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𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨...
♪ 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣 𝙜𝙤 - 𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚 ♪
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- introduction -
RIVER BLUE ROUTLEDGE'S ARRIVAL in the Outer Banks was nothing short of untraditional.
"Untraditional" was an understatement, really. A better fitting word would be "unusual", "strange", or "just-straight-up-weird".
It happened June 20th, nearly fourteen years ago to the day. A hurricane had hit the islands, causing a foreign ship to crash onto the shore of Kildare. There were only three survivors on board: one of the crew members, an adult male who barely spoke any English, and a two-year-old who wouldn't stop crying no matter how many officers tried to calm her down. The child had no family with her, and despite being old enough to talk, her sobs prevented any words from leaving her mouth. She couldn't tell them her name or where she came from or anything about who she was on the boat with. The trauma of the wreck caused her to cry and cry and cry for hours with no end in sight.
That was until a man with shaggy brown hair, glasses, and his three-year-old son on his hip came over. Big John Routledge had been cleaning up the damage left from the storm when he heard the incessant wails coming from the docks. Curious as always, he grabbed his kid and began talking to Sheriff Peterkin, wondering what the hell was going on. Then he set his sights on a small girl, tears and blood and dirt staining her innocent face, and his heart broke.
The story goes that once Big John Routledge crouched down to say hi to the kid, she instantly stopped crying. No one could figure out why, but every time they tried to pass her to someone else, the crying started again. The only comfort to her was Big John and his toddler, John B.
As much as she didn't want to let go of them, they didn't want her to leave, either. It was indescribable, really. The two boys couldn't figure out how or why they felt so attached to her so instantly. But once Big John held her in his arms and John B had taken her hand in his, they felt like a missing puzzle piece had come to their family, making them whole again.
