Ding dong ditch
Jessie settled her newborn into the basket. He was the size of a bread loaf. The man who did this to her could return to claim paternity, ownership. No. Never.
In darkness, she set him on the steps of the fire station, rang the doorbell, ran.
The deed was done.
This micro-fiction story is my contribution to the 50-word challenge. This week’s story prompt is “deed.”
For this story, I wanted to juxtapose the classic childhood prank, “ding dong ditch,” against the devastating choice this mother feels she needs to make to protect her child, by giving him away.
There are some interesting facts around this type of child abandonment. Evidently all U.S. states have Safe Haven laws that make it legal to leave a baby in a safe place, such as a fire station or hospital. Without these laws, the reasoning is that people are more likely to abandon babies they do not want, or cannot care for, in unsafe places.
The number of days after the child is born during which it is legal to take such a measure vary by state. For example, here in Minnesota it’s 3 days, whereas in neighboring South Dakota it is 60.
If the article I read is true, 3,000 babies have been relinquished legally since the first Safe Haven law was passed in 1999. So, it’s a more common practice than we might think. The article attempts to provide pros and cons of various views, laws, and practices. It’s an interesting read.
At the end of the day, I simply wish for a world in which every baby is wanted, loved, and well cared for, and that every family has the means to do so.
Thank you for reading.
