Nick’s happy childhood ended when he was just five years old. One day, his parents never came to collect him from nursery. All the other children had gone home, but the boy sat at a table, drawing himself, his mother, and his father. The nursery teacher kept glancing at him, wiping her cheeks now and then. At last, she crouched beside him, gathered him into her arms, and held him tight.
“You must be brave now, Nicky,” she whispered. “No matter what happens, you mustnt be afraid. Do you understand me, love?”
“I want my mum,” he answered softly.
“Your aunt and uncle will come soon, darling. Youll go with them. There will be other children therejust dont cry, all right?”
She pressed her damp face against his before taking his hand and leading him to a waiting car. When he asked when hed see his mother again, they told him she and his father were far away and wouldnt be coming for him today.
Nick was placed in a dormitory with other boys like him. But his parents never returnednot the next day, nor the one after. The boy wept himself to sleep each night, until fever took hold. Only the matron in her white coat spoke to him plainly once he recovered. She told him his parents had gone to heaven, and though they couldnt come back, they watched over him always. He must be good and stay well, so they wouldnt worry.
But Nick didnt believe her. He stared at the sky and saw only birds and clouds. He decided thenhe would find them.
First, he searched the yard during playtime. At last, he found a gap beneath the fence, twisted just wide enough for a small boy. He dug at the loose earth, scraping a tunnel beneath the bars. When the hole was big enough, he wriggled through and ran, desperate to escape the orphanage.
The city was a maze of identical houses. Lost and afraid, he stumbled upon a woman at a crossingher polka-dot dress and neat blonde bun so like his mothers.
“Mum!” He dashed after her, clinging to her sleeve.
She turned, kneeling to study his face. No, not his mother.
Nina had fallen in love at twenty and never fallen out of it. She and Victor made a perfect match. Theyd met by chance at a summer dance, where he shyly asked her for a waltz. Three months later, they married.
For three years, they were happyuntil Nina learned she couldnt bear children. Victor struggled to accept it, while she endured endless treatments. At last, they faced the truth: they would never have a child of their own. Victor suggested adoption, but Nina loved him too much to deny him a family. She offered him a divorcehe was still young; he could marry again.
But Victor refused. So Nina lied. She claimed shed fallen for another man, and when he didnt believe her, she stayed out all night, reeking of wine and cologne. Heartbroken, Victor agreed to part.
When Nick called her “Mum,” Nina had been divorced for two months. Her heart ached for Victor, and the boys plea shattered her.
“Are you lost, sweetheart?” she asked gently.
“Im looking for my mum and dad. They said theyre in heaven, but I dont believe it,” Nick sobbed.
She took him home, fed him scones and jam, and listened as he spilled his story. The older boys stole his sweets, bullied him, left bruises. Her heart broke.
“Would you like to live with me, Nicky?” she asked. “When youre older, youll understand. One day, youll see your parents againbut not yet.”
He nodded eagerly.
Nina rang the orphanage, returned him, and visited daily. But she couldnt adopt himnot as a single woman. For the first time, she regretted the divorce. Desperate, she turned to a colleague, Stanley, proposing a marriage of convenience. He agreedfor a price. The thought repulsed her, but Nick needed her.
The night Stanley was to come, Nina lit candles, dressed in red, and waited in misery. The doorbell rangbut it was Victor.
“Ive been watching you,” he confessed. “I never saw another man.”
Then the lift opened, and Stanley stumbled out, flowers and champagne in hand. Victor turned on his heel and fled.
Two years later, Nick stood proudly in his school uniform, clutching flowers for his teacher. His parentsNina and Victorwatched with their adopted daughter, Mary.
Stanley hadnt been a villain after all. Hed explained everything to Victor, who rushed Nina to the registry office the next day. They brought Nick home, then Mary soon after.
“Mum, Dad,” Nick whispered, gazing at the sky. “Dont be cross. I love them, but theyre just for nowuntil I see you again.”
He knew nowhis parents had died in a crash. He visited their graves and attended Sunday school, where he learned what heaven truly meant.
Nina had tried to outwit fate, but fate had other plans. She married Victor twiceand in the end, they all found happiness.
