The decision came to her unexpectedly. Emily and her mum had always lived alone. For as long as she could remember, her dad had never been around. As a child, she never even wondered who he was or where he’d gone. Now, she liked to imagine he’d been some kind of war hero. They didn’t have any relatives either—her mum had grown up in a children’s home since she was six.
Her mum never got the chance to tell Emily about her dad. He probably wasn’t even her husband, and now there was no one left to ask.
Life in the Care Home
At thirteen, Emily’s world shattered when her mum passed away—her heart had always been weak. Emily had often seen her clutching her chest, wincing in pain.
“I never even realised how serious it was,” Emily would admit to herself. “I just thought it would pass, like always, and she’d be her cheerful self again.”
But now Emily was alone. Her mum’s protective wings were gone, leaving her exposed to the harsh world. She had to grow up fast. That’s how she ended up in the care home.
Life there was hard, especially at night when the dormitories felt unsafe. The other kids were cruel—name-calling, fights—even though Emily tried to stay out of the way, the older girls and boys still targeted her.
She hated her appearance. At thirteen, she looked ten—skinny, with a button nose and freckles. Schoolwork came easily, though, which was some small comfort.
A New Family
She wasn’t in the care home long—maybe a year—but it felt like forever. Luckily, her mum’s old friend from the home, Alice, stepped in before Emily could be stuck there too long.
“How do I apply to foster Emily?” Alice asked the director when she and her husband, Robert, visited.
The director studied them, then asked for their paperwork.
“Did you know Emily or her mother before this?”
“Not Emily, but her mum and I grew up together in the same home,” Alice said, while Robert nodded. “I only just found out she’d passed, so I tracked her daughter down.”
After sorting the paperwork, Alice and Robert took Emily home. They already had two kids—James, nearly sixteen, and twelve-year-old Lily. Emily tried to befriend them, but it didn’t work. They resented her, especially because Alice doted on her. To them, she was just some stranger stealing their mum’s affection.
Whenever Emily asked James anything, he’d just walk off without a word. Lily ignored her too, sticking her tongue out when no one was looking.
“Maybe it’s my fault,” Emily whispered to the mirror. “I’m just ugly. A proper little freak—tiny eyes, freckles. Who’d ever like me?”
She wasn’t *that* bad—just awkward in that teenage way. But next to Lily, with her pretty curls (the kind Emily wished she had), she felt plain with her straight, mousy hair.
The kids were well-behaved, at least.
Emily knew Alice tried to love her, in her own way. But she and Robert were always busy—they ran a small estate agency, always racing against the clock. There wasn’t much time left for the kids.
“Thank goodness our two have accepted Emily,” Alice would sometimes say.
“Could’ve been worse,” Robert would agree.
They thought everything was fine because no one complained. But inside, it was anything but.
Growing Pains
At thirteen, Emily had to face the truth—life wasn’t always kind.
“I miss Mum’s warmth,” she’d think alone at night. “No one tells me to wear a hat now, or reads me bedtime stories. She’d kiss my scraped knees, dab on antiseptic, wipe my tears. I never knew how hard it’d be without her—even in a nice home.”
She never argued with James or Lily. She respected Alice and Robert, grateful they’d taken her in. They fed and clothed her just as well as their own.
“Alice is kind, but she’s not *Mum*,” Emily would think before falling asleep. “I still try to make them like me.”
She craved affection, sometimes clinging to Alice—until she learned not to do it in front of James and Lily. Their jealous scowls made her hide her feelings.
By the time she finished school, Emily was top of her class.
“I’m going to uni for teaching,” she told Alice.
“That’s wonderful, Emily. Education’s important—we’ll help however we can.”
University and Working with Kids
She got into uni and did well. After her first year, she signed up as a camp counsellor—anything to avoid going home where Lily still glared at her.
Some kids at camp were from care homes. Emily understood them in a way others didn’t. Their reactions to kindness broke her heart.
“One little pat on the head, and they follow you everywhere,” she told a friend.
That’s when she decided—”When I get married, I’ll adopt. At least one child deserves the love I missed.”
She worked at the camp every summer after that.
Falling in Love
In her final year, she met Michael, a shy boy from another course. He blushed when he asked her to dance at a student party. They were inseparable after that.
By then, Emily didn’t think she was ugly anymore. She’d grown into a pretty, slim young woman—serious, but poised.
“I owe Alice so much,” she told Michael. “She taught me how to act, took me to the hairdresser, even got me subtle makeup lessons. She even took me to a therapist—made me promise not to tell Lily. She whispered, ‘You know how jealous she gets.’ And I *did* know.”
“Does Alice know about me?” Michael asked.
“Of course. She was the first I told. I promised if we ever had a daughter, I’d name her after her.”
“Emily,” Michael said one day, “let’s get married after graduation. I’ve got no family—just you.”
She said yes. A year later, little Alice was born.
Her Dream Came True
When Alice turned two, Emily stumbled online upon seven-year-old Charlie. He looked just like Michael.
That’s when she remembered her promise.
“Michael, look—he could be your double! Let’s adopt him.”
Michael wasn’t surprised—she’d mentioned it before. They started the paperwork.
“You’ll need foster parent training,” they were told.
They agreed, even though it meant digging deep to prepare. Finally, Charlie came home.
At seven, he was bright—old enough to ask, “Do you really want me?”
“Yes,” they said. “We want *you*.”
It wasn’t easy at first. Charlie was nervous, closed off. But in time, he relaxed—and adored little Alice, even if she didn’t understand yet.
“How do you manage?” Alice asked Emily.
“It’s not simple,” Emily admitted. “School’s a struggle sometimes, and friendships don’t come easy. But we’re building something—slowly, carefully. It’s getting better.”
Soon, she had happier news:
“Charlie’s brilliant—kind, clever. He loves football and drawing. We’re so lucky.”
