Simple Gifts

by LesLuv

Chapter one - finders keepers

"Stop! Mama, stop." The little girl's cry was high pitched and urgent.

Mardi slammed on the brakes of their Land Cruiser. "What - Maya, what's happened?" she said in a panicky voice as the car slid to a stop. She looked at her seven-year-old in the rear vision mirror. "Are you OK?" The eyes of the normally docile girl were wide with fright.

Nodding her head, she said, "I saw - um - something - back there," pointing to the other side of the road and back. "It looked like something white. I thought it was a dress. In the bushes. It seemed to be moving."

"Oh, my god." She felt a shiver of apprehension; they were in the country, not too far from home, but miles from assistance. She trusted her daughter's judgment, but she was only seven and could easily interpret some innocuous thing as dangerous or in need of investigation. She wanted to drive on to the safety and warmth of home--to the family and food--but to do that would undermine Maya's trust, something that had taken years to establish. It might only be some old paper, moving in the wind; it was pitch black out there, with scudding clouds and the hint of rain - but the road was empty, no other lights, no unusual sounds - so after a minute she took her foot off the brake and slowly turned to go back.

After they had gone a short distance Maya said, "There it is, Mama, there. See?"

She could see the pointing finger out of the corner of her eye and looked toward the spot. There was indeed something in a bush, a dirty white lifeless something. No sense in telling her it was nothing, so she said, "Stay there. I'll check it out." She put the car in park, handbrake on, and got out.

The lights from the car gave an eerie illumination to the scene, and a flurry of raindrops added to her apprehension. As she drew closer she could see that it was not newspaper, in fact it looked like a white skirt or something, but when she was only a few feet away she saw amid the shadows that the skirt had legs sticking out of it and that there was a dark top with arms and a head with dark matted hair at the other end. The face was turned away, but she knew it was a young woman. She felt her heart well up in dismay. "Oh, God," she whispered to herself. "Don't let her be dead."

The body was not moving and appeared to be lifeless, but she had to be sure. She was not a nurse, but had learnt of necessity how to take a pulse, so she bent and put her first two fingers on the inside wrist of the arm nearest to her. The skin was so cold, but yes, there was the flicker of a pulse. She also knew that if this was a hit run accident victim there might well be injuries that should not be moved - but neither could she leave the body there. Help would be hours coming; there was a warm house and caring people a few minutes away. With a lot of difficulty she slid her arms beneath the slumped form and, taking a deep breath, struggled to her feet. The girl was lighter than she had expected, lighter than her length suggested. Her eyes were closed, her face scratched and filthy, and she looked more like a rag doll than a human being.

Maya's voice caught her by surprise. "Mama, Mama, what is it?" Curious and unafraid.

"Open the back door and we'll put her on the seat. She's very cold. Grab the blanket out of the trunk. Then you can sit in the front."

"Is she alive?"

"Yes, but we need to get her home quickly."

Mardi drove slowly and carefully. The wind had begun to get squally, the rain harder, and although she had no idea if the girl was hurt, about to die or throw up, she surely did not want to have to slam on the brakes. Maya was so astonished at this unexpected body lying where she had sat a few moments before that she kept looking over the back of her seat at the still form, mouth open, not saying a word. 'How on earth,' she seemed to be thinking, 'could a big girl like that get caught up in those bushes? She must have got lost.'

Their arrival caused so much excitement and chatter that both Adama and Eva, the ten year old nearly-twins stopped their wrangling long enough to watch as the filthy bundle of flesh and clothes was gently lowered onto the couch by the fire. Their shrill and incessant questions brought Disney (not her real name, but more about that later) running into the room.

She too was open mouthed for a moment, as of all the things she might have expected Mardi to bring home, an unconscious - perhaps even a dead girl - was not one. Shushing the now twittering twins, Mardi told them in a few words what had happened. Disney began to examine her carefully, her medical expertise causing the others to watch with almost silent fascination.

"Well, she's alive, a good steady pulse, pretty slow, and her blood pressure's down quite a bit, but there's nothing broken - not that I can tell, anyway, she's probably dehydrated, could have a low BSL. Let's get her intro a nice warm bath and see what we see." She looked up at the others and slowly shook her head. "But she's terribly thin, possibly near starvation level. So, while Mama and I get the bath going, you three make her a cup of warm sweet tea, find the chicken soup in the fridge and warm it up in the microwave... OK?"

Maya was telling them all about how she found the girl as they hurried back to the kitchen. In the two years she had been with them and her new mama and papa, she had come to trust them, love them, and appreciate their willingness to let her join in their adventures and games. They could be really nasty or solitary sometimes, but she knew this came from the same kind of things she herself had endured; this family, this almost-family, anyway, was all she ever wanted. She was making up for the love she'd never had.

As Disney and Mardi sat the young woman up on the couch, she opened her eyes. They seemed to be blank, staring at nothing, until Disney softly said, "Hello," at which point their dull brown colour sparked with life or fear for a moment before becoming dull once more. Nor did they seek the source of the voice, and presently the eyelids closed.

They carried her into the large bathroom - an enormous spa, a shower recess, toilet, basin and cupboards - and while Disney sat cradling the girl in her arms, Mardi began to fill the spa. While that was happening, they began to carefully remove her clothing. A tight, grayish woolen sweater came off gradually, revealing ribs, sunken stomach, a flat chest, and a skin that was the colour of pale coffee. The white skirt was next, then a pair of black knickers, both items dirty and with holes in them, and lastly a pair of sneakers that were also ready for the bin. The smell was distinctly off, so she had been living rough for a while.

"Was there anything else?" Disney asked. "No bag, no purse?"

"Hey, it was dark and scary. No way was I going to go beating the bushes. I thought she might have been hit by a car, you know?" Mardi had been taking off her shoes and jeans as she said this, and now got into the pool as Disney stood and carried the girl to the edge before they both gently lowered her into the water sitting her part way up against the inside edge.

"Well, she doesn't appear to have been raped," Disney said after examining her vulva, "well, not recently, anyway. There's faint marks on her wrists and ankles, as though she has been tied up or something, but apart from scratches and scrapes on her skin, she seems to be unharmed."

A soft cloth and a little soap began to gently wash the body, and after a few moments the eyelids fluttered open again. Mardi smiled at her and whispered, "Hi" as she continued to remove grime, then to shampoo her hair and rinse it. Her eyes closed again.

When the rinsing was done she opened her eyes and watched the woman bending over her, alert and interested. As Mardi gently smoothed the dark hair away from her face she raised a wet hand to her mouth and put a finger between her lips, making a slight sucking motion.

Disney was about to call the girls in, but the door was opened by Adama as Eva came in with a tray, Maya following with a plate of something.

"Just in time, my loves," said Disney as she picked up the mug of tea and knelt beside the spa. Holding it out so the girl could see what it was, she drew it closer to her mouth, which dutifully opened. A sip or two, and her hand was raised from the water to hold the mug on her own. Two seconds and the tea was all gone. A small nod of the head was thanks.

Adama, the elder of the twins by a day, had the bowl of soup in her hand as she knelt next to Disney. As she raised a spoonful of broth, she smiled at the girl and said, "Chicken soup. We made it. Want some?"

A tiny smile appeared on the corners of the young woman's mouth, then grew larger. She nodded her head, and said in a whisper, "Yis, pleeth." As she opened her mouth they saw the tears begin to flow down her cheeks.

Eva, who had remained unusually quiet through all this, could be heard to sob. Maya felt tears in her own eyes, and put her arms around the older girl's waist. Oh, how she loved her sisters. And how they loved her, as she felt Eva's arms draw her close. She'd never think about those bad things ever again. This was home. She squeezed harder.

By the time the soup was finished colour had begun to return to the cheeks of their discovery. She looked up at Mardi, then at Disney and Adama and said in a surprisingly clear voice, but with a very pronounced accent, "Thunk you."

Mardi smiled, a warm, welcoming grin. "Would you like to get out? We'll find some clothes for you." She looked at Disney and added, "Some of my things would be about right, wouldn't you say?"

"I reckon." Disney went out to get something suitable with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Mardi helped her stand and then to get out of the tub. She was as tall as Mardi, about five feet six inches, and they could see she had rather Slavic features. Under normal circumstances she would have been pretty, but her emaciation was so pronounced that any beauty had vanished. Eva handed her a towel that had been sitting on a rack over a warm air vent, which the girl took and held to her face. Then she handed it back to Eva and said, "You dry. Plis. I..." and they could see she was trembling.

The twins wanted to fight over who would do the honours, which allowed Maya to get another towel and begin to dry the feet and legs of this girl she had found. She already felt something special towards her, because she wondered if she would become a doctor like Disney, and would help to save lives. She knew she'd like doing that, and she wanted to help this girl.

As they finished the drying the girl swayed, then fainted. No sound, just a gentle collapse into Mardi's arms. Disney came to the door at that moment, handed the clothes to Adama and said, "I'll take her legs. Let's get her into the spare bed in Maya's room."

*

Maya decided she would go to bed at the same time - it was only eight thirty p.m., quite early even for her - but she seemed fascinated by this strange creature, and sat on the edge of her bed, in her pajamas, watching for any sign of breathing failure or sudden twitches. She'd eaten her dinner first, because she was really hungry, but pretended to yawn all the time, telling Mardi and Disney - who she knew were really not her mother and father, but it felt like they were - that the dancing practice and the excitement of the trip home had made her really sleepy.

Eva and Adama, who had their own room, came in later to look at the new girl, whispering all sorts of nonsense, but in the end they climbed into Maya's bed, one each side of her, and began to kiss her and each other. Maya could hardly remember what it was like to not have kissed cuddles, but she knew she'd had none at all when she was in that place they'd taken her to when she was small. And she certainly had not had kisses in her special places, nor had she known how beautiful it was to have that place between her legs licked and played with so she got all hot and breathless, just like what Eva had now begun to do.

"I wonder if she likes this too?" she asked Adama as Eva's head bobbed between her legs.

Adama had no doubts. "She's a girl, isn't she? So she likes it. Bound to." She leant over and kissed the younger girl, looking with so much love into her eyes, starry in the reflected light from the small bedside lamp. "We'll have to find out, won't we?"

She started to reply with, "That'll be..." but a sudden thrill of heat sped up from her stomach to her head and caused her to gasp.

A grinning head emerged from beneath the bedclothes. "Love making you cum, little Maya, little love, you taste so sweet." Eva slid up so she could put her arm beneath her head so she and Adama could look down at her. The three heads were an angelic triangle when Disney came in to get them back to their own beds.

"We can keep her, can't we?" Maya said sleepily as the others slowly climbed out, nodding toward the gently breathing new arrival.

"I'm not too sure," was the reply, "someone is probably looking for her, so we're going to have to investigate, aren't we? But if she can stay with us - well, that's different. How we'd cope with four of you is another matter. But she might be better behaved than you lot."

Chapter two - Discovery

It turned out her name was Azimah. Her story was almost unbelievable when they heard it the following morning.

Maya had been woken by the smell of breakfast cooking. Bacon, without a doubt, probably eggs and tomatoes. Lovely. She lay in her bed, eyes closed, savouring the aroma which drifted in most mornings, as her bedroom was next to the kitchen. It was an unexpected sound from nearby, however, that brought her bolt upright. A snort, an indrawn breath. There was someone in the room. Memory returned as she turned her head toward the sound. Two big, bright brown eyes were watching her from just above the blankets. She smiled at them.

"Feeling better?"

A slight nod. Then, "What is your name?"

"Maya. What's yours?"

The newcomer pushed the blankets down a little and opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment the door swung open slowly and Mardi's head peered round it. When she saw that they were awake, she came in with a big smile on her face.

"Hullo, how are you feeling?" The question was to the unknown girl.

"I'm alive, thunk you." The words were quite clear, the accent thick, the rather brusque tone belying the smile on her face.

"Are you strong enough to come to breakfast? We could bring you something here, if you like, but, well, we like to eat together, so, how about it?"

"I think..." She pushed the blankets back and tried to sit up, and when she found that difficult Mardi held out her hand.

"Let me help you. You've been through quite a lot."

The girl looked up at her. "Why you do this?" It was a genuine question. Then as tears gathered in her eyes, "Why you help me? I am nothing. No one cares."

"But we care. We care for our girls. They all have stories. No one cared much for any of them, but we love them. We care because they have been left. Just as we found you, left on the side of the road."

She began to shake her head, but stopped, a puzzled look coming into her face. Then she looked at Maya. "You - you were found too? And the others - too?"

"They found me in a home, but now I have my mama and papa, two sisters, warmth, food, love, lots of fun and nice things. I love it."

"So we need to find out how you got to where we found you, and how we can help you in any way. How does that sound?" Mardi smiled invitingly.

The girl looked puzzled, and, as she reached out for the proffered hand, whispered "I cannot believe this."

Mardi's pyjamas were a little large for the thin young woman, but a dressing gown over the top of them made her look less like skin and bone. She began to smile. Timid, unsure, but a real smile, and she was suddenly beautiful.

The others were already eating when they sat down at the kitchen table, and under Disney's supervision the girl ate sparingly, though once she had started it was hard for her to stop. There were many questions and lots of talk, but they were all finally quiet as she began to tell them her story.

Her name was Azimah Berdiyev, and she had been born in Kushka, a town in southern Turkmenistan near the border with Afghanistan. Her father was an engineer and had been with the Turkmenistan resistance movement, fighting against Russian occupation; her mother had taught primary school. She'd had a brother, two years older than her, and a sister three years younger but they and her mother had been taken away by the Russian authorities, and they never heard of them again. Her father had fled with her into Afghanistan, and eventually they had got onto a boat which took them to Australia. She had been seven when they left her village, eleven when she got to Australia, and for the next two years they had been kept in a special camp while it was decided if they were genuine refugees.

Then her father had been taken in for more questioning, and when he came back he told her the authorities said they were not true refugees, and they would be sent back to Afghanistan, because their papers said that was their country. He was very sad, she was terrified. Then, one day soon after, he had just disappeared. No one could tell her anything, but she knew in her heart what had happened, although the only thing she would say was that there were many rumours about terrorists.

"But I learn - learnt English in that camp," she said, "and some things about Australia, and they treated us well, but I knew I had to get away from there after my father was taken away. It would not be safe for me, some other girls had been 'adopted' by one of the clans, and the authorities did not care. I also knew that I had a relative in Melbourne, an aunt of my mothers, so I sneaked out in the laundry van and walked. But I had no idea where I was, and later an old woman gave me a lift in her truck, and some food, and told me which way to go. But I got lost again, I got caught stealing fruit, and had to run. And I walked." She paused, tears gathered in her eyes, and finally she added softly, "And walked."

"And we found you!" Maya could not restrain herself. She threw her arms around the neck of this newcomer and kissed her cheek. "And you can stay just like us and be safe. Yes! We love you."

Azimah looked around the table at each of them, wonder, doubt and disbelief on her face. Adama and Eva had their arms around each other's waist, their heads close together, a sheen of excitement in their eyes. Disney was smiling at her, Mardi with a more troubled smile.

It was she who reduced the gaiety. "But, Azimah, is that so? Can you stay? We'd love to have you, but - well, won't there be someone looking for you? The authorities, didn't you have friends in the camp who would be concerned?"

She slowly shook her head. "I had no friends. We played games, we talked, but you do not make friends with them. Most did not speak Russian, or the Caucus language, they not want to learn English - but some of the true refugees, from Somalia and Afghanistan, they were nice, one Somali woman was kind, she was like my mother, but - but no one I think will be looking. The authorities, well, I do not know. They think maybe I go with my father."

"But did you have papers?" Mardi was not showing her deep concern. "I mean, you yourself? Or just your father, did he have the only papers?"

The girl suddenly put her hand to her mouth. "Eeya!" she exclaimed. "My papers. Oh, oh, my papers. I had them. I must - I must have dropped them." She rocked herself back and forth, full of anguish.

"Do you remember when? Or where?"

"I do not know. I was - what do you say? Disturbed? I give up, lie down, I have them then. I think."

Disney looked at Mardi and said, "Well, I think we'd better go and have a look, eh?"

*

They were literally beating the bushes when the police car drew up.

Azimah looked up from her search as she heard the car stop, and somehow tried to hide behind the bush when she saw the uniforms. Disney also looked up - she was not far from the road - saw the girl's sudden movement, but put a smile on her face and said, "Oh, hi, Joe, and Smitty, how are you?"

"Lost something?" Joe, the senior of the two and nominally in charge of the policing in the region, had seen the girl, but did not let on. "Saw your car, thought something was up. How are you, Sylvia?"

She nodded non-committedly and said, "Yes, something's up, all right, but not what we want." Seeing the quizzical look on his face, she added, "The mouse behind the bush is visiting us from Perth, she's Mardi's niece, and when our lot decided they wanted to take her mushrooming, well, nothing would stop them. I know," she held up a hand, "it's not the season, but anything to get them out of the house, you know?"

He grinned, his companion gave a little snort, and Disney called out, "Come on, meet the local cops. They're OK. Oh, Maisie, don't be scared. They're not from Perth."

The girl slowly rose to her feet, quick to catch on, but still terrified. She'd been in detention for so long that she knew how to put on a brave face, so she came over, smiled and nodded her head, saying, in the best Aussie accent she could, "Hi."

"Hi to you too, Maisie. Nice to meet you." The younger cop was pleasant enough, but watched her with calculating eyes.

She smiled and went to where the others could be heard whooping as they ran through the scrub, although the sudden silence that followed the newsbreak was deafening. For a second or two.

Joe looked at Disney, smiled and asked, "Well, how's the old man? Coming home soon?"

She shrugged. "Who knows? Still in New York, keeps in touch, seems happy. Promises, promises. Shall I tell him you said hullo?"

"Yeah, do that. Friend of mine says he met him at some conference. Said he was a nice guy."

"Oh, he's nice, alright." She grimaced. "Well, back to look for mushies, I guess. See you."

"Sure. Nice to see you again. The niece been in a bit of trouble, eh?" He said with a chuckle.

"You wouldn't believe." He wouldn't, either. "She might be here a while."

"Uh huh." He nodded, as understanding as a cop ever gets, and got in the cruiser.

Mardi had held the kids back unto the police car had disappeared, but then an excited Eva, leading the rest of the pack, ran out and said, "Look what I found!" She held a small backpack aloft.

Azimah, red faced and breathing heavily, seemed more concerned about the visitors than her belongings. "They have gone?" she asked. She was reassured. "Why do you call me Maisie, is that an English name? And what is Perth?"

This brought forth guffaws from the twins, who were quick to explain about Perth, the capital of Western Australia, then from Disney, who told her that Mardi did indeed have a niece of that name in that city who had been in trouble, and that when one built a story it needed to be based on fact, and that you needed to be able to alert the person involved. "Which we'll do, won't we, my darling, just as soon as we get home?" She was looking at Mardi, who simply gave a tight smile and cocked her head.

*

".... And this is my mother." Azimah passed a photo to Maya, who looked at it intently.

"She is so beautiful," the seven year old said softly. "I never knew my mother. I wish - no I don't, my mothers are right here." She grinned at them.

Although it was not yet eleven, they had eaten lunch before the back pack was opened because Azimah had been looking hungrily at the fruit on the table and the biscuits the twins had been devouring. She had begun to relax.

The twins were trying to make sense of a book from the knapsack of what appeared to be songs; there were notes on a stave - not like anything they knew - and words in strange script, but they gave up trying to sing the tune after a few minutes. Instead, they grinned at each other, and words not being needed, drew closer and began to kiss each other. They were not related, had not known each other until three years ago, but now knew that there was a bond between them that was so strong they could have been real twins. They also knew that what they felt for each other was love, pure, unadulterated all-consuming love. They were aware that this was different to the love that Mardi & Disney felt for each other, and to the love that flowed between the adults and them, and that they could not explain it, only demonstrate it.

Azimah looked up at that point and looked startled, her mouth opening and eyes bulging. Maya followed her gaze, saw the two lovebirds, and said "Oh, that's alright, they love each other."

Azimah turned her gaze to the teller of this tale, mouth still open, then swallowed hard. "Mardi & Disney love each other too," the young girl continued without guile, "but they love me too, and the twins. It's wonderful, you'll see."

Mardi and Disney also looked up from studying Azimah's papers, both gently nodding their heads in agreement. "There's lots of love in this house," Disney said softly.

Their new guest closed her mouth, looked uncertainly from one to the other, then also nodded her head in newfound belief. Tears were in her eyes.

To be continued