Okay, everyone, I messed up! I accidentally wrote last week that I would be sharing a free short story today instead of the book review I should be posting. However, I decided to let you all have the short story today anyway, and I’ll post a book review next week. 😉 I hope you all enjoy this little short story, which I wrote for a contest a while back and titled “Lost and Found.”

Lost and Found by Katelyn Joy

September 2010

Brown cowgirl boots, the last gift Lottie’s mother had ever given her. The shoes felt perfect as she slipped them onto her feet. They squeezed her feet just a little on the sides, not too loose and not too tight. They were so leathery and smooth, and Lottie loved the flowery pattern that was sewed onto them. She rubbed her hands over the stitches, admiring one of the flowers. Yes, these shoes were perfect. And the best thing about them, other than that they reminded her of Mommy, of course, was that they always stayed the same. Even when she didn’t know who she was going to play with or what she was going to eat or even where she was going to sleep that day, she knew that she would have her brown cowgirl boots. 

“Hurry up, Lottie,” Mrs. Thorne scolded. “Miss Finch will be here any minute now, and you need to be ready.”

Lottie didn’t say anything, just nodded. She didn’t like the way that Mrs. Thorne talked to her. She was happy to be going somewhere else, even if she didn’t know where that somewhere would be. 

The doorbell rang just as Lottie stood up and grabbed her backpack that contained all of her possessions. Mrs. Thorne opened the door, and Miss Finch appeared. “Lottie!” She held out her arms for a hug, and Lottie went running into them. 

“Hi, Miss Finch! I missed you!” Lottie squealed with excitement at seeing the familiar face.

“Oh, I missed you, too, Lottie girl!” 

Miss Finch reminded Lottie of Mommy. She always had a smile, and she gave lots of good hugs. Lottie wished that she could live with her since Mommy was in heaven now, but Miss Finch said that wasn’t possible. Lottie promised she would always be good and use her manners and keep her room clean and eat all of her vegetables, but still Miss Finch said no. She couldn’t understand why. Lottie got tired of moving to new houses all the time, and Miss Finch always told her she wished it didn’t have to be that way, so why not live with her? It would only make sense. Lottie would never understand grown-ups. 

Miss Finch talked to Mrs. Thorne for a bit, then she asked if Lottie was ready to go. Lottie stood up and nodded. She followed Miss Finch out the door and to her shiny silver car. There was a booster seat in the back, just the right size for her. Miss Finch made sure Lottie was buckled in safely before driving away. 

“Where are we going, Miss Finch?” Lottie asked. 

“I’m taking you to your new foster family. They are a young couple, and their names are Dave and Sophia Collins. I have met them before, and they seem very nice.”

“So I will have a new daddy and a new mommy?”

“Well, a foster dad and foster mom, yes.”

Lottie’s lower lip began to quiver. She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t help it. She was sick of moving all the time. Even if Dave and Sophia were the nicest people in the whole entire world, they still could never be as nice as Mommy. She just wanted Mommy back.

Lottie decided to play the Imagine game. That is the game she played every time she missed her mother. She would close her eyes and pretend that Mommy was right there with her. She would even imagine that she was talking to her. 

“Where do you think we are going, Mommy? Are we going on an exciting adventure?”

Lottie pictured Mommy with her light blonde hair and bright blue eyes that looked just like her own. She was tall and had a happy smile. “Yes, we are, Lottie. It will be a very exciting adventure. We will have lots of fun together.”

“Oh, what are we going to do, Mommy?”

“I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise!” 

“Oh, I love surprises!”

Miss Finch interrupted Lottie’s game when she announced that they had arrived. The small white house looked rather ordinary, but there was a huge backyard and lots of trees. Living here couldn’t be so bad if she got to play in her very own forest. She could make her own fort to hide in and climb the trees and maybe even become friends with the birds and the squirrels. Hopefully she wouldn’t see any bears, though. Bears scared her. 

Miss Finch walked up the long sidewalk and knocked on the blue door. Lottie liked the door. Blue was her second favorite color. Brown was her favorite color, of course, since it was the color of her boots. 

A lady opened the door. Lottie thought that she was very pretty. She had dark brown hair that went just past her shoulders, and she was very tall, taller even than Miss Finch. Her eyes sparkled bright blue, just like Mommy’s. A smile settled on her lips as she began to talk. “Hello, Miss Finch. And you must be Lottie? I’m Sophia.”

Lottie nodded. She didn’t know what to say to this pretty lady who had blue eyes just like Mommy’s. After a moment, she realized she could show Sophia her boots. “Do you like my cowgirl boots? They were a gift from my mommy.” 

“Oh, those are beautiful cowgirl boots, Lottie! What nice flowers, too! They must be very special to you.”

Lottie nodded. “They are. I wear them every day.”

“Well, why don’t you all come in?” Sophia beckoned. “I can show you around the house, Lottie, and I will introduce you to Dave. He works from home, so he’s in the office right now, but he will take some time to come meet you.” 

Sophia showed her all of the rooms. There was a big brown couch in the living room with lots of blankets that looked cozy and perfect for laying down and watching movies. The kitchen and dining room had a little white table and shelves full of snacks. She saw Sophia and Dave’s room, and then her own room. It was the most beautifully amazing room she had ever seen in her life! The walls were blue, the same light blue as the door. There was a little bed with a floral quilt and a pretty pink blanket. The most exciting thing of all was a big dollhouse on the back wall, filled with all sorts of lovely dolls. There were baskets of toys, too, and a bookshelf. Lottie couldn’t believe it! 

“I’ll give you some time to look around and get settled in. Would you like to meet Dave first, though?” Sophia asked.

Lottie nodded. She was a little scared to meet him. She never had a daddy before, except for her foster dads, but they never paid much attention to her. Maybe Dave would be like them, or maybe he would be different. Maybe he would be like the daddies some of her friends had, who played with them and took them to do fun things. Miss Finch took her hand and walked with her, which made her feel braver. Miss Finch must have known how she was feeling, because she looked at her with a smile and squeezed her hand. Lottie smiled and squeezed back. 

Lottie and Miss Finch followed Sophia down to a flight of stairs where they came to the room Sophia called the office. A very tall man with dark, wavy hair sat on a chair facing a computer. He swiveled around when he heard their footsteps. “Oh, you guys are here!” He shook Miss Finch’s hand and looked down at Lottie. “You must be Lottie.” He knelt down to her level. “I’m Dave. Welcome to our home.”

Lottie gave a little wave and leaned against Miss Finch. Dave seemed nice, but Lottie still wasn’t sure what to think about having a foster daddy. After a few minutes, Sophia brought Lottie back up to her room to let her explore. Lottie enjoyed playing with the new dollhouse and looking at the picture books. 

Lottie liked Sophia and Dave and their house, but she still missed Mommy. Would she ever feel at home again? 

***

That night, Lottie curled up under her fleecy pink blanket and blue floral quilt. Sophia said goodnight to her and turned off the lights. Lottie had a hard time going to sleep that night. Her mind was racing, thinking about the day and what it would be like to live with Dave and Sophia. Eventually, though, she drifted off to dreamland. 

Lottie sat down in the sand next to her mom. “Let’s make a sand castle!” she said.

“What an excellent idea!” Lottie and Mommy grabbed shovels and began digging, filling their buckets with sand for the castle. It wasn’t long before they had made a beautiful sand castle. Lottie and Mommy combed the shore, searching for shells to decorate the castle. 

Once the shells were neatly arranged, Lottie declared it beautiful. “Can we go in the water now?” 

“Sure, Sweetie!” 

Lottie and Mommy made their way over to the ocean. The big waves scared Lottie, and she clutched Mommy’s hand tightly. She reluctantly touched the tip of her foot to the water. It was a little cold, but that was okay. She dipped her whole foot in the water, then took one little step, then another, Mommy right by her side. Lottie always knew that she would be okay when Mommy was with her. She took another step. Another. Another. Then, she noticed something. She didn’t feel Mommy’s hand in hers anymore. She turned around to look. Mommy wasn’t there. Around and around she looked, spinning frantically, yet she didn’t see her. She was alone in the middle of this sea. Lost. 

Lottie woke up with fresh, hot tears on her cheeks. She had this dream almost every night since Mommy died. The last day she spent with Mommy had been at the beach. They had a great time together, and afterwards, they went shoe shopping and got Lottie’s favorite boots. The next day, she was with her babysitter when the social workers came to get her. Even with Miss Finch and the foster families she had stayed with, she felt so alone without Mommy. So lost. She sighed and cried herself back to sleep.

***

September turned into October and October into November. Lottie had been living with Sophia and Dave for over two months now. Sophia made chocolate chip cookies with Lottie, read stories to her, and tucked her into bed every night. Dave would buy her new toys and sweet treats when he went to the store, and he let her help him with work around the house and the yard. She was still a little shy around him, but he never made her talk to him or help him if she didn’t want to. 

One day, Lottie was outside with Dave and Sophia. Sophia was sitting in the garage, sipping a mug of hot cocoa, and Dave was raking the leaves in the front yard. Lottie had her own little rake, and she was helping the pile of leaves grow bigger and bigger. Dave said that once they were done, Lottie could jump into the leaf pile and play in it. Lottie couldn’t wait!

Once the leaf pile had grown sufficiently large, Dave told Lottie that she could jump in now. Lottie bent her knees and jumped as high as she could, landing in the middle of the pile with a satisfying crunch! She giggled as she felt the leaves closing in around her. “That was fun! Can I do it again?”

“Of course!” Dave responded.

After Lottie tired of jumping, Dave began raking the leaf pile onto a tarp to haul onto the trailer with the rest of the yard waste to bring to the dump. Lottie hoped that she would get to come to the garbage dump; she had never seen one before. 

Sophia ran into the house to make another batch of hot chocolate for everyone, and Dave worked at getting the leaves to the trailer. With her foster parents preoccupied, Lottie was getting bored. Then, she spotted a rabbit. It was so cute! It had a fluffy tail and a twitching nose. Lottie had to see where it was going. Maybe it had a home full of baby bunnies! The rabbit hopped near the edge of the woods, and Lottie ran after it. So as not to scare the critter, she slowed down and tiptoed as she neared the trees. The rabbit eventually stopped at the base of a tree, bending down to eat some grass. Lottie searched all around for a nest, but she didn’t see one. 

A squirrel caught Lottie’s eye. It carried an acorn in its mouth as it scurried around. Lottie chased it until it made its way up a tree. Another squirrel whizzed past, and Lottie chased that one, too. When it disappeared up a tree, Lottie realized she no longer knew where she was. She was in the thick of the woods now and couldn’t see Dave and Sophia’s house. She walked around for a little while, but all she could see was trees, trees, and more trees. 

Lottie sat down and, leaning her head on her bent knees, began to cry. It was just like her dream. She was lost. Completely lost. She felt so alone, just like the day the social workers came to her house and told her she wouldn’t be seeing her mommy again. Even her favorite brown cowgirl boots weren’t bringing her any comfort right now.

After what felt like forever, she heard footsteps crunching through the leaves. She lifted her head and froze. Could that be Dave or Sophia? Or was it a bad guy, or a bear, or…? 

Before her scared thoughts could continue, she saw Sophia coming closer. “Sophia!” she cried as she got up and ran towards her foster mother, arms out. Sophia instantly picked Lottie up and spun her in a circle.

“Oh, Lottie, praise the Lord I found you! Dave and I were so worried! We turned our backs for a minute, and you were gone! What were you doing here in the woods, honey?”

Lottie began to cry, and Sophia rubbed her back soothingly. “It’s okay, Sweetie, I’m just glad you’re safe. That must have been so scary. You can tell me what happened.”

Lottie managed to choke out, “I saw a bunny going to the woods, and I wanted to see its nest. Then I saw some squirrels, and I wanted to see what they were doing. Then, I just looked around, and I was lost.” 

“Oh, Lottie.” Sophia gave her another hug. “Next time, remember to tell me or Dave if you want to go into the woods. I’m just so glad you are okay! Let’s go see Dave. He’s worried sick, too, looking all over for you.”

When Sophia approached holding Lottie’s hand, Dave picked Lottie up and gave her a big hug. “Oh, Lottie, she found you! I’m so glad you are okay! I was so worried!”

Lottie couldn’t believe her ears. She didn’t know the last time someone had worried about her like this. Mommy always talked about how much she loved Lottie and was always worrying about her, but none of her other foster parents were ever like that. 

“I got lost in the woods,” she replied simply. “I’m okay, though, and I won’t ever do it again.”

“I know, Lottie, I know, you must have been so scared. You’re found now, though.” 

As Lottie melted into Dave’s hug, she knew that was true; she was found. She didn’t feel lost anymore. She had finally found a family who loved her. 

***

August 2024

Lottie pulled the tiny brown cowgirl boots from the back of the closet. “I had forgotten about these!” She laughed. “Remember when I was four years old, and I wore these every single day?”

“I sure do. I remember the tantrum you had, too, when I said you couldn’t wear them anymore because they were pinching your feet so bad you were getting blisters,” Sophia Collins, better known to Lottie as Mom, replied. 

“Yes, so do I. When my life was so chaotic and everything was changing, these boots were the one thing, though, that helped me stay connected to my memories of my mom, and wearing them everyday was the one thing that stayed the same.” 

“Yes, that must have been such a hard time for you. I know the loss of your mom still must be so hard, but I’m glad that I get to be part of your life and that Dave and I have been able to become your family.”

Lottie hugged her adoptive mother. “I’m so glad, too. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

Tears flooded Mom’s eyes. “Oh, I’m going to miss you so much when you’re at college!”

“I’ll miss you, too. But I’ll make sure I keep in touch, and I will be back for winter break.”

“Winter break! That sounds so far away.”

Lottie laughed. “You’ll survive.” She pulled another treasured keepsake out of the back of the closet, a T-shirt she had received for her baptism that said “I once was lost but now I’m found.” The treasured lyrics from “Amazing Grace” had always resonated with her. 

“I love this shirt,” she said with a wistful sigh. “I found Jesus, and I found a family who loves me. What more could a girl need?”

“What more, indeed?” Mom pulled Lottie into a hug. 

Lottie was happy to know that wherever she went, to college and whatever lay beyond, she always had a family who would love her and be there for her to the best of their ability. Even more importantly, she had Jesus in her heart, the Friend Who would never leave or forsake her. She wasn’t lost anymore.

THE END

I hope you all enjoyed this story! It was a lot of fun to write. I will be back again next week with a book review for you all!