Aria Santo, the only child of the ruthless boss of the most influential cartel in Brazil was taken from her father at only three years old. She was kept in a basement for her entire life, never seeing the light of day until she's finally rescued aft...
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3 weeks later
I drive steadily down the road, occasionally checking if Aria is okay in the rear view mirror.
She seems to be content enough, focusing on the iPad I gave her as we head back home after quite the eventual day.
The day after I realised that it was my Aria that we rescued I had a DNA test done which confirmed what I already knew, she is one hundred percent mine.
For the past few weeks it's been nothing but endless doctors and psychiatrist appointments. I took Aria to a specialist not long after she arrived and they discovered multiple broken bones that never healed properly as well as signs of internal bleeding.
Not only that, they also discovered that she has severe anaemia due to the lack of nutrients and sunlight she was receiving, meaning her immune system is very weak and prone to contracting diseases much easier than the average person.
"You alright back there?" I ask, looking back at her. She nods, shooting me a thumbs up before returning her attention back to her movie.
Today I took her to her first psychiatrist appointment and it was difficult to say the least. She gets these awful panic attacks whenever we go into an area that has more than two people in it which is understandable considering she spent her entire life isolated in a cell.
When we got to the psychiatrists office there were three people in the waiting room even though I payed to book her out for the day. Trust me everyone in a five mile radius heard how loud I reprimanded her for such a mistake.
I managed to calm Aria down in the car and persuaded her to go back in. The psychiatrist ran numerous tests on her, eventually coming to the conclusion that Aria is extremely behind most people her age.
She has the mental capacity of someone much younger because she was never able to develop things such as social skills or learn about new things. However, the psychiatrist said with the right teaching and resources she can catch up eventually which is why I've hired the best tutor money can buy.
I've been advised to keep her away from populated areas for the time being due to her weak immune system. If she even catches the smallest of colds it could be fatal for her so I've had to keep her cooped up in the house which breaks my heart.
I want so badly to take her out so she can experience new things and do all the things she missed out on but I can't, I can only try and make her time within the house as enjoyable as possible.
I've been ignoring my responsibilities as leader to spend my time planning movie nights, setting up picnics in the gardens and preparing arts and crafts activities for her to do.
If you would of asked me three weeks ago if I'd be spending my days sitting on a picnic blanket, drinking lemonade and colouring with my daughter I would have laughed in your face but I can genuinely say that I've enjoyed every second with her.
