This is a short story I had to write for my MA – hope you’ll enjoy! 🙂

Lucy would have been four years old today.

They said it was the population overload. Too many people for such a small planet. Scientist did warn them, years ago. But they didn’t listen. They didn’t want to hear it. They refused to believe it.

Yet here they were. Twenty years in the future with a population far superior to whatever was predicted. And so little resources left.

Everyday became a struggle. It was chaos everywhere. 

But Jenna only cared about her family. She only cared about her Lucy. Her little girl who had been cruelly snatched from her.

“Excuse me, have you seen this little girl?” She showed the picture of Lucy she always kept with her. “She’s four and about that tall…”. She made a gesture with her hand but the man wasn’t listening. “Please, she’s my daughter!” He simply shook his head and walked away. She started at him helplessly.

When children started to disappear, Jenna didn’t want to believe it. She thought that maybe the families were responsible for it. She heard that some families killed their own babies. Not enough food or water to keep them alive. Many of them wouldn’t even live more than eighteen months anyway. It was all about survival now.

But then, there were rumours. Rumours that the government was responsible for the disappearance of their children. Rumours that they came at night and took them away. Drastic measures for drastic times, as they called it. 

Jenna wasn’t going to let that happen to her baby. She never let her out of sight, never let her walk away from her. She slept every night next to her, holding her close to her heart. They were not getting her. Not her Lucy.

“Excuse me miss, I’m looking for my daughter…”

But the young girl just turned away, without a glance at the picture.

“Everyone’s looking for their children, lady! You’re wasting your time.”

Jenna looked at the woman who had just spoken. She was about her age, maybe older. It was hard to know now.

She approached her, putting the photograph in front of her. “Perhaps you saw her…”

The woman only shook her head. “Everyone’s lost someone, you’re not the only one here. You have to live with it.”

She had lost Jimmy, her husband, two years ago. He was a fire fighter, devoted to helping others. One night, he had been called in for an emergency. Apparently, a fire had been declared on this other side of the city. She hadn’t wanted him to go. Perhaps, she was selfish. But selfish people survived. And there wasn’t a thing she wouldn’t do for her family.

“I’m just asking if you’ve seen her or if you might know where she is. Please”

The woman looked at her with a mixture of pity and sorrow.

Jenna remembered a time when she was making people happy. She used to be a baker and make the most wonderful pies. She even had her own little bakery. But all of this disappeared once the resources became scarce. People focused on the essential. Pastries were a luxury they couldn’t afford. Jenna had to leave everything behind and find a way to be useful. So she started to take care of other people’s children. That way, she was always with her Lucy. But Jimmy couldn’t turn his back on his job. With the chaos in the city, fire fighters were needed even more than before.  

That night, she told him not to go. She told him that they needed to stick together. Surviving was all that mattered now. But he hadn’t listened, of course. He was a good man. He wanted to help. So he kissed her goodbye, took his bag and left.

She never saw him again. Lucy was barely one year old.

“You’re not going to find her, honey.”

It was only her and her little girl now. They survived, barely, for almost two years.

Until, one day, Jenna got sick. It wasn’t very serious but with the lack of antibiotics, even a simple cold became dangerous. Especially for the children. So Jenna decided to take Lucy to her friend Carol’s for the night. No matter how heart-breaking it was for her. She couldn’t let her get infected. She knew Carol’s mom. She trusted her. She would take care of her daughter.

That night, Lucy and Carol went missing.

They searched everywhere. Jenna didn’t sleep for days. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. She knew children went missing all around her. But she always refused to believe that it would happen to her, to her baby. She did everything she could to protect Lucy.

It was only one night.

But one night was enough. They had taken her and there was nothing she could do.

She wanted to blame Maria, Carol’s mom. She wanted to be mad at her. With all her heart. She should have slept besides the girls! She shouldn’t have let them out of her sight! She should….have done something! But she knew it was to no use. Maria had lost her baby too. And now, they both had to stay strong and do everything they could to bring their little girls home.

Being without Lucy was agony. She felt like someone had ripped her heart out of her chest. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t live without her. But it was not the time to grieve. She was somewhere still. She had to find her.

Lucy disappeared nine months and eighteen days ago. Today was her birthday. Today, Lucy was four years old.

“She’s gone. You won’t see her again.”

The woman’s voice echoed in her head like a warning. You won’t see her again.

Once Lucy went missing, the rumours became overwhelming. Rumours about what they were doing with the children. How they would kill them. Or worse. Jenna didn’t want to think about that. Lucy wasn’t dead. She had to believe she was still alive. Or else, she didn’t have anything to live for.

Jenna turned away from the woman. She didn’t want to listen to her anymore.

She will find Lucy. She would see her again.

Jenna held tightly the picture in her hand. This was the last picture she took of Lucy before she went missing. She had been barely three, and yet, her face looked so severe. Like she knew what was happening. What was going to happen.

Lucy was four now. She must have grown so much. Maybe she didn’t even look like this anymore. Maybe that was why people didn’t recognize her. Would she even recognize her?

Jenna shivered with horror. Of course, she would! Lucy was her daughter. She would know her amidst a thousand faces.

She would have to anyway.

There were so many people. So many faces. It was so hard to tell apart one place from another. Searching one district took months.

But Jenna won’t ever give up. Not until she had answers.

Children were a rare sighting now. The lucky ones who haven’t been taken away (yet) would be desperately protected and hidden away by their mothers. Jenna couldn’t blame them. She would do the same.

No one would leave their child alone anymore.

Yet, in the crowd, she spotted a pair of bright blue eyes staring at her. It was a little girl, hiding behind an empty barrel. Alone. She had blonde curls and tiny freckles on her cheeks. But Jenna didn’t need to see that to know. To recognize her Lucy.

“Lucy?” She called her, her voice shaking.

But the little girl turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

“Lucy!”

Jenna was running and pushing and shoving people to get to her. Too many people!

“Lucy! It’s mom!”

But everytime she thought she was getting closer, Lucy would get further away. Was she dreaming?

Jenna’s heart was pounding in her chest. Tears were clouding her vision. Her mind was buzzing.

She couldn’t see her!

“Lucy!”

Where did she go?

Jenna stopped and looked helplessly around her. So many people. So many faces.

But there was no little girl.