The Adoption

In the center of the rugged, mountainous and war-torn landscapes of Afghanistan, there was a tenacious young soldier named Sergeant Adam Mitchell, who would soon infuriate a small group of people for having a heart.

Adam had been stationed in the region since the war began, witnessing the devastating consequences of the bloody conflict firsthand. He had not let the conflict harden him, refusing to let go of his humble and generous personality.

Today, his unit was attacking an enemy stronghold. After a successful raid on the Taliban campsite, he’d been walking through what remained of the village, looking for any non combatants he could help. He was given a classified assignment to recruit as many locals as he could to take the side of the U.S. so the government could maintain its sparkling reputation back home and continue to make the war look like it was going smoothly.

He kicked open a door to what he thought was an abandoned house, but what he found instead was a tiny a crying baby girl. She started to cry when she saw Adam, who tried to hush her, and when that didn’t work he picked her up to try and comfort her, bouncing her up and down in his arms. She eventually started to giggle.

She was barely a year old, and had somehow miraculously survived the wreckage of her village. Adam wondered how a creature so adorable could have been abandoned. Were her parents Taliban fighters. Oh god, he thought, could he have killed her parents? A lot of Taliban had been killed that day.

Adam had felt an indescribable connection with this child. It was more then that, he had an obligation to protect this child now.

He saw the the innocence in her eyes, and couldn’t let that be stripped away too soon. He couldn’t let her grow up in an orphanage without ever knowing a parent, or worse, dying because nobody would care for her.

He wondered where this paternal instinct had come from, he had never experienced such a thing before. He’d never thought about kids before, even with his girlfriend back home, so why did he want this little girl? Could it be his soldier training kicking in, leave no man behind as they say? Or an innate ability to protect the innocent? Or that sparkle of hope in her eyes when she looked at him? He couldn’t say for sure, but Adam just knew he had to protect her, to provide her with a future free from the horrors of abandonment. She must never know she’s been abandoned, Adam decided.

Adam stood next to the crib, wondering how would he get this child home. Adam understood the complexities of international adoption, having neighbors who adopted and constantly complained about the tedious and lengthily process. Then he started to think that if the child's true parents were somehow still alive and discovered, his chances of adopting her would vanish. And if they were still alive, this meant they abandoned her intentionally and did not deserve her. He decided he had to keep them out of the picture.

He had a difficult decision to make, but driven by his newfound parental instincts, he concocted a plan. It was one that involved reporting a second false raid on the village, claiming that the baby's parents were foreign fighters who had perished in the attack. This way, he could either find someone willing to be a fake witness to their death, or be a ‘witness’ himself to the fact that this babies parents were dead.

Adam hoped that by doing so, he would secure the child's future and give her the life she deserved. She deserved a parent that would never leave her side. He grabbed a small basket to carry the baby in and left the house.

After he got back to his camp, he put the crib and baby in a place where nobody would see it, then he went for a walk and told his other soldiers he wanted one last look at the village in case he missed anything. Shortly after, he camp back to his camp and told everyone the village had been in the middle of another raid and he had to help the local militia and villagers fight back against the raiders. He paid off a local militia captain to confirm his story.

Word of the raid spread quickly through the camp, and the news reached the ears of the local authorities. Suspicion arose among the villagers, who knew the truth about the baby's parents, because, like in most small villages, they had been a community friends. They were farmers who still lived and had gone to hide with their relatives in a neighboring village, and they had claimed their hearts ached for the loss of their precious child. They couldn't fathom why such a false story was being spread, and they were determined to find out the truth. During the raid of the U.S. soldiers, they were scared and felt they had no choice but to leave their baby behind. They ran away without even packing anything, and claimed the abandonment wasn’t their fault. When they came back for the baby after the raid, little Afsoon was gone.

“So that’s your name, little one, Afsoon,” he said to the child.

Local authorities began an investigation, and the villagers confronted Adam, pleading with him to return the baby.

“No. Her parents were killed during a firefight with enemy combatants,” Adam said. Even if they weren’t, what kind of monster abandons their precious child under any circumstances, Adam thought.

They shared their anguish with Adam, then recounted their memories of the baby's loving parents. They insisted that the child belonged with her rightful family, who longed to hold her in their arms once again. Their pleas eventually began to tug at Adam's conscience, and he began to question the morality of his actions. Maybe her parents made a mistake, maybe they couldn’t get to their baby and really were concerned.

plagued by an increasing guilt and paranoid about being blamed for making a horrible decision, Adam decided to confess. He went to his Lieutenant and started to cry, then confessed his deception and tried to explain the reason behind it. He acknowledged that what he had done might have been wrong, but swore he only had good intentions.

But despite his connection with the baby girl and his instincts telling him to protect her, after listening to the pleas of several villagers and people that knew Afsoon’s parents personally, Adam thought he understood the pain and the longing of the baby's true family. Adam's honesty was at first met with disappointment from his Lieutenant, but after some silence he had told the soldiers at the camp what ther Sergeant had done and asked for their ipionions. To the Lieutenants surprise, this got applause and earned Adam admiration from his fellow soldiers, who recognized the depth of his love and the difficulty of his decision. They could all see in his eyes how much he cared for Afsoon.

Adams friends helped him arrange a meeting between Adam, the baby's parents, and the village elders. It was a tense gathering, which started with an argument over what right Adam had to just ‘take a baby.’

“But you abandoned her to go to a neighboring village. Who does that?” Adam shouted.

The rest of the evening was filled with shouting and anger, but right before the meeting ended, Afsoons parents and Adam realized they were both wrong, and forgiveness was essential if anyone had any hope for future talks. The parents were devastated by the days they had spent without their child, but admitted gratitude that Adam took care of her until they could come back for her.

After much deliberation and several heartfelt conversations, they came to an unexpected resolution. The baby's parents, recognizing Adam's genuine love for their child, decided to entrust her to his care. They understood the depth of his commitment and believed that he would provide her with the life she deserved, with love, security, and opportunities they could not offer amidst the turmoil of their homeland.

Adam was overwhelmed with emotions, and expressed his undying gratitude for to the parents. He assured them he would keep in touch and keep them updated on Afsoons progress.

Adam promised Afsoons parents he would provide her with a loving home, ensured them that she grew up with the knowledge of her real parents and the sacrifice they had made on her behalf. Afsoon would know her real parents loved her and were looking out for her best interest.

“Thank you, Adam. Will you also allow us to visit Afsoon?” Her parents asked.

“Of course,” Adam assured them.

Adam had soon taken his leave and returned home, and Afsoon found a new family in the arms of Sergeant Adam Mitchell and his girlfriend who was now soon to be his wife.

Together, they raised Afsoon with all their love, traversing the boundaries of nationality and war. And as promised, Adam welcomed Afsoons parents into his house every year for a weeks long annual visit.

As the years passed, Afsoon grew up learning stories of her birth parents, who also taught her the history and language of her native country, and was considered the brightest girl in her class.

She eventually graduated college and became the United States ambassador to Afghanistan.

Adam and Afsoons parents threw a surprise party for her on her 30th birthday, where they all told her how proud they were of her for all she’s achieved.