His Miracle

Who is Jasmine?

I stare at Jake, my mouth hung open unattractively.

"How can I not have known you have a sister?" I ask him, completely taken aback.

Why is Jasmine living with Peggy and not Michelle?

"I think you both should leave." Peggy mutters. Before I get the opportunity to ask questions, Jake nods and walks towards the coffee table to retrieve his keys. He turns towards me, his expression neutral.

"We should go, I think this was a mistake." Jake says quietly, his eyes flickering between Peggy and I.

"Jake, wait! Please let just talk about this." I tell him, reaching out to take hold of his arm. He shakes his head, walking towards the door. I watch as he reaches up with his hand, raking his fingers through his dark hair.

"Are you with me?" Jake mumbles and I nod my head, confusion filling my mind. I reach forward, taking hold of his hand. He gives Peggy a tight smile and with that, we leave her house and head towards the car. Once we're settled inside, Jake turns on the engine and drives out of the narrow road, speeding up to create distance between us and the situation. We drive in complete silence until he pulls up in a secluded road, turning the engine off and sighing heavily. I turn towards Jake, my tone serious.

"Tell me about Jasmine."

"Do you really want to know?" Jake asks me, breaking the silence in the car. He looks towards me questioningly and I nod firmly —

"Yes, I'm sure."

I watch as Jake exhales deeply before shuffling in his seat, getting comfortable.

"When I was ten years old, my mum left me with Aunty Myra. She didn't tell me where she was going, she got up one day and left."

I can hear the emotion building in his voice and I reach forward, placing a hand on his knee. Jake smiles softly at me before continuing —

"I remember her acting weird a couple of days before she left. The day she disappeared, she kissed my cheek before I left for school as normal but when I got back, she wasn't there. I was holding an award I won in some silly school boxing competition. Damn, I was so proud of that award."

"I searched for her everywhere and when I couldn't find her, I went to ask Aunty Myra where she was. She sat me down and I could tell something wasn't right. . . She was looking at me as if my mum had just died, you know? Aunty Myra told me that Mum had decided to go on a little holiday and I would be staying with her, Tobias and Ivory for a while. All I remember was feeling so confused and angry. Why didn't she tell me? How could she leave me like that? I didn't hear from her at all. Every single day after school, I'd ask Aunty Myra if Mum had rang, wrote me a letter, anything. Every day the answer was no. After a few months, I stopped asking. I didn't know where she was or if she was okay or if she was even alive. It still hurts me now."

Jake pauses, collecting his feeling before continuing.

"So after a year, Mum shows up on Aunty Myra's front step. She's homeless, has no money and she's seven months pregnant. She ran away to be with my father but he took her for all she was worth and left her." Jake says angrily, his grip on the steering wheel tightening.

"I was so angry with her, she'd left me for almost a year and when she came back, I was now going to have a little brother or sister. It was crazy. I couldn't help feeling excited though, you know? I'd always wanted my own little sister or brother... Someone to protect in school and show how to ride a bike, that kind of stuff. I'd always get jealous of Tobias' and Ivory's relationship and even though they treat me like a brother, it's not the same. I wanted my own biological sibling. So a month passes and Mum's due date starts approaching real fast and she's panicking because she can't afford another baby. Aunty Myra only just started a new job and had Tobias and Ivory to look after. Mum eventually gives birth and it's a little girl. Jet black hair and these big beautiful blue eyes... I remember how excited I was going to visit her for the first time in hospital. The moment I stood on my tip toes and peered into those big blue eyes, I officially fell in love with my little sister. She was perfect and so tiny... I held her in my arms for hours and panicked every time she moved, even though she was just stirring in my arms."

Jake chuckles fondly at the memory.

"It was hard for the first few weeks but when is it ever not with a newborn? Mum couldn't cope, she wasn't sleeping and her mental health went downhill. Sometimes I'd come home to find Jasmine screaming in her cot, wanting to be fed and Mum would be zoned out downstairs, staring aimlessly at the television. God, it was horrible. Aunty Myra tried so hard to drill some common sense into her but she wouldn't listen. It's like the light inside her switched off after giving birth... She wasn't my mum anymore, just the shell left of her. One weekend, I woke up in the middle of the night and I could hear Jasmine whimpering in her cot, she was only a few weeks old. I sneak into Mum's room and found her n***d in her cot, she didn't even have a nappy on. She'd wet herself and I just didn't know what to do. I tried waking Mum up but it was like trying to bring someone back from the dead. So I picked Jasmine up and took her to the bathroom, ran the warm tap in the sink and tried to wash her myself." Jake said sadly, his head shaking in disbelief.

"Jasmine wouldn't stop crying and I was trying so hard to keep her still in the sink. I didn't want to drop her. But she started screeching and soon enough, Aunty Myra woke up and found me in the bathroom with her. She just stood there in disbelief staring at a ten year old me trying to bath my baby sister. Aunty Myra took her from me and told me to get back inside my room. I knew she was angry, she was livid. The next day social services came round to our house and took Jasmine away... I didn't see her for years after that day. I was so angry at Aunty Myra but deep down, I know it wasn't her fault. Mum wasn't looking after Jasmine properly and Aunty Myra physically couldn't afford to look after another child. So Jasmine was put in the foster system and was fostered by Peggy. Two years ago, I tracked her down and asked Peggy if I could see her regularly. Amazingly, she said yes... She introduced me to Jasmine as her grandson, she never told her who I really am. Still to this day, that little girl doesn't know I'm her big brother and it breaks my heart."

A deep stone has lodged itself inside my own throat and I look at Jake in disbelief, feeling full of emotion. I couldn't believe how much he's gone through in life and still he turned out to be such an amazing strong human being. I squeeze his hand gently.

"So you wanted to show me what can happen when a child doesn't know their family?" I ask him quietly, the pieces slowly joining together. Jake nods, blue eyes glazed over with unshed tears.

"She doesn't live a good life with Peggy. The house is falling down, she doesn't have other siblings or friends. Jasmine thinks her real family abandoned her and I can't tell her the truth. I'm right in front of her and she can never know I'm her brother otherwise Peggy won't let me see her anymore. How messed up is that?"

Finally, it all makes sense. My heart hurts for Jake and Jasmine combined.

All I can do is respond with a simple nod of my head.