Lucy stood there, overwhelmed and skeptical, as she gazed at the woman in front of her.
Just moments ago, the caretaker explained that her mother had arrived!
Her mother had been searching for her for a long time and never actually abandoned her, as Lucy had thought. It turned out that Lucy once got lost in another city and was found and brought to the orphanage, while her mother was searching for her all this time!
Lucy cautiously studied the face of the unfamiliar smiling woman. It was as if she wanted to recognize her but couldn’t. Were those her mother’s eyes? Her hands? Could this really be her mother? She couldn’t remember her at all.
Lucy tilted her head, and suddenly something changed in the face of the woman looking at her. She was still trying to smile, but tears slowly trickled down her cheeks, ones she could no longer hold back.
And Lucy’s little heart trembled. Of course, this was her mother. She recognized her now by the sparkle in her eyes, the tilt of her head. Who knows how she recognized her, but she did.
Taking two hesitant steps, Lucy spread her arms wide and ran towards her, shouting, “Mum, mummy, you finally found me!”
That evening, at home, they sat cuddled together on a large, soft couch. Emma stroked Lucy’s hair and her small shoulders, and kissed her tear-streaked eyes.
And for the hundredth time, she tried to answer the most important question, “Mummy, why did it take you so long to come? I waited for you so much!”
“My sunshine! Forgive me, I searched for you every day. But you vanished; it was terrible! Someone saw a traveler running with a child in their arms. We even visited some travelers, but you were nowhere! I visited all the nearby towns until someone suggested that a little girl had been left at a local children’s home. And I instantly thought it was you and came!”
“Such a long time, mummy! I’m so glad you found me!” Lucy hugged Emma tightly with her warm little arms.
The warmth of the flat, the delicious pastry with milk, and her mother’s embrace made her feel drowsy. Lucy’s hands still clung to her mother, but they weakened and relaxed. Emma picked up the sleepy little girl and carried her to bed.
“They won’t take me away again, right, mummy?” Lucy murmured sleepily.
“No one will ever take you from me again. I promise you!” Emma hugged the little body close and kissed her silky hair. Then she laid her in bed.
“Don’t go,” Lucy requested, and Emma lay down beside her on the small bed.
Immediately, Lucy began to breathe peacefully, though one hand held onto Emma’s robe as if to make sure her mum was there.
“I’ve fulfilled the last wish of my dear sister. I’ve found Lucy, and she’s with me now. Sarah asked me not to tell Lucy about her. Now I am Lucy’s mum,” Emma thought as she lay awake.
She adjusted the soft blanket over the little girl, and Lucy smiled in her sleep.
Let all the bad things remain in the past, though it’s hard to come to terms with the loss of a sister and mother.
Their mum was kind but helpless somehow. She had Lucy and Sarah without a father. For as long as Emma could remember, her mother was always crying, saying how hard it was to raise two girls alone. As if someone else was to blame!
Sarah was older than Emma by fifteen minutes and always made the decisions for both of them.
When their mother brought home a third partner, Sarah said they should run away or things would get worse!
But Emma felt sorry for their mum; how could they leave her? She just wanted the best for her daughters, trying to have a man in the house.
“Emma, I’ll get some money, and we’ll run away,” Sarah encouraged her, “otherwise, it won’t end well! We’re seventeen already; we can get into college and live in the dormitory, got it? This new boyfriend of mum’s is giving me no peace!”
How naive Emma was back then!
Sarah had said some things about the stepfather, but Emma thought Sarah had made it all up. Mum was happy, and the stepfather smiled and bought sweets and fruit. He even winked at Emma once, “Isn’t it better with a dad around? Stick with me, and everything will be fine, alright, blue eyes?”
“Leave her alone, understood?” Sarah immediately stepped in front of Emma. Emma found it strange how sharply Sarah spoke to him.
Sarah had changed a lot back then. A boy from their building was courting her.
Jack had liked Sarah since fifth grade. They were good friends; Emma even teased her sister that Jack would marry her, and Emma would be lost without Sarah.
But lately, Sarah and Jack had quarreled, and Jack went around looking gloomy. He even approached Emma, but she didn’t know what to say to him.
Soon, Sarah obtained a large sum of money, which startled Emma—where did she get it?
“It’s gone where it came from!” her sister tartly replied, “Are you with me or not? You always act like a child, only fifteen minutes younger! Are you coming?”
Sarah had a look on her face that frightened Emma, so she agreed. After all, they wanted to go to college.
But events took a different turn. Sarah rented a room and refused to apply for college. Then it turned out that Sarah was… pregnant!
“Maybe you should tell Jack, Sarah?” Emma tried to console her sister, but she snapped back as if she was a different person, “What does Jack have to do with it? Leave me alone, got it?”
Later, Sarah cried and asked Emma for forgiveness. Emma tried to comfort her sister, assuring her she’d help with the baby. She’d get a job, and everything would work out. But these reassurances only made Sarah angrier.
The baby girl was born early, prematurely. Emma greeted her sister and niece from the hospital. She got a job as a shop assistant and bought all the essentials for her little niece. She tried her best to help Sarah with everything.
But what was meant to be, happened. Their mum found out from someone how her daughters were “studying.” The stepfather even made a fuss, accusing them of stealing his money. Words were exchanged, and then he blurted out that it was him who got Sarah pregnant, imagine that!
Their mum was so shocked she pushed him away, not expecting such a confession. He struck his head on the sharp corner of the table. In hysteria, she called them, “Girls, I’ve done something, what do I do?”
Their mum was sentenced, but she was frail and didn’t survive; she was gone before she ever came back.
Sarah lost all interest in life after that. One day, Emma returned home from work, and no one was there.
A note on the table read, “Don’t look for me, and don’t look for Lucy. I took her to a children’s home in another city. You have your life, and I have mine. Goodbye, sister!”
Emma cried all night. How could this be? Their mum was gone, and now her older sister abandoned her too!
She shed tears for a lifetime. In the morning, she washed her face and resolved to find Lucy. She had no one else, it seemed.
But despite her best efforts, Emma’s search led nowhere.
After two years, a call came. It was Sarah’s voice, harsh, strange, and desperate, “Emma, fulfill my request, take Lucy from the orphanage. It’s in the city of ***. Forget about me!” and the phone disconnected. Just like that…
***********
Lucy whimpered in her sleep, and Emma adjusted the blanket, “Shhh, sleep, sleep… darling.”
Darling.
Yes, darling.
Soon Paul would return from his business trip. They had already discussed everything. They’d complete the adoption, and Lucy wouldn’t be told anything for now. And does the little girl really need to know all this?
The future would place everything in order.
Maybe Sarah would return one day?
After all, life is unpredictable.
Lucy’s mother has been found.
For now, they would simply live. Emma and Paul wanted more children and for everything to be good, just that!
Ordinary family happiness is what Emma always dreamed of.
And dreams do come true if you want them enough…
