Chapter 1 : The Wheelbarrow at the Emergency Doors M018
The wheelbarrow struck the edge of the automatic doors with a metallic clang, and six-year-old Emily Carter nearly fell with it.
For one terrifying second, one of the tiny bundles beneath the mismatched towels rolled toward the side.
Emily lunged forward.
“No, no, no.”
Her small hands grabbed the towel before the baby could shift any farther.
The emergency room receptionist, Angela Morris, was already running around her desk.
“Oh my God.”
Emily looked up at her.
Her cheeks were red from the cold. Sweat had dried along her hairline despite the November air outside. Her oversized gray sweatshirt hung almost to her knees, and the toes of her worn sneakers were dark with mud.
Inside the rusty wheelbarrow were two newborn babies.
One was crying weakly.
The other was frighteningly still.
Angela dropped beside them.
“Sweetheart, where did you come from?”
Emily’s fingers remained locked around the metal handles.
“Home.”
A nurse hurried over.
“Where’s your mother?”
Emily swallowed.
“At home.”
“Why isn’t she with you?”
The girl’s lower lip trembled for the first time.
“My mommy has been sleeping for three days.”
Everything around them changed.
Nurse Rachel Kim immediately reached for the babies while another nurse called pediatric emergency.
“How long?” Angela asked, though she had heard perfectly.
Emily raised three fingers.
“Three sleeps.”
Rachel touched the quieter infant’s cheek.
“Cold. We need warmers now.”
Emily tightened her grip.
“Don’t separate them.”
Rachel looked directly into her frightened eyes.
“We won’t.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Only then did Emily release the wheelbarrow.
The babies disappeared through the emergency doors surrounded by nurses, blankets, and hurried voices.
Emily stood completely still.
Her hands remained curved as though she were still holding the handles.
Angela brought her a chair.
Emily wouldn’t sit until she could see the hallway where her siblings had gone.
“What are their names?” Angela asked.
