Evidence

Evidence!
By Alexandra Riera
© 2007 Alexandra Riera

"The children can go with their father" the judge said.

"But! Haven’t you been listening to anything I said?" Rosalia aked the lady in front of her.

"I am the judge; there is no evidence." Answered the lady judge before turning around and leaving the office.

"Of course! What did you want me to do? Break in and record everything?" she shouted at her before the judge closed the door behind her. Rosalia was in tears as she watched how her children had to go back to their father.

It had been a very long month for Rosalia. Faith in the judicial system had finally left her. When she had gone to the police a week earlier she had hoped that they would do their duty; she had been told that they would go and check on the circumstances, question her estranged husband and the people he had living in the house, they would check the computer for her children’s pictures but as it was a holiday they didn’t go; probably because they were very comfortable in the office with the air conditioning turned on full blast. What they did instead was call her the following day to declare where she once more told the policewoman in front of her everything she knew. She asked Rosalia questions like.."have you a boyfriend?, do you know if he has a girlfriend? Are you angry that he didn’t pass the monthly maintenance for the children? Are you working? Why didn’t you report the abuse earlier?" Rosalia was told then that they would send the investigative police to her estranged husband’s home but they never did, did they? They asked him to come to their office to give a statement. What proof could they have then? Of course the judge had no evidence; there wasn’t a dead body to see.

Rosalia managed to get a restraining order for her estranged husband but the order was lifted a few months later when a forensic doctor determined that it wasn’t a hundred percent clear that the children had suffered any kind of abuse.

The children went back to their father for a weekend and Rosalia received a phone call.

"Mrs Garcia, this is the police. We have evidence now, one of your children has been found dead.

Rosalia´s world fell apart, she hung up and sat on the floor remembering when her children were babies and how she used to cover them up for a nap leaving their little feet outside the bed covers so she could hand hug their feet as they slept.

The end
(428 Words)
© 2007 Alexandra Riera