Their mother sent them to the orphanage right after New Year’s Day…
The girls cried. They had been raised at home. Whenever their mother was busy sorting out her love lifewhich was oftenthe sisters, Emily and Lily, stayed with their grandmother. But on Boxing Day, their grandmother passed away, and their mother gave them up to the orphanage. No, she wasnt recklessshe didnt drink or even smoke. Still, wasnt it unfair that her ex-husband lived as he pleased while she was left alone to raise two children?
As she unbuttoned Lilys coat, their mother murmured, «Stop crying. Things just turned out this wayits not my fault. Youll be fine here. Youll thank me later!» Lily, only three, was sobbing uncontrollably, too young to fully understand. But the anger in her mothers eyes and the frightened, tear-streaked face of her older sister, seven-year-old Emily, told her something was terribly wrong. Their mother hissed, «Dont embarrass me. Im not abandoning you. Ill get settled, then come back for you. Ill fetch you at Easter!» The girls sniffled but quietedMum had promised to return.
Adjusting to the childrens home was hard, though the carers loved them for their quiet manners, cleverness, and touching devotion to each other. Emily won everyone over with her serious dark eyes, while little Lily was like a sweet, round-cheeked cherub. Lily tugged at Emilys sleeve. «Whens Easta? Will Easta come an take us back to Mum?» Patiently, Emily explained again, «Easters a holiday in spring, remember how Gran painted eggs?» Lily nodded solemnlybut then, thinking of Gran, tiny tears welled up. Emily wished she knew when Easter would come too. She asked one of the carers, Mrs. Wilson, who was surprisedmost children looked forward to Christmas or birthdays. Still, she gave Emily a little calendar. «See, this circled date is Easter. Every number is a day. When I was in school, I crossed off days till summer break.» Emily did the same, watching the chain of numbers shrink.
On Easter morning, Lily rushed to Emily, clutching a red-painted egg. «Em! Em! Mums comin today, Im so happy! Are you happy, Em?» Emily was eager tooat first. But after naptime, she fought back tears. Lily kept whining, and by evening, Emily knew theyd been lied to. She soothed her sister, «Mums bus mustve got stuck. The roads are awful nowhonest, I heard the carers say! Dont cry, Lily. Theyll dig it out, and Mumll come tomorrow. Shes probably staying in the village tonight.» Lily sniffled and nodded. But their mother never came, though the girls invented new excuses every day.
One morning, Emily couldnt find Lily. The carers explained their mother had taken her. Years later, Emily learned shed been formally relinquished. But luck found hertwo years on, her fathers sister tracked her down. Auntie Grace was kind, and before Emily knew it, she was calling her «Mum.» Her aunts love slowly mended the wounds in her heart. She tried not to think of her mother or sisterthough she knew Lily had been too young to understand. Still…
Years passed. Emily trained as a nurse, married, had a son. They werent rich, but they were happy. Then, out of the bluea letter. From Lily.
«Dear sister, you probably dont remember me? I just recall your plaits and your checkered slippers. I long to see you! Weve moved back to the areaif you dont mind, could I visit?» Emily shrugged. Oddinviting herself over. Still, she agreed.
Lily, in a blue jacket, limped toward her at the bus station, waving eagerly. She spotted Emily in the crowd, hugged her tight, and wept. «Sis, I knew it was you straightaway! Believe me?» Emily grumbledstill a crybabybut her own eyes stung.
After supper, Lily explained. «Dont hold a grudge against Mum. Uncle Steveher new husbandsaid hed take us both, but she was scared to handle two at once. Then they had a boy, then a girllittle Vicky, so sweet! Oh, dont be cross! Uncle Steve earns wellhes a brilliant carpenter. We even go to the seaside sometimes. But when I was twelve, a bull gored me. Thank God no one else was hurt. Now I limp… Em, this pies lovelycan I have the recipe?»
Emily asked, «Do you work? Study? Got a boyfriend? Youre so pretty!»
Lily flushed. «I was in hospital agescost a fortune. I help at home or with Uncle Steves accounts. Mums a clerk at the council. As for friends… well, the limp… But Im used to it.»
Emily insisted Lily stay the night, promising to see her off in the morning. Lily fell asleep instantly. Glancing at her neatly folded clothes, Emily noticedclean, but threadbare, clumsily mended. Even hospital staff wouldnt wear such things, let alone to visit!
At 3 a.m., Emily woke her husband, begging a ride to Willowbrook. He grumbled but drove her. On the way, she explained. He frowned at first, then nodded.
Emily found her mothers house easily. Her heart pounded as she knocked. Her mother opened the doorand didnt recognise her. But Emily knew her at onceolder, but still elegant. «Morning, Mum. Fancy meeting here.» Her mother greeted her coolly, as if she were a bothersome neighbour, not a daughter unseen for years. «Wheres Lily? In the shed? Tell her to come inthe kids need breakfast, and yesterdays mess isnt cleared. Well, come in, since youre here.»
Emily kept her voice steady. «Lilys staying with me. Pack her things… and money, if you can. Ill get her a job as a care assistantshe can train properly. And her leg needs treatmentshes too lovely to limp! Hear me, Mum?»
Her mother jutted her chinher old stubborn look. «Clear off, do-gooder! Well fetch Lily ourselves. And dont let me catch you near her again!»
Emily shook her head firmly. «Firstits not Lily, its Lils. Call your cow Lily if you want. Youll be milking her yourself now, madam! Shall I gather the whole village? Let them hear how their upstanding council clerk dumped her kids in care? The local gossips wont forgettry moving again, Ill shout it nationwide!»
Her mother scowled, slammed the door, but half an hour later, a thin, stooped man emerged with a backpack. «Im Steve. Heres Lils things. Tell her… well send money. Its truehow long was that girl Cinderella in her own home? I told her… But dont blame your mum too much. Lifes not simple.»
Walking back to the car, Emily thoughtno, life wasnt simple. But was simple really so hard? For men not to drink or stray, for women not to abandon kids for a new man, for siblings not to forget each other?
Just to be decent people…
