
Hope lifted her head and stared at the books in front of her. “That can’t be I’m 17.”
Justin looked over a J.C. who was nervously biting his fingernail. “You were also kidnapped.” Justin started biting his fingernail also.
“What about the adoption papers?” Hope asked as she slid down the bookcase to rest at the carpeted floor.
“They can be printed off of the internet.”
He was right they could have been printed. Why would they do that to me though, she thought. Who would do such a thing? She answered her own question: somebody who only cared about their selves.
“Look, why don’t you give me your phone number and I’ll call you when I get something, ok?” Hope told him. She rose from the floor back to the desk.
“You have got to believe me,” Justin said.
“I do, I do. Its just I’m going to find some answers for myself. If you could read out the important stuff in my certificate it would be great. I’ll give you my personal phone so only I can answer.”
They switched information and just as Hope put down the receiver the library door opened loudly. She jumped. Hope turned around with a smile on her face. Getting up she placed the piece of paper in her pocket. Her father picked her by the waist in happiness.
The man that held her was tall and strong. The blue shirt and tie gave out the impression of a very trusted doctor. Glenn sat his daughter down. “How was school?”
“Ok, I guess.”
“Why are you here. You never come in here.”
Hope looked into his brown eyes and just couldn’t believe such a caring and good human being would do such a cold thing like take somebody away. Who would have thought of something like that? “I’m doing some research on a project.”
“For what?”
“History.”
“What is it about?”
“Martin Luther King Jr. I thought there would be something here but there isn’t so I’ll probably have to go to the library later tonight,” Hope lied. She couldn’t risk being caught in an adoption website they would question her actions.
Copyright © 2001 AngelH