“We wouldn’t do that, anyway,” the woman added. “We couldn’t just turn her over to strangers.”

“I guess we’ll just have to keep looking until somebody claims her,” the man said.

“If somebody does claim that she’s their child, you’ll have to take all of them to the proper authorities,” Seth said. “There have been rumors of people coming in and taking abandoned children.”

“That’s…that’s…so hard to believe,” the woman stammered.

“I’ve been told the same thing,” I said. Steve the pilot had told me about that baby that four couples thought was their child.

“So you have to make sure that whoever says she’s their child really is the parent. Okay?”

“Of course,” the woman said. “Thanks for letting us know. Thank you.” She squeezed the little girl tightly, and the toddler wrapped both arms around her.

“She seems to really like you,” Seth said.

“I guess we’re all she has right now.”

“I’m going to arrange for a vehicle to take Beth up to the evacuation camp,” Seth said. “How about if you three go along with her?”

A bit of company sounded pretty good to me.

“Thanks, but we heard about a hospital not far from here. We were going to try there next,” the man said.

“You’re right, it’s not far. I could arrange for the vehicle to stop there before it takes you all to the camp.”

“That would be great. Thanks.”

“It’s the least I can do. I just wish there were more.” He turned to me. “Do you have only the one picture of your family?”

I nodded.

“Could I see it again?”

I took it from my pocket and handed it to him. He looked at it, long and hard, studying it. Then he handed it back.

“I won’t forget your mother and brother. If they come here, I’ll make sure you know. One way or another.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

As our SUV rumbled down the road, it stopped every time we passed someone who looked as though they might be a foreigner. The man and woman—he was Ryan and she was Lulu—would ask if the person knew the little girl. Not knowing her real name, they called her “Blondie.” I’d then take the opportunity to show the same people the photo of my family.

Most often, the people we met would ask us about somebody they were searching for, or show us a picture. Once, both Ryan and Lulu thought they recognized a woman in a photo and they sent her husband back in the direction we’d come. They didn’t want to get his hopes up for no reason, but they thought the woman in the photo—his wife—might be the one we’d seen sitting on the steps of the temple when we were leaving. Hope was all any of us had.

When we weren’t looking out the windows I couldn’t help but glance at the little girl snuggled into Lulu’s arms. Lulu sang her lullabies and rocked her, and Ryan played peek-a-boo games. The little girl didn’t seem to have words, but it wasn’t that she was in shock or traumatized. She just didn’t understand English. I was positive of that.