Abbie worked as a sanitation worker to support her injured husband. One day, she was surprised to find an abandoned stroller near the garbage cans. She peeked inside and was shocked to find twin girls sleeping inside.
The streets are still dark, and the joggers hadn’t started their daily jogs when Abbie woke up. She washed her face, changed her injured husband Steven’s bandage, and poured herself a cup of coffee.
After finishing it in three sips, Abbie put on her uniform and headed to work. She had already made Steven’s breakfast and left him a post-it on the fridge, like she always did.
When she arrived at the first dump, she got out of her truck, emptied the bins and collected 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.
She wondered why a stroller was there, with no one nearby, and she decided to approach it. When she peeked inside, she jumped to find twin girls sleeping inside…
“Damn it ! Who would have thought of leaving children here like that?” she wondered.
Abbie looked around but saw no one. She knocked on a few doors in the neighborhood, asking if they knew anyone with binoculars, but to no avail.
Eventually, Abbie called the cops. She also contacted the CPS and subsequently the children were placed in their care.
Love can create miracles and so much more than hate.
“Didn’t you find anything on the children, Madam? No information, no ID, nothing?” asked Officer Barton.
“I couldn’t find anything,” she admitted. “But how can someone leave such beautiful babies like that?”
The officer smiled. “You have no idea how many cases we are getting. They are all parents who abandon their children. I mean, it’s insane. Why have it if you can’t take care of it? Anyway, ma’am, thank you for your cooperation. We’ll let you know if we find anything.”
“Thank you very much, officer,” Abbie said as she left.
That night at home, she felt bad when she thought about 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 were never found? Would Steven agree to adopt them?
Even Abbie knew she shouldn’t have been so pessimistic that the girls’ parents would never be found, but part of her wanted to raise the children. The twins needed a loving home, and she and Steven had failed to get one.
“What do you think, darling?” she asked her husband over dinner. “Would you welcome them?”
“It’s too early to think about it, honey,” he replied. “I mean, I don’t want you to be disappointed. What if you really want to adopt them, but their parents suddenly show up? I know how difficult our fight to have a child was.
“I know…” Abbie said quietly. “But I…I would like to take them home…and I’m willing to wait.”
Time passed, and there was no information about the parents of the twins. Abbie was ready to adopt them, and so was Steven. They were happy to finally be able to heal from the pain of not having children, but another terrible news awaited the couple.
“…Since you have foster care certification, the process is easier,” explained the social worker. “However, we would still need background checks and all, but girls…”
“What’s wrong with the kids?” Abbie asked worriedly. “Are they okay?”
“Yes, yes, they are fine,” replied the employee. “The problem is that the twins… they are deaf”.
“What?” Abbie breathed, clutching Steven’s hand. “Are they deaf?”
“Yes, they are,” continues the assistant. “Whoever abandoned them… didn’t really want children with disabilities. We deal with many such cases every day. It’s sad. I am curious to know if you are still determined to welcome them. Look, most couples don’t want an abnormal child.”
“No!” Abbie shouted, jumping up. “Who said we were going to change our minds? I would do anything to bring them home. Poor babies! How can you be so unfair…”
Abbie cried in her husband’s arms before she could finish her sentence, feeling bad for little girls. She was wholeheartedly with these poor orphans who had no one, and they were fortunately allowed to take them into their home.
The twins changed Steven and Abbie’s life. Their cheers and laughter filled the entire house, and the couple couldn’t be happier.
Abbie started having several jobs to support herself, and everything was perfect. Their life was perfect.
Six months later, the girls, whom they named Hannah and Diana, made the couple’s life even happier. Then, one day, something unexpected happened.
12 years later…
Abbie and Steven were having lunch with their daughters when the twins’ mother suddenly received a phone call from a woman named Bethany. The twins’ parents were both working for big companies at the time.
“Hello, I hope this is Hannah and Diana’s mother’s number?”
“Yes, that’s it… How can I help you?” Abbie replied.
“Marvellous. Hello, Mrs. Lester, this is Bethany calling to let you know…”
Abbie nearly dropped the phone from her hand when she heard what Bethany had to say.
“Are you serious?” Abbie asked. “My daughters did this? They really did it? Oh, yes… yes… thank you, yes, of course!”
Hannah and Diana, who had been brilliant at designing models and outfits since elementary school, were offered a $530,000 collaboration with a fashion brand for children with disabilities.
The girls’ art teacher was impressed with their abilities and recommended them to one of her friend’s acquaintances, who happened to be Bethany.
Abbie hugged her daughters and cried as she hung up the phone. So Hanna and Diana had made her and Steven incredibly proud.
In sign language, she told them, “Mom and Dad love you more than anything. You are the brightest stars in our universe. You made us so proud today…”. Then she told the girls what they had accomplished.
The family laughed, cried and ordered a huge cake to celebrate the wonderful news. Hannah and Diana decided to take the opportunity and start their own business instead of going to college, and the girls are doing great today.
Abbie and Steven started life when they didn’t even have separate beds for their daughters, but they loved and always supported them, and now they have it all. That’s all they wanted for their daughters.
What can we learn from this story?
Love can create miracles, much more than hate. Diana and Hannah had been abandoned, but the love they received from their adoptive parents transformed their lives in ways they could never have imagined.
Parenting is more than biology. Abbie and Steven adopted Hannah and Diana and loved them as if they were their own.
