**Diary Entry**
It took me nineteen years to realise that the people who bring you into the world arent always the ones who stay. There was no slow fade, no tearful goodbye. Just a sudden, brutal end.
One day, I had a home, a family, parents. The next, they left me at an orphanage and walked away without looking back.
No explanation. No final embrace. Not even a whisper of promise that theyd return.
The first days, I cried. The first weeks, I hoped. The first months, I waited.
I told myself it was a mistake, that theyd come back for me. I clung to the idea that they loved methat there had to be a reason.
But they never came.
Time made it clear: no one was looking for me. No one wondered if I was fed, if I was warm at night.
The orphanage wasnt a place for illusions. There, you didnt speak of love or familyyou learned to survive. I watched children break under the weight of abandonment, their eyes losing all light.
But I refused to drown.
I worked, I studied, I built a future with my own hands. I swore Id never depend on anyone again.
And I made it.
After years of sacrifice, I had everything I needed: a small flat in Manchester, a steady job, a car. Alone, but enough.
I thought Id buried the past. But the past has a way of resurfacing when you least expect it.
**A Shadow from the Past**
It started on an ordinary morning.
I went for my usual coffee at the corner café. The scent of fresh grounds hung in the air, and the world felt peaceful.
Then I saw her.
A woman stood across the street, staring at me with an intensity that unsettled me.
I looked away and carried on.
But the next day, she was there again.
And the day after.
I spotted her outside my building, hesitant, as if she wanted to approach but couldnt summon the courage.
Then, one evening, she did.
*Oliver is that you?*
Her voice trembled, barely louder than a whisper.
I turned, and for a second, the world froze.
I knew her instantly.
Despite the years, the deep lines on her face, the streaks of grey in her hairit was her.
My mother.
**The Woman Who Left Me Now Wanted to Stay**
She spoke quickly, as if afraid Id leave before she finished.
She told me how life had worn her down, how my father had turned to drink, how theyd lost everything.
Then came the question Id been expecting.
*Ive nowhere to go Can I stay with you?*
She had nothing. No money, no home, no family.
And she wanted me to let her in.
She promised she could look after me, cook for me, be the mother shed never been.
As if a single word could erase it all.
I listened. Watched the tears on her cheeks.
But inside, I felt nothing.
No anger.
No pity.
Just hollow silence.
**The Choice That Changed Everything**
*You left me.* My voice was calm but cold. *You walked away and never looked back. Why do you think you can return now?*
Her face darkened, her shoulders sagged.
*Oliver I made a mistake I was frightened I was lost But youre my son.*
I gave a bitter smile.
*I was your son nineteen years ago. Today, Im a stranger to you.*
She reached for me, searching for hope.
I stepped back.
*Please Ive got no one.*
I hesitated. Just for a second.
Maybe someone else wouldve let her in.
Maybe someone else wouldve believed her.
But not me.
Not with her.
Shed made her choice years ago.
Now it was mine.
*Dont ever come looking for me again.*
She didnt argue.
Just bowed her head.
Then she turned and walked away.
I watched her disappear down the street, waiting to feel something.
Anything.
But there was nothing.
No relief.
No regret.
Just silence.
Perhaps if shed stayed, Id be a different man.
Perhaps Id know what family means.
But Ill never know.
The past cant be changed. But the future?
Thats mine.
And I choose to walk it alone.
