*”Could this cruel, wild-eyed woman really be his mother?”* Her words*”You were my youthful mistake”*echoed endlessly in his mind.
All his life, Alex knew only this: he had been found screaming from hunger and fear on the doorstep of a childrens home. His mother, perhaps with some lingering shred of conscience, had wrapped him in a warm blanket, tied a cashmere shawl over it, and placed the wailing bundle inside a cardboard box. She hadnt wanted him to freeze to death, at least.
There was no noteno name, no birth date, no trace of who he was or where he came from. But clutched in his tiny fist was a heavy silver pendant in the shape of the letter *”A”*his mothers only legacy.
This was no ordinary pendant, not the kind sold in shops. It was handcrafted, stamped with a jewellers mark. The police used it as a lead, hoping to track down the reckless mother and hold her accountable, but the trail went cold. The jeweller who had made it had died of old age, and his records held no mention of the piece.
And so, the boy was registered at the orphanage: *Alexander Unknown*. Another ward of the state.
His entire childhood was spent under institutional care, deprived of parental love, dreaming of the day he might find his mother and father.
*”Something terrible must have happened for her to abandon me like this,”* he often thought. *”Shell come back for meshe has to.”*
When he aged out of the system, his carer handed him the pendant and told him his story.
*”So she wanted me to find her?”* he asked.
*”Maybe,”* the woman shrugged. *”Or perhaps you just yanked it off her neck by accident. Babies grab things, dont they? And the pendant was in your fistno chain attached.”*
The state gave him a small flatmodest, but his own. He enrolled in college, graduated, and found work as a mechanic.
***
He met *Emily* by chancethey collided on a busy London street. More accurately, they bumped into each other first, sending her stack of fashion magazines tumbling to the pavement. Then, when Alex bent to gather them, their heads cracked together with enough force to send sparks flying.
Tears welled in both their eyes as they sat on the pavement, laughing while strangers stepped around them. That was the moment Alex knewhe was in love for good.
*”I have to make this up to you!”* he blurted. *”Let me take you for coffee!”*
To her own surprise, Emily agreed instantly. There was something endearing about his clumsy earnestness, something almost familiar.
*”Alex, I feel like Ive known you forever,”* she admitted within minutes.
*”You wont believe itI feel the same!”*
They became inseparable, texting and calling constantly, as if drawn together by some invisible thread. If Alex cut himself at work, Emily would call before he even reached for a plaster.
*”Youre me, and Im you,”* he once told her. *”Youre my destiny. I just wish I could introduce you to my parentsbut I dont have any.”*
*”You have me,”* she replied, squeezing his hand. *”And my parents will adore you.”*
***
*”Your boyfriend is from an *orphanage*? Have you lost your mind?”* Margaret, Emilys mother, clutched her chest and sank into her leather armchair. *”Those children are all troubled, unsocialised!”*
*”Mum, Alex is kind and funny!”* Emily shot back. *”You cant judge everyone the same way!”*
*”Shes right,”* interjected her father, Johnathan, a retired army officer. *”You dont form opinions about people before meeting them. Bring him roundwell talk, then decide if we need to clutch our pearls.”*
*”John, you dont understand!”* Margaret wailed. *”We didnt raise her with such care just for her to marry some nobody! What if his parents were criminals?”*
*”Well find out when we meet him,”* Johnathan said firmly.
Margaret stormed off, slamming the bedroom door behind her.
Johnathan winked at Emily. *”Dont worry, love. Well manage.”*
*”Thanks, Dad!”* She kissed his cheek. *”So Ill invite Alex over Saturday?”*
*”Of course. I want to meet the man whos stolen my daughters heart.”*
***
On the appointed day, Alex stood at Emilys door, smartly dressed, clutching two bouquets (one for Emily, one for her mother) and a cake.
Beaming, Emily led him into the kitchen.
*”Mum, Dadthis is Alex!”*
Her father shook his hand warmly. Margaret accepted the flowersthen froze, her face draining of colour.
*”I Im sorry,”* she stammered after a long pause. *”Im just a bit flustered.”*
At dinner, she pointed to his pendant. *”Thats an unusual piece. Not mass-produced, is it?”*
*”Its the only thing I have from my mother,”* Alex admitted. *”I was holding it when they found me.”*
Margaret fell silent for the rest of the evening, pushing peas around her plate.
Johnathan, however, took to Alex immediatelybonding over football, skiing, and fishing.
*”Fine lad,”* he declared after Alex left.
*”Fine?*” Margaret shrieked. *”Hes uncouth, ill-mannered”*
*”Margaret, whats gotten into you?”* Johnathan frowned.
But she was already turning on Emily. *”You will break up with him. Now.”*
***
*”What do I do?”* Panicked thoughts raced through Margarets mind. *”How could fate be so cruel?”* Her tear-filled eyes lifted to an old photograph tucked between glass cabinet doors.
In the black-and-white image, a younger version of herself smirked confidentlywearing that very same pendant around her neck.
*”I didnt lose it that night,”* she realised. *”That little wretch tore it off me!”*
She snatched the photo away before anyone could see it.
*”I I behaved poorly last night,”* she told Emily the next morning. *”Id like to apologise to Alex. Give me his number?”*
Oblivious, Emily handed it over cheerfully.
Alone, Margaret dialled.
*”Alex, could you come over? In an hour?”*
He arrived promptly. Margaret, red-eyed, looked ill.
*”We need to talk,”* she said stiffly, leading him inside.
*”You must leave Emily. Swear to meneither she nor John will ever know the truth.”*
*”I swear,”* Alex whispered, his legs shaking.
*”Alex Emily is your sister,”* she said flatly, thrusting the photo at him.
*”Mum?”* His voice broke. *”And Dad?”*
She shook her head. *”No. John and I were dating, but then he left for military training. I was young, foolish. Then your father When I found out I was pregnant, he abandoned me. I told John the baby was stillborn. Left you at the home. When I returned, we married.”*
*”And me?”* Alexs tears fell freely. *”What about me?”*
*”You? You were my mistake, understand? You cant ruin everything Ive built! You came uninvited thenyoure unwelcome now. Leave. Disappear.”*
Alex stood numb.
*”Could this cruel, wild-eyed woman really be his mother?”*
Her words*”You were my youthful mistake”*echoed endlessly.
*”Goodbye, Margaret,”* he said, rising unsteadily. *”Ill keep your secret.”*
*”But I wont,”* came a voice from the doorway.
Emily stood there, trembling with fury. *”I thought you were a good person. Youre just vile.”*
***
*”Im sorry, sis,”* Alex mumbled, avoiding her eyes as he left.
He ran blindly, wishing he could dissolve into nothing.
Days later, he enlistedvolunteering for active duty.
Only Johnathan and Emily came to see him off. His father pulled him into a rough embrace.
*”Stay safe, son. Rememberwere your family. Well be waiting.”*
Emily hugged him tight. *”Come home, brother. We love you.”*
For the first time, Alex felt warmth in his chest. He had no motherbut he wasnt alone. He had a father. A sister.
And Margaret? She was left with nothing. Johnathan divorced her, disgusted by her cruelty.
She still blames Alex, of course
