I open my eyes and just lie in bed staring out the window watching the sun rise. I sit up in bed and look at the clock

“6:00,” I say softly. I pull the purple and pink polkadot blanket off of me and go to my bureau to get clothes. I open the top drawer and pull out a white tank top and a blue and white american eagle t-shirt. I close the drawer and go to my closet and grab a pair of shorts and my pink flip flops. I open the bedroom door and walk down the hallway to the bathroom. I close the door and lock it behind me. I take a shower and get dressed.

When I am done I go back to my room and straighten my light brown hair. I look at the clock and it is now 6:30. I grab my bag and run down stairs to eat breakfast. I get to the kitchen and make myself some cereal. I sit down at the table and scarf down my cereal knowing the bus will be coming soon. When I finish I put my flip flops on and run out the door. When I get outside I put my bag on my back and run to the end of the street to the bus stop. The bus arrives about 30 seconds after I do. I walk up the stairs and sit in the third to last seat by myself.

In about ten minutes we arrive at school and I go up stairs to my locker. I put in the combination, open the door and grab my math and science books. I put them in my bag with my binder and folders and go to math class. On my way to class I see my best friend Mercedes.
“Hey Caitlyn,” Mercedes yelled while running to me
“Hi,” I said
“Happy sweet sixteen,” she said happily as she handed me a present.

I untied the purple ribbon and opened the box. Inside was a heart shaped lock-it with a picture of the two of us inside. I remember the picture because it was taken the first day we met in kindergarden.
“I love it, thanks” I said excitedly. I pulled my hair up and let her put it around my neck.
“I have to get to class it starts in two minutes and its on the other side of school” I said and gave her a hug. “ See you after school.”

By the time I get to class all the good seats are taken so I have to sit in the back were it is really hard to see and hear. I get out my homework as the teacher comes around to see who has done. When she is done she reads out the answer and everyone corrects their paper. She finished and everyone put theirs in the tray marked period one. After we corrected our homework she went over the next lesson and assigned are homework. The bell rang dismissing period one and everyone rushed out the door two at a time. At lunch I sat down with my best friend Kyle at the back the cafeteria.
“After school we are driving to my house so I can grab something then we are going to get your birthday present,” Kyle said
“What is it,” I said anxiously
“I can’t tell you it’s a surprise,” he said

When lunch was dismissed I went back to my locker and got my stuff for the rest of the day. I went through the rest of my classes when finally announcements came on at 1:30 and everyone left for the busses. Instead of getting on the bus I met Mercedes and Kyle in the school parking lot. We got into Kyle’s Jeep and drove to his house. When we got there he ran in and was out in two minutes. When we pulled into the DMV I knew exactly what my birthday present was. They were going to pay for my license. I had already taken both test and passed them I just needed my license payed for. We walked in and Kyle told them my name and handed the lady the money. After they took my picture they handed me my license.
“Thank you,” I yelled happily to Kyle.

When we got out side Kyle let me drive his car to my house. When we got to my house my dad was waiting outside for me. I got out of the car and walked over to him.
“Happy sixteenth birthday,” he said giving me a big hug. “I have a big surprise for you.”
“What is it” I said
“You’ll have to what.” he said teasingly

I told Kyle and Mercedes they could go home since my dad wanted it just us two. My dad and I got into his navy blue pickup truck and pulled out of the driveway. When we were almost there he made me close my eyes. When I felt the car stop I opened the door with my eyes still closed and got out. He led me inside and sat me down on a couch. He told me I could open my eyes and when I did I saw I was in a waiting room.
“I will be right back,” he said as he walked down the hall to the right. As he entered the room at the end of the hall I tried to think of where we were but I couldn’t figure it out. After about ten minutes of waiting I get bored and get up off of the couch. As I pace around the room waiting for my father to come out of the office down the hall I notice a bulletin board. I go over to the bulletin board and see that it is covered in missing children posters. I read the posters and as I get to the end one picture stands out. The picture is of a baby girl lying across a yellow blanket with a pink pacifier in her mouth and cuddling a small stuffed bunny. I have seen this little girl before and the blanket and bunny. As I read the description of the girl I realize it’s....... It’s me.

The picture was of me when I was around a year old. I still have the bunny, blanket and pacifier in a box under my bed. How could that be me, I mean I don’t remember ever being kidnapped. I go over to the lady behind the window and ask for a pen. I grab the pen from her and write the phone number and email on my hand that was on the bottom of the poster. When I am about halfway to the couch my father comes out of the hallway entrance holding up a pair of car keys.
“Happy Birthday,” he says while jingling the keys in my face.
“Ya, my own car,” I say halfway surprised because I am still wondering about the picture. We walk out the door and into a parking lot with over forty cars. I look at the set of keys and the tag says white jeep sport. I look around and there is only one in the whole place. I run over to it, unlock the door, and get in. I exit the lot and drive home following my father. When I get home I go to my bedroom and turn on my laptop that I got for Christmas. I go to my email and wrote a message to the email from the poster.



I have some questions about the missing child report of April Wilson.

I saw the poster and the picture looked very familiar. If you are willing

to answer my questions could you please write back.





-Caitlyn Abbott


About a minute after I had sent the email I got a response. It was like the person I sent it to was sitting at the computer desperately waiting for someone to send something about the girl.


I would love to answer any questions you have about my dearest April.

I have been searching for her for the last fifteen years and finally maybe

someone who can help.





-Stacey Wilson


I write back to the lady named Stacey and ask for her address so we can talk in person instead of by email. She returns my email faster than before and says we can meet tomorrow at her house. I turn my computer off and go back downstairs. Since my dad isn’t home I decide to go to Mercedes. I get in my jeep and head over. I tell her about the poster and the emails.
“I am meeting her tomorrow at her house so I can ask her some questions,” I said.
“Do you even know if this is you,” she asked?
“The only difference is the name.”
“Ya, but still.”
“Well I will find out soon,”
“I hope it isn’t”
“Will you go with me,” I asked and sorta begged
“Sure. If you want you can sleep over.”

I called my dad’s cell and asked if I could spend the night. I went back to my house got clothes and stuff. I went back and we wrote down all the questions we were going to ask. When we got up in the morning we got dressed and left at ten. We pulled into her drive and got out. We walked up to the door and rang the door bell. A women in her mid thirties opened the door.
“Hello. You must be Caitlyn.” She said very happily
“Yes and this is my friend Mercedes.”
“Nice to meet you both.” She said “Come on in and take a seat at the table.

We sat down at the table were she had laid out some photos. I sat looking at the same photo from the poster while she pored all three of us a glass of lemonade.
“So you had some questions about my daughter,” she said not as happy as before.
“Ya, what exactly happened,”
“ On April’s first birthday we through her a party. My husband was saying goodbye to the guest and walking them out while I put April down on the couch so she could watch Sesame Street. When I went out to help my parents to the car when I heard April start to cry. I ran in side because I had never heard her cry like that before. When I came inside I saw a strange man I had never seen before grabbing her off the couch. I ran over to save her but he whipped around and knocked me out cold.” by this point in the story she was bawling her eyes out. I tried to calm her down put it didn’t work. Finally she stopped crying and continued.
“ When I woke up almost three days later I was in the hospital. I told the doctors what happened and I gave the police best description I could of the man. Exactly a year later my husband died in a car accident that flipped his car. Now its just me and my son.” The three of us sat there in silence waiting for the tears to stop from me and Stacey.
“Well I am very sorry for you to have lost the two of them.” I said with tears still in my eyes.
“So do you have any more questions.”
“Ya did you ever find anything about her.”
“The only clue we have is that the man who kidnapped her changed her name.”
“To what” I asked?
“Caitlyn.” When she said this my stomach turned upside down and I got really light headed. “Where’s the bathroom”
“Down the hall first door on the left.” I ran into the bathroom and threw up. I stood in there over the toilet thinking about what she said. When I came back out Mercedes and Stacey weren’t doing anything but quietly sipping there drink.
“Are you okay,” Mercedes asked knowing why I had thrown up.
“Ya i’m fine just didn’t feel okay for a minute.”

I told her thank you for the answers and I would contact her to ask the rest of my questions when I was feeling better. I called my dad and asked if I could stay another night. We drove back to her house and I went and lied down. Mercedes had woke me up for supper and I barely ate any of my food. After we both went back to bed. When we got up in the morning we decided to make a plan. We decided to find my birth certificate. When we called the Town Hall and they said that if we came down we could get a copy.

We drove down to the Town Hall and waited in a line line that had seemed a mile long. When we finally got to our turn we sat down at a desk with and older lady.
“Hi, how may I help you two girls.” she said in a sweet elderly voice.
“I called this morning about getting a birth certificate.” I said
“Ah, yes I remember.”
“What’s your name sweetie.”
“Caitlyn May Abbott”
“And your birthday.”
“ May 21, 1992.”
“Here you are let me just print this.”

She got up out of her chair and walked over to the printer. When she came back she handed me my certificate. I set in on the table not wanting to look at it just yet.
“May I ask you a question,” I said to the lady at the desk
“Yes,” she said.
“Is the name on my birth certificate. Is it my birth name.”
“Well let me see. No your father had your name, his name and your mom’s name changed on the certificate.”
“What was my real name,”
“ Lets see hear... April Wilson.”
“Thank You for your time.” I grabbed the certificate of the table and left. I got into the vehicle and let Mercedes drive. When we got to her house I decided to call my father. He was going to leave work in about twenty minutes so that gave me about forty-five minutes. I drove back to my house and went into my dad’s room. I opened up the third drawer in the filing cabinet named Caitlyn. I looked through the papers trying to find a clue but found nothing. I went to the bottom drawer marked private but it was locked. I searched around for a key finally I found it under his mattress. I unlocked the drawer and searched and at the very bottom found a folder marked April. I opened it up and contained only one thing, my original birth certificate.

I took the certificate out locked the drawer back up. I put the key back under the bed and made sure it looked like I was never their. I went to my room and put the certificate in my school bag. As soon as I zipped the bag the front door opened. I ran down the stairs to find that it was just my father. I asked if I could talk to him at the table and that it was very important.
“Dad...........what do you think about me changing my name.”
“To what honey.”
“I was thinking...April.” when I said this he gave me a shocked look.
“Why would you change your name to that.”
“I don’t know. I guess I like the name.”

After I said that I got up and went to my room. I called the police and asked if they could come over so we could talk and to make sure they bring a tape recorder. I went outside to wait for one to come when finally about twenty minutes later one does. I bring him inside and tell him to take a seat. I call my dad over and tell him to sit down to.
“Dad did you kidnap me from another family.” my dad gets up quickly and runs for the door but the police officer stops him. The police officer turns on the tape recorder and tells me to continue.
“Dad did you kidnap.” I said demanding an answer.
“Why would you ask such a question.” He said knowing exactly why. I told him about the poster and the meeting at the town hall and everything else that has happened since my birthday.
“Yes I did when you were a year old.”
“Why?” I said confused.
“I don’t know. ‘Your mother’ and I wanted a child so I kidnapped you. It was a mistake. When she died I thought about returning you but I didn’t want to go to jail.”

When we finished talking I went up stairs and got the two birth certificates. My father was escorted to the police station and I went to Mercedes. The next day I was picked up by the same police officer and brought to the police station. We made arrangements that my so called dad would spend only half the time in jail and if I choice to I could visit him since I did spend my whole life with him. I did move in with my real mother Stacey and my brother Brandon. After my fathers jail time was over I visited him one weekend out of the month. I still had the same life other than the fact of a new family but it was nice to spend the rest of my life with my mother.
The End