Abbie worked as a sanitation worker to support her injured husband and was surprised to find an abandoned stroller near the trash cans one day. She peered inside and was startled to find twin baby girls sleeping in it.
The streets were still dark, and the early morning joggers were yet to begin their fitness regime for the day when Abbie was up and on her feet. She washed her face, changed her injured husband Steven’s dressing, and brewed herself a cup of coffee.
After finishing it in three quick sips, Abbie donned her uniform, and off she marched to work. She had already made Steven breakfast and left him a post-it note on the fridge, as she always did.
When she arrived at the first garbage dump of the day, she got out of her truck, emptied the bins, and gathered all the trash in one place. She was about to leave after loading them into her vehicle when she noticed an abandoned stroller in the middle of the road.
Wondering why a stroller was lying there with nobody visible in close sight, she decided to approach it. When she peeked inside, she jumped back, startled to find twin baby girls sleeping in it…
“Jesus! Who would leave their children out here like this?” she wondered.
Abbie looked around but didn’t see anyone. She knocked on a few nearby doors, asking if they knew anyone with twin baby girls, but no one did.
Finally, Abbie called the cops and the CPS was called in, and the kids were placed in their care.
Love can create miracles and so much more than hatred can.
***
“You didn’t find anything on the girls, ma’am? No information, no ID, nothing?” Officer Barton asked her.
“I didn’t,” she admitted. “But how—how can someone just leave such beautiful babies like that?”
The officer smirked. “You have no idea how many cases we receive of parents simply abandoning their children. I mean, it’s insane. Why have them if you can’t take care of them? Anyway, ma’am, thank you for your cooperation. We’ll let you know if we come across anything.”
“Thank you very much, officer,” Abbie said as she left.
That night at home, she felt terrible when she thought about the girls. Were they really abandoned? What if something terrible had happened to them? What if their parents were in trouble? What if…if their parents would never be found? Would Steven agree to adopt them?
Even Abbie knew she shouldn’t have been so pessimistic as to believe the girls’ parents would never be found, but a part of her wanted the children. The girls needed a loving home, and she and Steven had failed to conceive.
“What do you think, honey?” she asked her husband over dinner. “Would you take them in?”
“It’s too early to think about that, hun,” he said. “I mean, I don’t want you to feel let down. What if you really want them, but their parents appear unexpectedly? I know how difficult your fertility journey has been.”
“I know…” Abbie said quietly. “But I… I’d like to bring them home… and I’m ready to wait.”
Time flew by, and there was no information about the twins’ parents. Abbie was ready to adopt the children, and so was Steven. He was happy that they would finally heal from the pain of being childless, but there was another terrible news that awaited the couple.
“…Because you have foster parent certification, the process goes more smoothly,” the social worker explained. “However, we would still need to run a background check and everything, but the girls…”
“What’s wrong with the girls?” asked Abbie, worried. “Are they alright?”
“Yes, yes, they’re fine,” the worker said. “The problem is, the girls… they’re deaf.”
“What?” gasped Abbie, clutching Steven’s hand. “They are deaf?”
“Yes, they are,” continued the worker. “Whoever abandoned them… mostly didn’t want disabled children. We deal with numerous such cases on a daily basis. Sad. I’m curious if you’re still set on taking them in. Look, most couples don’t want an abnormal child.”
“NO!” Abbie yelled, jumping to her feet. “Who said we were going to change our minds? I’d do anything to bring them home. Poor babies! How could anyone just…”
Abbie was crying in Steven’s arms before she could finish her sentence, feeling terrible for the little girls. Her heart went out to those poor souls who had no one, and they were thankfully permitted to foster the girls.
The twins changed Steven and Abbie’s lives. Their joyous cries and laughter filled the entire house, and the couple couldn’t have been happier.
Abbie began working multiple jobs to support them, and everything was perfect. Their lives were perfect.
Six months later, the girls, whom they named Hannah and Daina, made Steven and Abbie’s life complete. Then something unexpected happened one day.
***
12 years later…
Abbie and Steven were having lunch with the girls when Abbie received a phone call from a woman named Bethany. Steven and Abbie were both working for good companies at this point.
“Hello, I’m hoping this is the contact for Hannah and Diana’s mom?”
“Yes, it is… how may I help?” replied Abbie.
“Wonderful. Hello, Mrs. Lester, this is Bethany calling to inform you…”
Abbie almost dropped the phone from her grasp when she learned what Bethany had to say.
“Are you serious?” asked Abbie. “My girls did that? They really did? Oh, yes… yes… thank you, yeah, sure!”
Hannah and Diana, who were brilliant at sketching models and outfits since elementary school, were offered a $530K collaboration with a children’s fashion brand for disabled children.
The girls’ art teacher was impressed with their abilities and recommended them to one of her friends’ acquaintances, who turned out to be Bethany.
Abbie hugged her girls and cried as she hung up the phone. Hanna and Dianna had made both her and Steven incredibly proud.
In sign language, she told them, “Mommy and Daddy love you girls the most. You are the most brilliant stars in our universe. You girls have made us proud today…” Then she told the girls about their accomplishments.
The family laughed, shed tears, and ordered a huge cake to celebrate the occasion. Hannah and Diana decided to accept the opportunity and start their own business instead of going to college, and the girls are doing fantastically well today.
Abbie and Steven had started life at a point when they didn’t even have separate beds for their girls, but they loved them and always encouraged them, and now they have everything. Every single thing they wanted.
