Little Girl Lost: Volume 1 of the Little Girl Lost Trilogy. Cindy HannaЧитать онлайн книгу.
disagreements end one day when Mrs. Anders announces, “I want a divorce!”
There is no more shouting or name-calling, just that awful word— divorce. Sally, unaware at the time, soon witnesses the life-altering effects it has on individuals. The changes come rapidly. Mr. Anders moves. Next, their house sells. A month later, Julie and her mother move to Texas to live with her maternal grandparents. Sally never sees her friend again. It is all so sudden—so permanent.
Three years pass since the argument where Sally screamed at her parents to stop fighting. She is ten and Eric eight.
It’s not fair. Eric and I shouldn’t have to grow up this much.
We’ve seen and experienced way too much.
Sally finds that the less she is acquainted with the word divorce, the happier she is. Soon, however, she discovers that she is not immune. Divorce descends upon her own family like a dark cloud, eclipsing the sun’s rays.
One day, her mother finally has enough: enough beatings, enough verbal abuse and enough feeling helpless as she watches her husband beat their children. While their father is at work, her mom packs a few belongings for each of them. Completing her task, she calls, “Come on, kids, we’re going to stay with your grandparents.”
Eric questions, “But what about Daddy? Is he coming?”
“No!” She takes both children and seeks sanctuary with her parents who live in Pasadena. Her father helps her file for divorce. He also protects her and the children, like a ferocious pit bull, when his son-in-law arrives, demanding that his family return home with him.
Time passes quickly after her parents’ divorce. Sally and Eric stay with their mother, per the court order. In an act of kindness her father doesn’t often show, he moves out so his wife and children can return home.
Sally and her brother grow inseparable. Their community, centered on conformity, places a negative stigma upon them. Sally is protective of her younger brother, often commenting, “It’s just the two of us.
Gotta look out for each other.”
“Promise you won’t ever leave me,” Eric says.
Sally hugs her little brother tight. “I promise. I’ll always be there to protect you.”
Eric smiles and hugs her back.
The siblings take solace in being the other’s best friend and confidant. They have each other. Alone, their mother shoulders the burden of being a divorcee. Sally watches how her mother is shunned from social circles and repeatedly turned down when she volunteers to help with school and team activities.
She observes her mother’s frustration.
I’m never going to put myself through the hell of divorce.
Sally feels the sharp sting of rejection from the same neighborhood kids she has always run with.
I haven’t changed or done anything wrong. My parents just got divorced. I don’t understand why the other kids avoid me.
Sally is jealous as she watches other kids play together with their complete families.
Look at them with their cocky smiles, the one that shows how happy and safe they feel.
She wants to run up to them and shout, “Wipe that smug grin off your face! Don’t you know? Nothing ever stays the same. People change and families crumble right before your eyes.” Instead, she chokes back tears and turns to her brother as an ally.
The McFees feel freest at the beach, where they blend in with the masses and have a sense of anonymity. Whenever they can, they drive to their sandy sanctuary for several hours of therapeutic fun and relaxation.
Years pass. Sally becomes a pre-teen and then a teenager. Her mother never remarries. Sally and Eric become more inseparable.
The day Sally gets her driver’s license, Eric is there to congratulate her, “Way to go! Weren’t you nervous?”
“Yeah. I was scared I’d screw up.”
Upon arriving home, their mother looks at Sally and suggests, “Why don’t you two take the car and drive around a bit?”
“Really?!”
“Sure. Just be back before dark. Okay?”
Sally smiles broadly. “We’ll be back before it’s dark. I promise.”
Grabbing her brother’s arm, she makes a dash for the door before her mother can change her mind. “Come on, buddy, let’s go.”
Eric high-fives his sister. “Partners in crime?”
“Always!” Sally responds, high-fiving him back.
They feel invincible—she sixteen, he fourteen. The world is their oyster. They cruise around a bit to experience Sally’s new freedom before ending up at the local pizza joint. After spending the afternoon munching on pizza, sipping ice-cold sodas and playing video games, Sally and Eric head home.
The next day is a spectacular Saturday—perfect beach weather.
Sally and Eric ask, “Please, Ma, can we go to the beach today?”
Their mother shakes her head. “I wish I could, guys, but I’m swamped.” She brightens. “But Sally can drive. No reason you two can’t go.”
“Really?” Sally asks. “You trust me to drive all the way down there and back—alone?”
“Sure, honey. Just as long as the two of you stay together.”
“Thanks, Ma,” Sally says.
Excited by their new independence, the siblings load their stuff into the car and head down to Redondo Beach. It is a glorious day, complete with blue skies, waves calling to them and the smell of sunshine on their hair and skin. Sally grabs her boogie board and says, “Last one in is a rotten egg.”
They race out into the waves. Due to the riptide that day, they keep repositioning themselves back near the lifeguard tower and stay out in the waves for hours, catching one good run after another, having the time of their lives. Eric looks at Sally as the day begins to wane.
“One more ride? Then we can leave.”
Unable to resist his puppy dog face, Sally says, “Okay, one more, then we’ve got to head home.”
They paddle out on their boards and wait for the perfect wave. It arrives, and they align themselves to ride it in. Positioning themselves side by side at its crest, the two smile broadly at one another. Sally says, “See you on the other side.”
They both paddle in earnest and begin to ride the top of the wave.
By the time they realize their mistake, it is too late. They have over paddled and drop out over the crest of the eight-foot, monstrously powerful wave. Unable to stop what is happening, Sally desperately looks at her younger brother and yells, “Hold on, Eric, this is gonna get rough!”
“I’m scared!” he says, his eyes opened wide.
Sally offers him a reassuring smile. “I won’t leave you.”
Over the top they both pitch and are immediately sucked headfirst, straight down into the foaming churn of the whitewater. Sally cannot distinguish which way is up or down. Unable to hold her breath any longer, she gasps for air, her lungs filling with burning salt water. She begins swimming as hard as she can, clawing her way to the surface, choking and gagging. Breaking free, she fills her lungs with air, spews out the saltwater she has taken in and then swims for land. She pulls herself out of the water and staggers onto the shore, dropping to all fours still gagging and coughing up saltwater.
Turning around, she expects to see Eric alongside her. All she finds is his boogie board. Gooseflesh blankets her skin. Standing up, Sally scans the water to locate him.