The Girl without Hands
One warm, summer night in a small town called Yelm there was a teenage girl named Carla Simpson. She was about to turn 18 soon but little did she know of the fate that would await her on her birthday. Three years before, she had almost died at the hospital from kidney failure. While she was in operation, an older man showed up to her depressed father and started talking to him. The older man said, “Your daughter is not going to make it through the surgery. Her body is too weak but I can help you. I can make this all go away. All you have to do is give me something precious of yours.”
The father was very surprised but desperate to keep his daughter. “All I have is an old apple tree. I do not have nice things or money, “said the father.
“That is quite alright,” said the older man. I do not wish for an apple tree or money anyways. I want your daughter.”
“What? Why would you want my daughter?” The father asked.
“That is not of your concern. Time is going to run out and you won’t be able to save her,” said the older man.
“Okay I will give her to you, but not until she is 18. She is my only child,” said the father.
“Then it is a deal. I will come back for her in three years’ time. Do not forget that,” said the older man.
“I won’t forget” said the father as he cried. He looked up and the older man was gone. He had disappeared as if he had never even been there. A few minutes later, the father’s wife came running up to him and said “Our daughter is going to live! Her body didn’t reject the kidney!”
The father gasped. The older man had really done what he said. He would get to spend some more time with his daughter. “It’s a miracle! He said. But deep down inside he knew how much time he would actually have with his daughter.
Almost three years later, Carla had grown up into a beautiful, young woman. She knew what she wanted in life and ever since the surgery, she had become a Christian and went to church every Sunday. Her life was dedicated to God and she wanted to go on a mission as soon as she turned 18. She lived her life without sin and wanted to tell other people about her story and how her life had changed for the better. Her father is the one who started getting her to go to church with him right after her surgery. He said that God had sent an angel to look after her and make sure she lived. He had never told Carla or his wife about the older man that came to him at the hospital that day. He was ashamed to tell them that they only had until she was 18 years old. He felt so guilty. “What have I done?” he thought to himself. “I must tell my wife.” The father went to his wife and told her that he needed to talk to her.
“What’s wrong?” said the wife.
“Oh honey, you will surely hate me if I tell you what I have done,” said her husband.
“You can tell me,” said the wife. “I will not judge you.”
He started to tell his wife about the older man that came to him and offered to help save Carla. He told her that the man wanted something precious from them but he told the man that they didn’t have anything to give him and how the man said that he wanted Carla. His wife was in shock. She didn’t say anything the whole time when her husband was explaining what happened. When he was finally done telling his wife what he had done, the wife got up and screamed in horror.
“How could you do this to us? His wife said. “Our daughter is the only child we have and you are telling me that we have to give her away? There must be some way that we can keep her. I will not give her to some stranger. She is my daughter too.”
“I’m so sorry,” said her husband. “What was I supposed to do? When he offered to save Carla’s life I didn’t think about anything else. The only thing that I cared about was having our family together for an extra three years. She was going to die if we didn’t do anything and that was our only option. We didn’t have any money at the time.”
“I know, I know,” said his wife. “But we can’t just sit here and watch some man take our daughter for God knows what. It’s not right and I would never be able to forgive myself. Her 18th birthday is coming in only a few more days. We will have to reason with him.”
“My love, you cannot reason with the Devil,” said her husband. “That is what he is.”
The next few days went by extremely fast and it was Carla’s 18th birthday. She was more excited than ever but her parents were more afraid than they have ever been. They had no idea what they were going to do. Carla saw the devastated look in their eyes ever since three days before but she had no clue what was going on. She figured they were probably just having money troubles again. She was about to ask them what was wrong when suddenly there was a bunch of knocks on the front door. Her father quickly got up, opened the door and saw the old man standing in front of him. He looked almost the same as before but with a few more gray hairs. Carla’s father looked like he was about to be sick. “Who is that?” asked Carla.
“It’s a long story,” her father said. Then the older man spoke to Carla and said, “I need to talk to your parents alone.” Carla looked at him with a confused look but went upstairs to her room without asking why she had to leave. The older man starting talking immediately after Carla left the room. “I am only here to take what we agreed on. I have no interest in wasting time because you have had the 3 years that you wouldn’t have had with your daughter. Please tell her to pack anything that she might want or need.” Carla’s mother was getting furious.
“You can’t just take my daughter,” she said. She is innocent and pure and your evil cannot harm her.”
“We will see about that,” said the older man. “Go talk to your daughter and tell her that she is leaving with me.” Carla’s parents went to her room and told her that she had to leave with the man. She thought they were just kidding but then they both started crying.
“He made it so that you could live,” said her father. “You must go unless we figure out a way to keep you here. He wants you because you are so pure. I think he does business in prostitution and would get a lot of money from having a beautiful girl like you. I have tried everything that I can do but he still wants you.”
“What? You are just going to let that man take me?” said Carla. There must be something that we can do. God is looking over me.”
Her father started shaking and said, “Well….there is one thing that I thought of but it is the most cruel thing that I could ever ask you to do.”
“What is it?” asked Carla. “I will do anything as long I am still pure. The most important thing to me is God and keeping myself clean.”
“Oh sweetie, you are brave,” said her father. “The only idea that I have is chopping of your hands. The man will not want you if you are damaged.”
“I will do it then, Dad. I don’t have any other choice,” said Carla.
“Please forgive me,” said her father. This is evil of me to have even made the deal with that man. I am so sorry.”
Carla just looked at her father with faithful eyes and stretched out her arms and said, “Do it.”
He chopped of both of her hands and then rushed her to the hospital. While her parents were in the waiting room, the man came to them again and started clapping. “I am very surprised that you actually found a way to make sure that I cannot take her. Nobody is ever going to want a young woman without hands. You get to keep her now and you will never see me again,” said the older man. Carla’s parents started crying again and watched the man leave. They were so happy that he didn’t take Carla and was out of their lives forever. They had their family forever now and Carla would still get to have the pure life that she had worked for. All was good except that Carla would never have real hands again.
The End.
