CHAPTER ONE
Strange Girl
Deep in the recesses of her mind, Caty found a refuge where she hid from the world around her. It’s a mystery how long she sought an escape, but it became her secret place with walls that allowed nobody to enter. Shadow of His Wings Orphanage personnel had no idea what adventure awaited with this strange girl.
It began late one evening; the police came to the orphanage with an odd-acting child. They gave us the court order for her to stay with us, a girl with no name. About twelve years old, her eyes darted around the room like a wild trapped animal. I took her into my arms as she quivered and whimpered. After minutes of softly spoken words, I could feel her heartbeat slowing down, but she clung harder to my arm.
With my prodding and the house mother’s gentle pulling, she went upstairs for the routine clean-up. During this time for new girls, there would be notes taken of any scars, wounds, or physical signs that would alert us to her past situation. We needed documentation for the court of possible abuses a child might have endured before coming to Shadow of His Wings. Colonies of lice in the hair required extermination with designated shampoo followed by a proper body scrubbing.
After the girl had gone upstairs with the house mother, the children gathered around me. “What’s her name?” Lorena asked. “Why is she acting weird?” asked Josselin. “Is she on drugs?”
My head buzzed with similar questions. Where did this child come from, and what was her story? How could we minister to what she needed? What if we can’t take care of her?
“Kids, we don’t have any information about her and no name. Maybe she will tell us when she feels safe. Meanwhile, show her love and encouragement; we are here to help her. She shouldn’t be alone, so I’m asking you to take turns staying with her.”
The next day, the court secretary said the police record showed this child suffered sexual and physical abuse. They received a call from a shady hotel asking for the removal of a girl. They found her in a room, alone in women’s black lingerie, crouching on the floor. Someone dressed her, and the police brought her to Shadow.
Without any identification or contact information, her lack of communication left us clueless about this child. The girls asked her what her name was, but the response of sounds didn’t make sense. Finally, after listening to what she did say, the girls decided she should be called Caty.
We thought intellectual disability described her state of mind because she would say a few words that made sense while chattering nonsense. Caty imitated the girls by repeating one or two words. When I looked at her, I couldn’t see the characteristics of Down Syndrome, so I didn’t think this to be her problem. However, we did know this child had suffered much, and we needed to find out how we could help her mentally, physically, and spiritually.
The Lord said He would give us wisdom when we needed it. “Dear Lord, please open the floodgates of knowledge so we can help this damaged child.”
Someone tossed this life into the trash, but Caty deserved justice, security, and love. The path I saw ahead of us went into unknown territory while the learning curve rose sharply. Where to begin became the number one question in our minds.