Abandoned Girl

Chapter 1: Worst Birthday

It was a bright Wednesday morning. Wednesday November 3, 1999 to be exact. It was a day before Ella's 5th birthday. That evening, her parents were going out.

"Ella, Mrs. Debby is going to come over and babysit tonight at 6 o'clock while Daddy and I are out. Can you promise to be a good girl for Mommy?" Ella's mom, Samantha, asked.
"I promise Mommy! Don't forget, tomorrow is a big day!" Ella said innocently.
"How could I ever forget my baby's birthday? We should be home by 9:30, so don't stay up waiting for us. We want you to have a good night sleep before your birthday!" Her mother stated.
"I won't Mommy!" Ella said sweetly. Even though Ella and Mrs. Debby know not to stay up late, Mrs. Debby always lets her stay up to wait for her parents.
Six o'clock rolled around and it was time for her parents to leave, and for Mrs. Debby to show up. 6:30 came and went and Mrs. Debby still hasn't shown up.
"Ugh! Where is she?" her mother asked, pacing back and forth across the living room, in the finest clothes they had.
"She should have been here by now. We can't miss our reservation!" Samantha's husband, Marty, joined in.
"Mommy? If you want me to, I can stay here by myself for a while. I won't be any trouble." Ella asked.
Marty looked at his wife, considering that statement. Samantha then blurted out "No way! We are in no way leaving a 4-year-old home alone!"
"But I am almost 5!" Ella protested. But just as she did, Mrs. Debby rang the doorbell.
"Finally!" Her mother rejoiced. She let Mrs. Debby in and got everything situated with her and told her how to take care of Ella. Mrs. Debby is an old woman, she lives alone, and she is such sweet little lady. She has short, curly gray hair and a slim body. She always has her floral print cane with her and majority of the time, she is sleeping on the couch.
"Okay, you two, have fun! See you at 9:30!" Mrs. Debby wished Ella's parents as they walked out the front door.
Ella liked Mrs. Debby, especially when she was asleep. Because when she was asleep, that's when Ella got to have all the fun. That night, Mrs. Debby fell asleep on their brown sofa around 7:30, giving Ella two hours to have fun. The first thing she did was run and grabbed her markers. With the markers in hand, she made her way over to Mrs. Debby.
"I feel like she likes unicorns!" Ella said mischievously. She uncapped one of the markers and began to draw the unicorn...on Mrs. Debby's face! Once she was done with her beautiful face drawing, she put her markers away and headed towards the cupboard. There, on the bottom shelf, was a black bag, that held their brand new camcorder. She grabbed that, turned it on and set it up in the kitchen. After she finished , Ella began to record herself.
"Hi everyone! My name is Ella and tonight we will be making cake!" Ella said with pride. She grabbed all these random ingredients and mixed it all together. When it came to the time where she had to put the cake in the oven, she didn't know how to start it. So she just left all her "cake" there.
Then 9:30 came and Ella was sitting by the door, waiting to see her mom and dad. Then 10:00 came. Still no sign of them. 11:00. Nothing. 12:00. Nobody. Ella was getting worried. This never happened before. Ella couldn't really do anything and she eventually fell asleep, right in front of the door.
She woke up. It was bright outside. She looked at the clock. 7 a.m. She ran upstairs into her parent's room "Mommy! Daddy!" she shouted. Ella opened the door to her parent's room and....no one. The bed hasn't been touched since yesterday. She ran back downstairs. Mrs. Debby was awake, sitting upright on the couch, watching the news. It was possibly the worst news broadcast Ella could have gotten. Mrs. Debby didn't know Ella was in the room, and if she did, she would have changed the channel. In bold on the bottom of the screen, it read...

"Terrible Car Crash. One Body Found in Car. Identity Unknown."

Ella was on the verge of tears but she didn't want Mrs. Debby to know. "Maybe it's someone else?" Ella tried to persuade herself to this conclusion. But she knew for a fact. That man in the car, was her father, Marty Edgehound. But the question is where is her mother? Where is Samantha Edgehound?
On the morning they found out, Mrs. Debby asked Ella "Ella, your mommy and daddy are going to be on a vacation for a long time. And I can't take care of you for forever. Do you have any other family members?"
Ella responded, "No. I never knew anyone else besides my mom and dad." She didn't ask why her parents just up and went on a vacation because she knew that wasn't the truth. She knew that her father was dead and her mother was MIA.
"Well, Ella, it looks like that you will be living with me for a while." Mrs. Debby said. The two went upstairs to pack up some things for Ella. Once they were all ready to leave. Mrs. Debby left a note just in case her mother returns.

"Dear Mrs. Edgehound,
I saw that your husband was in a car crash and I am very sorry to hear that. I hope everything is alright with you. Since I didn't want to worry Ella, I told her that you and your husband went on vacation. I didn't know when you would be returning, so I helped Ella pack up some stuff and had her stay at my place. When you return, Ella will be with me at my house. Hope to see you soon!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Debby"

Mrs. Debby set the note down on the kitchen counter. As she did, Ella came in with her backpack and other suitcases. Just in case, if they ever need to get into the house again, Ella grabbed the extra key from under the rug.
"Wait! I need to do something! I will be right back!" Ella stated.
"Ok, sweetie!" Mrs. Debby replied. Moments later, Ella came back in the room. She had the key to the house on a piece of string tied around her neck.
"Why did you put the key around your neck, Ella?" Mrs. Debby asked.
"So I would never lose it."
"Ok then. Ready to go?" Mrs. Debby asked. A little head nod and a tear was all Ella could show in response. Mrs. Debby knelt to give her a hug.
"It will be ok, Ella. They will be back soon."
A small "ok" was all the sad 5-year-old could say. It was the worst birthday. As they left the house for the final time, Ella whispered to herself...
"Happy Birthday to me".
Then the duo got in the car and drove to Mrs. Debby's house.