In The Arms of Love

"It is alright." One of the flight attendants said with a smile on her face to the passengers as there was a little shake on the plane.

"It might be a good idea to keep your seatbelts on." Another flight attendant told them softly to calm them down.

The lights flickered off and on and the passengers all gasped, there was fear in their eyes as they all glanced at each other.

"Please double check your seatbelt." The other flight attendant told them as they helped a few with their seat belts. "Seatbelt sir," She pointed and the man fastened his seat belt as they walked around.

A little girl who was asleep, her cheek was rosy and her hairs were curled up, she gently opened her eyes as her eyelashes fluttered. "Uncle, what is happening?" She asked as she looked at her uncle who sat next to her, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Nothing dear, we will be home soon, you will see your parents soon okay." Her uncle said softly as he squeezed her hands gently.

"Okay," The little girl smiled as she looked out of the window. "Uncle, look, it is blurry outside the window..." The little girl pointed but before the uncle would look over there was a loud noise.

Boom!

There was shaking as the oxygen mask was deployed in the entire cabin as everyone took the mask to wear.

"Uncle, what is happening?" The little girl said as fear gripped her and there was panic and there was a crack on the window as the plane started going down.

"Mayday! Mayday! Our plane is going down..." The pilots were saying something as they tried to steady the plane, but...

The little girl looked over at her uncle, the mask was on her face but her uncle who had just hit his head was already bleeding on his head and not conscious.

Tears filled her eyes as she began to cry, there were dead people around her, passengers screaming and everything was blur, everything was moving fast and in one hit she fainted not aware of what happened next, then blackout.

...

"My baby," A woman screamed in tears as she rushed over the scene with her husband behind her. There were police officers and search parties dispatched as they searched the place of the crash for any survivors.

"You can't go in there, ma'am." One of the police officers told her, there were few people also around crying for their dead ones.

"Please search for my daughter, she took this flight, she was with a man, she..." Her voice choked as her husband held her hands. "Albert, ask them to search for Rose..."

"We are still trying to identify the bodies ma'am and there are no survivors yet, none for now..."

"My daughter is alive!" The lady barked at the police officer. "She is alive!" She held his clothes. "I only spoke to her a few hours ago before she boarded the plane, she told me she was coming, I told her I was waiting..."

"We would keep searching ma'am." The police officer told her.

Albert held her shoulder and pulled her close to him. "Aisling, they would find our daughter, Rose would be found okay."

Aisling looked her husband in the eyes. "I want to see my Rose, she is only four years old, I shouldn't have left her... I shouldn't have..." She held her husband's shirt as more tears streamed down her cheek.

"Ah...." They heard a loud voice and both turned to see one man who was alive but almost unrecognizable as he was carried into an ambulance.

Aisling clasped her hands to her lips as she fell to the ground. "Rose, Rose..." Her heart rate quickened, if this was the state of this man, what more her child, if this was the state of the passengers who had boarded the plane, how then would her child be?

Albert squatted close to her as he cups her face with his hands. "She will be found, Aisling, our Rose is still alive and will be found. Let's trust the officers, let's trust them, they will find our child.

A few hours later there were tons of bodies lying on the floor white sheets over them as families came to identify the bodies. Aisling who was with a blanket wrapped over her was still waiting for her child to be found, she has made up her mind not to leave until they find her child.

The police officer walked over to them and Aisling got up immediately as did Albert. "Did you find her?" She asked as she searched his eyes in fear of what would come out of his lips.

The police officer hesitated for a while before parting his lips. "Ma'am, due to your description of your daughter, we found a kid..."

"My Rose, where is she?" Aisling cut him off immediately as the officer paused. "Tell me." Aisling looked around, she had kept her eyes wide open all this while for a sign of her daughter.

"I am afraid the child was burnt beyond recognition." Aisling staggered back as Albert held her to steady her. "Would you like to identify the body?"

Aisling's lips quivered. "That can't be..." She shook her head. "My child..." Her voice was hoarse as the office signalled them to bring the body over and they did as he gently opened the face and Aisling who couldn't stand the look covered her face on her husband's chest as she fainted.

***

A hunter at the eastern coast of America who had set out on a trip to hunt for food for his wife and four-year-old daughter saw a deer as he chased the deer with his gun, his thoughts were to catch this and make a lovely meal for his family.

"This way Paige wouldn't have to nag me all day and it would last for a whole week if we store it properly." He muttered to himself as he chased the deer, but lost track of it at the end. "Shit!" He shouted, running his hands through his hair.

"This is so tiring, but what else can I do, I better catch something big to make her happy." The hunter wiped off the sweat on his face as he turned to go search for another animal.

He stopped when he saw smoke from afar close to a riverbank so he hurried over. He gasped when he saw some part of a plane that had crashed.

"What happened here?" He clasped his lips as he saw a few dead people next to the crash. "Oh my god!" With trembling hands, the hunter took out his phone and dialled an emergency number. "I did my job." He nodded to himself and turned to leave when he heard someone sneeze.

"Huh!" The hunter turned around as he gently stepped close to the crash. "I think someone is alive..." He looked closely as his eyes dilated when he saw a child covered with black coal from the crash fingers moved. "She is alive!"

"Huh!" The hunter turned around as he gently stepped close to the crash. "I think someone is alive..." He looked closely as his eyes dilated when he saw a child covered with black coal from the crash fingers moved. "She is alive!"

He rushed over and pushed the few bodies off the child as he picked her up and rushed off to where his truck was, he put her into the truck and drove off, as he drove off he could see a police car and ambulance heading to where he had made the call.

He knew this child needed an immediate checkup so there was no point in handing her over to them, so he decided to take her to the hospital where she would be checked on before anything would happen to her.

He sat down outside the lobby as they carried out surgery on the child, a few moments later the doctors walked out and he rushed over to them.

"How is the child?" He asked as he searched their eyes.

"She is fine," The doctor told him and the hunter breathed a sigh of relief. "There is no internal bleeding, all we have to do is wait until she wakes up." The doctor told him and he nodded before the doctors left.

"I have done my part, I should continue hunting, when the child wakes up, she will tell them who she is and they will return her to her family." The hunter nodded to himself as he turned to leave the hospital, but he stopped since he felt uneasy.

"I should at least stay until she wakes up, it would scare her if she finds herself in the hospital alone..." He paused. "No Nathan," He spoke to himself. "You should leave now, the doctors will take good care of her."

"But, I should at least stay until her parents come to her. I can't leave a kid that is just like my child alone in the hospital, not after she survived a crash." He turned to look at the hospital ward.

"I should just leave, everything would be fine, the nurses would take care of her, I have done my part, no need to stay." Nathan nods as he turns to leave the hospital.

"Sir, she is awake." A nurse called out to him and he turned to look at her. "Your daughter is awake, you should go see her." The nurse told him as she walked out and Nathan rubs his hands over his face.

"She is not my daughter." He said softly but the nurse was too far to hear what he had said. "Fine then," Nathan exhaled sharply. "I will just see her and then leave." He nodded and walked over to the room where the child was.

Nathan saw the doctors doing the last check up on her, the child only lay on the bed in silence without saying a thing and the doctor looked over at Nathan before walking out of the room, Nathan followed behind.

"Doctor, is anything wrong?" Nathan asked and the doctor exhaled sharply before breaking the news to him and leaving.

Nathan looked over at the open glass at the child who was laying on the bed with her eyes closed as he remembered the doctor's words.

"I am sorry to tell you this, after the final checkup, we notice that she has suffered from an immense shock resulting in memory loss. I am afraid to say she doesn't remember anything."

"Not even her name?"

"Not even that." The doctor told him.

"Would she?"

"Yes, it may take time, but she would, that would happen according to her will to remember, but most times if it is too traumatic, the child would shut off that part of memory forever."

Nathan shut his eyes as he leaned close to the wall. "This is bad." He said softly as he exhaled sharply.

Nathan walked out of the hospital as he got into his truck. "I am sorry kid, I don't have much and I don't need to feed an extra mouth," Nathan was talking to no one in particular as he started his car engine. "Goodbye kid, I hope your real parents find you.

Nathan drove off, he stopped at the crossroad as he waited for the traffic light to change before continuing his journey when his eyes caught on the news about the crash, he could read on it that there were no survivors.

"Wait, she might be travelling with her parents, does this mean?" His eyes dilated. "Does this mean her parents died in the crash?" Nathan covered his lips with his hands.

"Oh no!" His brows drooped. "Why does this have to happen? Why now?" He hit the steering wheel before turning around to head to the hospital.

He walked into the room where the child was now awake, he sat close to the bed and looked at her face. "Why is this life so cruel, why would it take away your parents?" He thought to himself as he looked at the child that was staring at him like a stranger.

Nathan took her hands. "I feel so sorry for you, Kid." He said softly to himself as he exhaled sharply before patting her cheek.

"Hey," He called out to the girl. "Kid, let's go home, I will take you home now." He locked eyes with her with a smile on his lips.

Nathan processed her discharged paper before carrying her to his truck, he fastened her seatbelt and smiled at her. "Let's go home and make you a warm meal to eat okay." He said softly as he started his engine and drove off.

***

Nathan travelled a long journey back to the countryside, to where he shared a home with his child and wife. He pulled the truck over at a distance from his house, it was already getting dark, the sun was about to set and he could see his wife rocking their child to sleep in her arms.

He looked over at the child on the passenger seat, she was fast asleep. Nathan rubs his hands through his forehead, swallowing hard.

"I will have to keep you with us kid, no matter what my wife says, I would have to watch over you since you are alone in this world now, but don't worry kid, you won't stay that way since you have me, my wife and kid will be your mother and your sister." Nathan thought to himself as he looked at the child before clutching the steering wheel and driving home.

He pulled the truck over and stepped out of the car. "Hi, Sweetheart," Nathan called out to his wife who made a small gesture with her finger for him to keep silent since their kid was asleep.

"Welcome," Paige mouthed with a smile as she watched Nathan walk over to the passenger seat, she was wondering why he was opening the passenger's door and not the boot to take out the meat, but her eyes dilated when she saw him take out a sleeping kid in his arms.

Nathan looked up at his wife, he was holding the child in his arms as Paige's smiles disappeared and her brows knitted and her face turned ugly.

"Who is that?" Paige asked her husband as she gazed at the child he was holding in his arms. "Don't tell me your trip to hunt was to get a child down here?" She looked at her husband/

"It's not the way you think..."

"Hold on." Paige raised her hands to stop him from speaking. "Don't tell me that child is yours with another lady."

"Paige, she is not my child," Nathan told her without hesitation, he loved Paige so much and wouldn't let her misunderstand, he has never lied to her before and he was not planning on doing that either.

"Then who is she and why is she here?" Paige raised her voice.

Nathan looked at the sleeping kid as he walked close to Paige. "Let's at least lay them down," He also pointed at the kid she was carrying. "I will tell you everything after that."

Paige hesitated before she made way for him to go inside, Nathan lay the child down on a mattress while Paige lay her child down on her little bed before walking outside with Nathan.

"Now tell me, and tell me everything," Paige said with a serious voice, her arms crossed over her chest as she waited for him to explain.

"There was a plane crash in the city and she was the only survivor," Nathan told his wife and her lips parted as she let out a small gasp.

"A plane crash?" Nathan nods without repeating himself. "Then, isn't it best you send her to the police station, her parents may be looking for her." Paige was whispering right now as if her husband had committed a huge crime.

"I don't think her parents are alive..."

"How sure are you?" Paige cuts him off.

"I feel they also died in the crash since there are no survivors." Nathan looked his wife in the eye. "I think she was travelling with them, like no parent would put a child that young in a plane without going with her."

Paige shook her head. "I still insist you report her as the only survivor, her relatives would be searching for her if there is any case her parents are dead," Paige said in a hushed voice.

"I can't do that." Nathan looked away as Paige's brows furrowed.

"Why can't you do that?" Her brows knitted as she made him look her in the eye. "Why can't you send her away?"

"She has lost her memories." Nathan broke it down to her and Paige gently left his face as her eyes searched for him.

"She lost her memories?" Paige stood up as she paced around for a long while before turning to her husband in anger. "She is a bad omen, you should send her away before something bad happens to our family."

"Paige, that's not happening." Nathan stood up and held his wife's arm. "She is just a kid, she is not responsible for whatever crash that had happened on that plane, and she was just so unlucky and yet lucky to survive the crash."

Paige shook her head. "I can't let you keep that child here, I will go report this, we could even have an award money or so, why don't you think about that?" Paige pushed his hands away as she turned to leave but Nathan held her back.

"Have you ever thought if that was our daughter out there?" He said in a loud voice and Paige stopped struggling. "Have you ever thought of that? That little child lost her memories and knows no one, where do you expect her to go?"

"Her relatives would find her once the police found them..."

"Will she recognize them? What if something bad happens to her?" Nathan searched Paige's eyes. "Do you think it is easy for me to take her here? I have weighed the gain and losses of Paige, but if it was my child who lost her memories, I would also want someone kind to look after her."

"But..."

"Please let her stay here Paige, until she recalls her memories, after that, we can send her back to her family, but right now, let's keep her with us, please." Nathan pleaded with her and for a while, Paige was silent before she pushed his hands away.

"I can see you have made up your mind already on this even before taking her here." Paige ran her hands through her hair. "Fine then, but just to make it clear to you, you may keep that unknown girl here, but I would never be responsible for her well-being."

Paige said before stomping off into the house and shutting the door behind her with a loud thud.

Nathan exhaled sharply as he looked up to the dark sky, he scratched the corner of his head before letting himself down on the chair, he covered his face with his palm, all his thoughts were on what his wife had said.

What if this blows up on his face? What if something bad happens?

Nathan shook his head, still, there should be a little something he could do for that child, once she remembers her memories he would send her away since the doctor said she would.

Nathan walked into the house as he looked over at his daughter that was fast asleep. He sat close to her, pulling the quilt over her shoulder, he smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead before walking over to where the little child he had brought lay.

He stared at her for a long time as he glanced over her body. "It is a good thing that you weren't severely injured, it is a good thing you survived." Nathan thought as he gently covered her with the blanket.

"I know you aren't bad luck, no child should go through what you had gone through, who knows how shocked you were for you to suddenly lose your memories this way." He stroked her hair gently.

"It is a good thing if you forget those terrible things, it will be great if you don't remember them, but still, you need to remember them for me to send you home, at least remember who your real parents are and I will take you to them."

Nathan sat down close to her staring at the child for a long time. "I love my wife so much, Kid, but right now she is mad at me, this is why I have to send you back." Nathan heaved a sigh as he shut his eyes.