The Stølen Girl

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

It had been Christmas Eve when Don felt his heart break and his life end. He replayed the memory over and over in his head daily, and even more towards Christmas. The event that took hold of him and broke every single bone in the metaphorical body that was his life.

But, all broken bones healed, as did his life.

Sort of.

Darcy had been thrilled. She had just opened the Christmas Eve pajamas - a   staple tradition in the Jackson household. Her pajamas had cats all over them, and the cats wore santa hats and reindeer antlers. Darcy was perfectly content.

And, so was Don. All the presents were wrapped and tucked safely away, where Darcy would never find them. His wife, June, was grinning from ear to ear. It was magical. It was Christmas Eve.

The cookies were already out, as was the milk. The Santa tracker was still up on the computer screen, and Darcy was falling asleep on the couch, trying to keep herself awake as ELF played on the television screen in the background.

It was like every other Christmas Eve they had shared together. And when Don carried his daughter to bed and tucked her in, he had no worries in the world, except having Darcy wake up when he brought in her stocking. He usually left it hanging on her door knob inside the room, where she could see it.

He kissed her forehead, and smiled. He loved Darcy - she was the best thing that had ever happened to him, save for meeting and marrying June.

When he delivered her stocking later that night, she was still there, bundled in the blankets.

Don still hates himself for not locking her window. For buying a house with only one floor, where the kidnapper could easily get in. These things, however, had never crossed his mind before. They lived in a safe town, where crime was low, almost non-existent. He never felt the need to lock up the house because he was safe.

Was. Was safe.

Christmas morning, Don woke up at nine, which was late for Christmas morning. Usually Darcy was up and bouncing on their bed around five or six - too early to wake up.

Don had left his room, where June was still sleeping. He opened up Darcy’s door, and immediately noticed the stocking was untouched. And then he noticed her empty bed.

At first, Don thought she was hiding. He thought she was playing a game - young children are always throwing you for a loop.

However, when he couldn’t find her in the bedroom, he panicked. Woke up June and called the police.

All the presents remained untouched under the tree. The sight of them made Don sick as he sat down with the police officers, repeating how he found out his daughter was missing.

The police guessed she was kidnapped late the night before, due to the wet blankets where the snow had come in through the window. However, the storm had stopped around one in the morning.

Meaning the window had been open since before one in the morning.

Don hated himself after that. He hated that he hadn’t locked her window. He hated that he left his own daughter so vulnerable. He didn’t go to work, didn’t leave the house, didn’t even move.

He couldn’t. His life was done. Broken. Unfixable.

It took Don and June over a year to bounce back, and even then they weren’t ever happy. Never smiling. Never really left the house to be around friends. But, that was understandable.