Colins happy childhood ended when he was five. One day, his parents never came to collect him from nursery. All the other children had been taken home, but he sat at the table, drawing pictures of himself, his mum, and his dad. The nursery teacher kept glancing at him, dabbing her cheeks with a handkerchief. Then she picked him up, held him tight, and whispered,
“No matter what happens, you mustnt be afraid, Colin. You have to be brave now. Do you understand me, love?”
“I want my mum,” he murmured.
“Your aunt and uncle are coming soon. Youll go with them, sweetheart. Therell be other children there, so dont cry.” She pressed her damp cheek against his.
They led him to a car by the hand. When he asked when hed see his mum again, they told him she and his dad were far away and wouldnt be coming today. They put him in a room with other boys just like him. But the next day passed, and the next, and his parents never came. Colin cried himself sick at night, burning with fever.
Only after he recovered did the nurse in the white coat sit him down. She said his parents were up in the sky now, too far to come back. But they were watching over him, she said, and theyd want him to be good and stay well so they wouldnt worry.
Colin didnt believe it. He squinted at the sky and saw nothing but birds and clouds. He decided to find them, no matter what.
First, he scoured the orphanage yard during playtime. Finally, behind a bush, he found a gap under the fence where the iron bars bent inward. He could only squeeze halfway through, so he began digging. The earth was loose and sandy, and soon, hed made a tunnel just wide enough to crawl under.
He wriggled free and sprinted away from the place hed learned to hate. But the streets were a maze, and he was lost. Every house looked the same.
Then he saw hera woman at the crossing, wearing a polka-dot dress, her blonde hair in a neat bun. Just like his mum.
“Mum!” he cried, darting after her.
She didnt turn.
“Mum!” He grabbed her sleeve.
She knelt, studying his face. But it wasnt her.
Emma had fallen in love at twenty, and it was forever. She and Victor were perfect together. Theyd met by chance at a summer dance, where hed shyly asked her for a waltz. They talked all evening, and he walked her home.
They married three months later. But after three years, Emma learned she couldnt have children. Victor struggled to accept it, and she endured endless treatments at health resorts. Finally, they faced the truththey would never have a child of their own. Victor suggested adoption.
But Emma loved him too much. She offered him a divorce. They were still young; he could marry someone else, someone who could give him happiness. Shed manage alone.
Victor refused. He swore hed never leave her. So Emma hatched a plan. She lied, saying shed fallen out of love and found another man. Victor wouldnt believe it.
The next night, she didnt come home. She returned at dawn, smelling of wine and cologne. When Victor demanded answers, she insistedshe had a lover. At last, he agreed to the divorce.
Two months later, a boy called her “Mum.” Emmas heart leaped.
“Are you lost, sweetheart?” she asked softly.
“Im looking for my mum and dad. They said theyre in the sky, but I dont believe it,” Colin sobbed.
“Come with me. I live nearby. Ill get you some cake, would you like that?” She took his hand.
At her flat, Colin devoured the cakes shed bought, washing them down with fragrant blackcurrant tea. Between bites, he told her everything. He hadnt had sweets in agesthe older boys stole them. They called him names, pinched him, flicked his ears.
Emmas heart ached. “Colin, would you like to live with me? When youre older, youll understand. One day, youll see your parents againbut not yet.” He nodded eagerly.
She called the childrens home, returned him, and begged the staff to watch him closer. She visited every day but couldnt take him home. She had a job, a flatbut no husband. Single women werent allowed to adopt.
For the first time, Emma regretted the divorce. But how could she undo it?
Then she thought of Simon, a divorced colleague. A flirt, but respectable. He agreedfor a price. Hed always fancied her. Dinner, candles more. The idea revolted her. She still loved Victor.
But that evening, she found Colin with a black eye. The older boys had punished him for “telling tales.” The staff had done nothing. She knewif she didnt act, things would get worse.
The next day, she accepted Simons terms. On Saturday, she cooked dinner, wore the red dress hed demanded, lit candles, and waited, sick with dread. The doorbell rang.
There stood Victor.
“Ive been watching you, Emma. I never saw anyone come or go.”
Just then, the lift doors opened. Simon stumbled out, flowers in one hand, champagne in the other.
“Em, darling”
Victors fists clenched. He turned and stormed down the stairs.
“Victor, wait! Its not what you think!” Emma chased him, but he vanished into a passing tram.
She sent Simon away, weeping. What would become of Colin now?
Two years later, Colin stood proudly in his school uniform, clutching flowers for his teacher. His parents and little sister, Maisie, watched from the crowd. She giggled, squirming in her dads arms. His mum wore the polka-dot dress he loved.
It was Emma, Victor, and their second adopted child.
Simon hadnt been a complete cad. Hed explained everything to Victor. The next day, Victor dragged Emma to the registry office. They married again, just to bring Colin home.
They still visited the childrens home, bringing sweets and gifts. Theyd taken Maisie the moment she arrived.
“Mum, Dad,” Colin whispered, gazing at the sky. “Ill make you proud at school. Dont be sadI love them, but theyre just till I see you again.”
He knew nowhis parents had died in a car crash. Hed visited their graves. On Sundays, he went to Sunday school at the parish church and finally understood what “the sky” meant.
Emma had refused to listen to Victor, forcing her own plan. But fate had other ideas, and shed married him twice. Still, in the end, everyone was happy.
