Where Is Uncle Hal?

Chapter 1

          “Caroline,” says her mom.  “Have a good day in kindergarten.  I’ll wave to you from the window.”

          Caroline is off to school and waves to her mom who is at the window.

          “I hate school,” thinks Caroline to herself.  “And I hate the teacher, Miss Dubin.  All she does is yell and yell and stamp her feet.”

          Caroline goes around the corner and then reaches the school street she has to cross.  The crossing guard tells her to cross.  The school is right there.  Caroline goes into the schoolyard and gets on her class line.  The line soon moves into the building and then into the classroom.  Caroline takes off her jacket, hangs it on a hook in the closet and then sits down on her chair at her table.

          “No talking,” says Miss Dubin.  “If you talk you will have to stand in the corner.”

          “Big deal,” thinks Caroline and she starts talking to the boy next to her.

          “OK young lady, into the corner you go.”

          So, Caroline stands in the corner.

          Next thing you know, Elizabeth also has to stand in the corner.  This makes Elizabeth cry, something Caroline can’t understand.  “What’s the big deal?”  she says to herself.

          Next day, Stacy, one the little girls is having a birthday.  She is six years old.

          “We have to give you your birthday spankings,” says Miss Dubin.  “Six spankings and one for good luck.”  And so Miss Dubin does it.

          “The only thing I like about school is the painting I do,” thinks Caroline.  “And I wish they would teach us to read.”

          One day after school let out, Caroline was crossing the school street.  There on the corner where the candy store is, was a man playing with a yoyo, doing all kinds of yoyo tricks.  Caroling was fascinated.  She watched and watched.

          “Mr.,” said Caroline.  “Can you teach me those yoyo tricks?

          “Of course, Sweetie.  And I’ll buy you your own yoyo.  Just wait for me down this street.  My car is the red car all the way at the end.  Wait for me there while I go in the store and buy you a yoyo.”

          So Caroline walks to the end of the street and waits by the red car.  She waits and waits.  Finally, the man comes by,

          “Hi Sweetie,” he says.  “The store was out of yoyos”

          He opens the car door in front.  “Get in,” he says.  “We’ll go to the yoyo store and I’ll buy you a yoyo.

          “OK,” says Caroline and she gets in the car.

          The man says to her, “I’m your Uncle Hal but I forget your name.”

          “I’m Caroline,”

          “That’s right,” says Uncle Hal.

          “Do you like gum drops?” asks Uncle Hal.

          “Yes,” says Caroline.  “And I’m hungry.”

          “Well, here’s a box of gum drops on the seat.  Have as many as you want.”

          “Thank you, Uncle Hal,” says Caroline, opening the box and eating the gum drops.

          Caroline falls asleep.  When she wakes up she is in a room with little girls, teenage boys and grown men.  Everything feels to be misty and not real. 

          “I’m thirsty.  I’m thirsty,” she says.

          She sees a drink and she drinks it and falls back asleep.

          She wakes up again.  This time she is in a bed.

          “Hello, Caroline.  I’m your Aunt Millie.  You are now on a ship and on vacation.  No more school.  Just a lot of fun.  This ship will travel lots of places and you will meet lots of people.”

          Just then two men break into the room with a gun.

          “OK!  Where’d you put it?  Where’s our money?  OK kid.  Do you have it?” says one of the guys and feels her all over.

          “We don’t have your money,” says Millie.  “Now, get out.”

“Not without our money.”

          They throw Caroline off the bed and slit open the mattress with a knife.  They look and look and guess what.  They find the money and count it, $1,000,000.

          “Hey, wait a minute.  Where’s the rest.  There should be $10,000,000.  We’re missing $9,000,000.”

          “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” says Millie.

          “Well, we’re taking your kid until you find it.  She’ll be at the boss’s house when you show up with the money.  Come on kid.  Let’s go.”

          Meanwhile, Caroline is confused and drugged up.  And the three of them leave.

Chapter 2

          The three of them arrive at the boss’s house. 

          “What’s going on here?” says the boss.  The two men explain.

          “And what’s going on with the kid?  If she dies on us we’re in big trouble.”

          Then Millie arrives.

          Boss says, “Millie, take the kid, make sure she’s OK, then put her to work.”

          “OK Boss.”

          “Come Caroline.  Come with me.”  And they leave.

          They go back to the ship.  They go to the kitchen.  Caroline has a hamburger,  French fries and a coke.

          She says, “I’m tired.  I’m cold.”

          “You’ll go to bed soon,” says Millie.

          Millie brings Caroline to Caroline’s room.

          “I want to go to sleep,” says Caroline.

          “OK,” says Millie.  “Just drink this first.  And she fixes a drink for Caroline.  She drinks it and goes to sleep.

Later—

          “Wake up Caroline,” says Millie, shaking her.

          Caroline wakes up.

          “We are going to the Star Motel, Room 121.  Let’s fix you up a little first.”

Millie then fixes Caroline’s hair.

          And they leave the ship and drive over to the Star Motel, Room 121.

          Millie says, “You will have a visitor soon.  Just sit on the bed and wait.”

          The visitor came, did his or her thing and left.

          This went on every day and night for weeks.  There were several different visitors, male and female.  And what about Caroline?  What about Caroline?

          Then, when Caroline was on the ship, the cops came.  Caroline was taken to a children’s hospital.  But she was in no condition to say anything.  All she did was to stare into space.  There was a very nice husband and wife who took her into their home as a foster child.  But Caroline never spoke or got better.  She would just stare into space.

          A photo of Caroline was taken and put up in the police stations and post offices just in case someone would recognize her.

Chapter 3

          Then one day Caroline’s birth mother was in the post office to send a package to a friend.  She notices the photos.  She looks at them and Wow!  One of them looks exactly like Caroline!  When she tells this to the postal workers they contact the police.  The police then contact the family where Caroline is staying.

          Caroline’s birth parents remain very hopeful.  Although it’s been five years now since Caroling has been found, her condition has not changed.  She now lives with her birth parents.  She does not speak.  She just stares into space.