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Her bright red cape stood out in even in the darkness of the night as she moved swiftly over the bridge, glancing around with each step she took. Please be here. I can’t wait. She pleaded inwardly, the changing shadows alerting her to how long she had been gone. She tried to run, but the basket in her arms prohibited her from really doing so.
There stood the tree marking their greeting place, but no Freda waited there.
She sank to her knees, exhausted and disheartened, under the tree’s leafy branches. She couldn’t hide her baby’s existence for one more day.
Lifting the blanket from the bundle in the basket, she stared into her baby’s blue eyes, the same color as the ribbon on her booties.
“What are we going to do?” she whispered.
The baby didn’t seem overly concerned over her fate; she kicked a chubby little leg and gurgled.
But her mother couldn’t afford to waste another moment waiting for her friend. She had to get back, and she had to get back now.
An idea struck her, and she leapt to her feet, her searching eyes falling on a small stick a few paces away. She retrieved it and again bent down next to her little girl.
Putting both hands on the stick, she painstakingly began to move it through the clay-like earth, her thin arms shaking with the effort of the simple task.
Soon, she stood up, glancing down at her work. With a small nod, she picked up her baby, kissing her forehead and whispering words of love in her little ears.
Then, tears streaming down her cheeks, she replaced her in the basket, tucking the blanket securely under her chin.
And walked away.
When Freda appeared a half an hour later, she was greeted by the baby and a simple word written in the earth.
TAHLIA
312 words. I used the items prompt.
