LITTLE GIRL LOST by SARAH BETH LEE (bill gates books to read TXT) 📖

She wondered if Hannah had any idea how silly it was for her to blame herself. She had been a kid and she had been angry if she had known that was the last time she would see her dad, Maddie was sure she would not have said those horrid things.


“Hannah what happened was not your fault. First you didn’t do anything wrong, you were a kid and your dad knew you loved him. Second it wasn’t your fault you got sick. How can you believe that it was your fault? The truth is you were born with diabetes it just wasn’t diagnosed until that day and last it was a terrible accident that had nothing to do with you. Did you force Mr. Davenport to go to the bar in the middle of the day and drink himself into oblivion? Did you tell him to get behind the wheel of his car and drive home? Did you tell him to run that red light and cause that accident?” Maddie watched Hannah’s face as she slowly shook her head no. “Hannah it was an accident but it wasn’t your fault.”

Hannah could hear Maddie’s voice as if from a great distance but she knew that despite what Maddie thought that it was all her fault. If she hadn’t been in the hospital her dad wouldn’t have been at that place at that time and he wouldn’t be dead now and inevitably everything that had happened could have changed. Nick’s family might have been spared if one little thing had been different.

‘Maddie it doesn’t really matter if it was or wasn’t my fault the simple truth is why should I be able to live and enjoy life when my dad lost his because of me?”

Maddie knew the words coming out of Hannah’s mouth were absurd and ridiculous but convincing her of that was next to impossible. She stroked the top of Hannah’s head and dried her tears as she tried to think of a way to make Hannah understand that this self imposed exile was not how her father would have wanted her to live her life.
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Nick made his way to the lab and wondered what today’s tests might prove. He watched as he passed fellow colleagues as they gave him pitying looks as if he were indeed crazy. He knew that despite the confidentiality code that every member of the armed forces, scientist and upper level politicians knew of his experiments and that they all thought he had done something unethical. He refused to explain himself to these people who had no idea what was going on in lab 13 and he refused to admit that if he were in their position he would think the same thing. He pushed through the door that led to the secluded hall and held his palm on the scanner to admit entrance to the lab.

Zach was right behind him with coffee and doughnuts. Nick laughed as he watched Zach juggle the messenger bag, the box of doughnuts and coffee. It never ceased to amaze him how Zach could remain skinny as a rail and eat like a horse. He held the door for his friend and walked in to the cavernous room on his heels. He could see Lucas and Damien standing at the control panels and waiting for them.

“Hi guys how’s it going?”

They looked at Zach for half a second as they tapped the computer keys to set the date for today’s experiment. Nick took his place at the monitor and verified the date as it was set for November 22, 2009.

“Ok Zach we have it set are you ready to go back one year ago?”

Zach grinned and nodded his head. “Sure can I interrupt our meeting and prevent this from ever taking place?”

Damien didn’t see the humor of the comment so he chose to ignore it. “Zach if you screw with the experiment then you might be stuck in 2009.”

Zach shrugged, “So what? Last year was a pretty good year I wouldn’t mind living it again.”

He could see the look on Damien and Lucas’s faces and threw his hands up in surrender. “Kidding man gees you both need to calm down.”

Zach entered the compression chamber and took the shot that would allow him to hear the thoughts of the people around him. He felt the harness being tightened around him and then the door closed and he was in complete darkness as the spinning began. He wondered how the hell this actually worked but despite how crazy it seemed he knew that it did work. Slowly the spinning began to slow and suddenly he felt as if he had been dropped from the sky onto a busy street. He opened his eyes to see that he was in an alley way that led to a bustling street corner. He stepped out into the flow of traffic and no one was the wiser.

Zach knew he only had an hour and he needed to see what the date was. He walked along the sidewalk as the voices invaded his head. He tried to block them out as he continued looking for a newspaper stand. He began to slow his pace as he rounded a corner and saw what he was looking for a newsstand. He handed the man the money and took the paper. He scanned the front page and saw that it was November 22, 1994 a year later then the last time Nick had been here. He wasn’t sure what to do now but he walked along the sidewalk until he found Fillmore Street. He continued to walk until he saw Hannah’s Corner Shelf and he pushed the door open and stepped inside. He saw that it was alive with active children gathered around a woman dressed in a smock, smiling as the children gathered around. He could see the table with art and craft supplies and the story book on the table. The woman looked worriedly at a young girl sitting by herself in the corner. He watched as the woman crossed the room and knelt beside the little girl. Zach strained to hear what the lady said but the other children were laughing and talking making it impossible to hear the words. The little girl took the lady’s hand and joined the others at the table. He listened as the woman began to talk.

“Good afternoon boys and girls welcome to story time I hope your all ready to have some fun today. I am going to read you the story of the first Thanksgiving and then we are all going to share what we’re thankful for. We’ll make a fun craft that you guys may take home when you leave.”

Zach noticed the little girl never looked up or interacted with the other children and he wondered if it was Hannah. He had yet to see her eyes he watched as the other kids listened and took part in the story but not the little girl from the corner.

“So Hannah it’s your turn, what are you thankful for?”

Zach watched as the little girl looked up and shrugged her frail little shoulders. He could see the tears silently falling down her face and he wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her that one someday everything would be okay but he stayed rooted to the spot he was in.

“Aunt Ann I’m thankful for you.”

Zach watched the love and pain mixed on the pretty woman’s face as she hugged Hannah close and kissed her tearstained cheek. He could see so much pain hurt and regret shining in Hannah’s eyes and he ached for her. He felt that it was a travesty for such a little girl to have already endured so much loss and pain. He watched as Hannah sat by herself while the other children colored turkeys and glued wiggly eyes on their creations. He had heard her small voice say the words out loud but he had heard her thoughts even louder. She had been thinking one thing ‘I’m thankful for Nick, my guardian angel.’ So she did remember him and she missed him.

Zach started to turn and leave as Hannah looked up and zeroed in on him. He watched as she studied his face and for a brief moment she offered him a half smile and a wave of her little hand. He smiled back and waved before he walked quietly out of the store and made his way back down the street. He could see now why Nick had been so enraptured with her. She was indeed beautiful even at such a young age but her eyes were mesmerizing as if she could see your very soul the good and the bad.

Zach found the alley way and stepped through the small space between the two buildings. The smell of soured milk and rotten hotdogs permeated the air around him and then he was suddenly spinning out of control on his way home. As the velocity slowed and the pressure decreased he opened his eyes to see Lucas instantly by his side.

“Zach what the hell just happened? The computer went haywire and I thought we had lost you.”

Zach stepped out of the chamber and tossed the newspaper at him. “I have no idea but I think you all owe Nick an apology.”

Zach pushed past Lucas and Damon and headed for the detox center. He felt Nick fall into step beside him. “So it happened again?”

“Yeah it did and I know the date was entered right and they know it too.”

Nick’s mind was on overdrive and there were a million things bouncing around. He had no idea what to focus on first but at least now he knew he wasn’t subconsciously changing the dates.

“So did you see Hannah?”

Zach slowed his pace and stopped walking as he turned to face Nick. “I saw her it was just before Thanksgiving 1994 and she still looked so sad. I wanted to go to her and tell her everything was okay but I couldn’t so I left but not before she looked at me and waved as if she knew who I was. I have to say it was kind of creepy.”

Nick looked at Zach. “Why does it always go back to that specific time? Did something happen that I missed? Did I block out something that fate wants me to remember?”

“I have no clue dude but I think maybe you need to figure this out.”

Nick knew Zach was right but he had no idea what it was or how to figure it out. He thought back to the day of his family’s funeral service but he had no idea what he was supposed