No one remembered her when she was little, but once she began to earn her keep, her parents suddenly reappeared.
Throughout her childhood, they had spent their days pondering where to place her. She had come into their family at the worst possible timeunwanted, an unwelcome burden. At first, her grandmother had helped care for her, but after the old woman suffered a stroke, there was no one left to raise the little girl. Their modest pension and meagre wages barely covered the cost of tending to the sick, let alone a child. Within months, the decision was made to send Alice to an orphanage, just for a while.
«Youll stay here whilst your father and I find a way to make ends meet,» her mother told her.
Alice truly believed it and waited, though life in the orphanage was no fairy tale. There were no private rooms, no tenderness, no careit felt almost like a prison. She struggled to befriend the other children; the matrons paid her no mind. To survive, she buried herself in books, the occasional charity donations that found their way to the home.
She always earned good marks in school, and when she was accepted into university, she rejoiced at the chance to leave for another city. With barely a penny to her name, she took odd jobs, saving every shilling to start her own business. Many scoffed when she opened a small online shop, selling homemade candles.
«What kind of work is that? Youll never make a proper living,» people said.
Yet the little business flourished. She was among the first in the trade, and soon, customers came in droves. A young man helped with the shipments, and in time, he left his own job to join her in crafting candles. Bit by bit, it grew into a family venture.
Word of Alices success reached the orphanageshe had become the face of the shop, after all. And so, inevitably, her parents heard too. Under the pretence of placing an order, they contacted their daughter. When the parcel arrived, they traced the address straight to her doorstep.
Alice was not pleased to see them. They had forgotten her, and she had forgotten them. Perhaps it was unkind, but she sent them away, her husband standing firm beside her.
They hadnt raised her. They hadnt even cared to check on her. And now, suddenly, they pretended to love her? It was too late. They should have searched for her sooner, should have brought her home. Now Alice was grown, a mother herself, and she had no need for parents who only remembered her when she was no longer theirs to claim.
