Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Beautiful (11/07/05)
-
TITLE: FOSTERING CHANGE | Previous Challenge Entry
By Maria Catterick
11/13/05 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
Within minutes, paperwork was thrown into my hand, my foster child had been told to behave herself and the social worker had driven away. She looked at me and I looked at her. Our journey together had begun.
‘Am I staying with you for long?’ she questioned in a flat voice.
‘You will be staying with me until your social worker finds you a new family who will love you forever.’
‘Can I see my bedroom?’ she asks heading for the stairs. I follow her.
She looks through the wardrobe and the drawers and clicks the bedside lamp on and off a couple of times before declaring that the room is suitable.
Over the next few weeks, we added to her wardrobe. We had even tackled her hair and found a beautiful pair of brown eyes and a rather interesting face beneath. Of course, there were hard times. She had come to me because of her difficult behaviour and the fact that no previous foster carers could cope with her.
One day we went out to an auction and found a bridesmaids dress to wear so that she could look like a princess. She adored it and would often get me to wait at the bottom of the stairs so she could glide down and make her entrance. We even added long gloves, tiara and glittery shoes to the costume. One day I found her looking deeply at herself in the mirror.
‘Do you like what you see?’ I asked smiling at her reflection in the mirror.
‘I’m trying to like it?' She said sadly.
‘What do you mean?' I prompted
‘I was hurt by a man when I was a little girl and he said I shouldn’t tell anyone. He said I was his princess. I didn’t like what he was doing to me and I was afraid to tell. When I eventually told my dad, he was angry and said he was sick of my lies. I had been quite naughty for some time because I felt so sad and angry inside. He took me into the kitchen, got the hair clipper, and shaved my hair off. I watched my long hair fall to the floor. Whenever I cried and begged him to stop, he told me to shut up and pressed into my head causing it to bleed. He locked me in the shed for a few hours and told me to think about my behaviour. It was cold in the shed and I felt very sad. When he let me out, I promised myself I wouldn’t say anything to get him angry again. I have never been beautiful ever since.’
‘Take a look at yourself. You are beautiful. You have beautiful brown eyes and shiny hair. Now that you are eating healthily, you have put on the right weight and your skin is glowing. Whether you see it or not, you look beautiful. To come through all the things you have been through in your life and to be a nice, kind girl who always tries to be positive, you demonstrate to me that you are beautiful on the inside too.'
Tears began to trickle slowly down her face. ‘Please help me find out who I am because I don’t want to be the old me any more. Will you help me?’
‘Of course I will,’ I reply holding her close while her body shakes with sobs.
It is a turning point. She has shared her past with me and was now choosing to step into her future with all its possibilities.
With help, she did change and one proud day I met her new foster carers. I waved at her while she stepped into their car. She looked happy about the new family, she looked excited about her new life and of course, she looked beautiful and she knew it too!
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.