Protector of the Enchanted

A car zooms through the streets, leaving mud and splashes in its wake. It goes past a crumbled building which looked as if it would turn to dust with a light breeze. The driver shook his head and kept going, not noticing the baby sleeping in wicker basket at the foot of a strange door. It had the imprint of a rose, petals mid drop and thorns on the stem. A blanket rested on her body, kept in place by a ribbon, a small note snuck under it.

The loud beeping of horns suddenly rang through the air, startling the baby awake. She let out a loud cry, which a nearby passing couple heard. Concerned, they searched for the direction it came from. Narrowing down the surroundings, they hesitantly walked towards the building. They couldn't very well leave a baby alone in this weather.

The woman leaned down and picked up the basket, “Look John, it’s a baby.” she said. 

“What’s a baby doing here all alone?” replied John.

"I haven't the slightest idea, but she’s adorable.” She cooed. "Look at her cute little button nose. Pretty eyes too. A touch gold and lighter than her cute little brown hair."

“Honey." He sighed, resigned to being ignored by the woman. She was going to have baby fever after this, he just knew it. Then, his eyes caught something. "Look! there’s a note on top of the basket!” A wince followed when he realised he'd been too loud. Sure enough, the startled little one started to cry. 

"Oh no." His wife shot him a dry look before reaching down to cradle her in her arms. “Hush, little one. Nothing's going to hurt you. It's going to be ok. ” While she continued to rock the baby, wrapping her scarf around the infant to keep her warm, her husband picked up the note. 

‘To whom it may concern,

Her name is Astriliana Celeste Rose Johnson. Please look after her and please tell her that her parents love her very much. If it were up to them, she'd never have left their arms. But circumstances were dire, so the best we could do for her was to send her away. 

Gratefully yours,

A friend’

Once he finished reading, they looked at each other with wide eyes. 

“What should we do?” asked the woman, continuing to rock her. 

“I don’t know, but we can’t keep her Carol. We move around way too much to take care of a baby.” It was too bad really. Looking at her sleeping in his wife's arms, she looked like a sweet little angel. 

“I know that. But we can’t just leave her here. It's too dangerous for a baby.” Carol wished she could take her, even now she felt herself get attached. 

“Agreed.” A grim expression crossed his face. “We can’t keep her, but we also can’t leave her here." It wasn't even really a consideration. "What are we going to do?”

There was a moment of silence as they thought. 

"Oh! I know. There's an orphanage nearby, maybe we could drop her off there.” Carol stated breaking the silence. 

“That’s a great idea! We should put her back in the basket and put the note back in. She deserves to have anything from her parents she can get.” John replied as he picked up the basket. 

"She's comfortable in my arms. We'll put her in the basket once we get there." A part of her didn't want to let her go. The part that longed for a child, even knowing their lifestyle was unsuitable for one. 

As they started to walk out, neither of them noticed fading out of existence, leaving a cracked brick wall in its wake. The people running the orphanage were surprised but took the baby in without a word. They couldn’t leave a baby out in the cold.

“You’re sure she'll be safe?” John eyed the establishment, it looked alright, but you could never be too sure. 

“Yes, we’ll make sure of it.” The owners replied. 

"And, you’ll let her keep her things?” Carol added. It was important to her that the little girl had this. 

"Yes, you have our word.” came the reply. 

“Good.” The couple said as they got up to leave, "Glad to hear it.” Then they left, sad that they couldn't keep her but happy she'd be safe, not knowing just how wrong they were.