Ding dong ditch - A very short story
Source: Pixabay image, by esudroff
Ding dong ditch
Jessie settled her newborn into the basket. He was the size of a bread loaf. The man who did this to her could return to claim paternity, ownership. No. Never.In darkness, she set him on the steps of the fire station, rang the doorbell, ran.
The deed was done.
This micro-fiction story is my contribution to the 50-word challenge. This week's story prompt is "deed."
For this story, I wanted to juxtapose the classic childhood prank, "ding dong ditch," against the devastating choice this mother feels she needs to make to protect her child, by giving him away.
There are some interesting facts around this type of child abandonment. Evidently all U.S. states have Safe Haven laws that make it legal to leave a baby in a safe place, such as a fire station or hospital. Without these laws, the reasoning is that people are more likely to abandon babies they do not want, or cannot care for, in unsafe places.
The number of days after the child is born during which it is legal to take such a measure vary by state. For example, here in Minnesota it's 3 days, whereas in neighboring South Dakota it is 60.
If the article I read is true, 3,000 babies have been relinquished legally since the first Safe Haven law was passed in 1999. So, it's a more common practice than we might think. The article attempts to provide pros and cons of various views, laws, and practices. It's an interesting read.
At the end of the day, I simply wish for a world in which every baby is wanted, loved, and well cared for, and that every family has the means to do so.
Thank you for reading.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://jaynalocke.com/2018/08/25/ding-dong-ditch-a-very-short-story/
It reflects the harsh reality of excited girls who gave their love and then are committed to a burden they can not bear. Greetings and blessings @jayna
Thank you for reading my story and sharing your thoughts, @felixgarciap!
Some additional information.... In this case the story is actually indicating that she was molested by a man, against her will, and that resulted in pregnancy. Her fear is that the man who did it will come back to claim paternity. Sadly, many women who are raped have absolutely no credibility. In other words, if the man who did this to her comes to claim the child, he could say all kinds of things, such as indicating that she seduced him. She would potentially end up with few rights, and have to co-parent her innocent baby with her rapist, and deal with that man for the rest of her life. That is why she gives up the baby.
Congratulations @jayna! You have completed the following achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPDo not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
SteemitBoard and the Veterans on Steemit - The First Community Badge.
I love this story, @jayna and the description of the baby as
So glad she didn’t kill the child. Will become someone’s blessing.
Good that there are places where unwanted newborn can be placed. Here in Germany, we call it baby hatch - we've got three of them in town. The first one opened 15 years ago. If you would lay down a child in front of a church it would probably die. Which makes me thinking how churches have changed and are no daily spaces anymore.