Six months later, I was taken to the orphanage, while my aunt sold my parents flat on the black market.
When I turned five, I was left an orphan. The responsibility for me fell to my aunt, my fathers sister. While my parents were alive, we wanted for nothing. They held high-ranking positionswe had a spacious flat in the city and a modest cottage in the countryside. After their deaths, everything changed.
My aunt cared for her own daughter, Emily, but we never grew close. My cousin mocked me endlessly, even though she was younger. Aunt Margaret, though pleasant to outsiders, was in truth tight-fisted and shrewd. She never missed an opportunity. Not once did I receive kindness, encouragement, or a gentle word from her.
From childhood, my duties included scrubbing the floors and washing dishes. I was forbidden from watching telly, and sweets were bought only for Emily. Soon, my fathers car was sold. My mothers jewellery and fine clothes vanished, while Aunt Margaret and Emily became ever more polished. They dined in cafés and restaurants but never took me along.
As a child, I didnt realise Margaret had sold everything, claiming the money was for my upbringing. Years later, we moved into her tiny one-bedroom flat on the outskirts of town. Half a year after that, I was sent to the orphanage, and she sold our familys flat.
Adjusting was hard, but I soon adapted. I received a decent education and, after finishing school, rented a small flat. I worked as a cleaner at a supermarket, though I was promised a promotion. One day, the owner paid a visit.
When Mr. Thompson saw me, he asked me to his office after my shift. There, he sat me down and asked about my lifewhat my parents had done, where Id come from. I told him everything.
He smiled and said he remembered me from when I was small. Hed been a friend of my parents. Years ago, hed started his own business, building a chain of shops, and now he was developing a new shopping centre. When it was finished, hed need a manager. He offered me the position, but I lacked the qualifications.
I was about to refuse when he promised to help me train for the role. Under those terms, I couldnt say no. The coursework wasnt easy, but it fascinated me. I passed without trouble and, in time, received the promised positionwell-paid, above all else.
Years passed. I bought a two-bedroom flat. Then one day, my cousin knocked at my door. Ive no idea how she or Aunt Margaret found me, but Emily demanded I let her in and help her. Shed married young, but her husband had left her destitute. Now she needed work.
Emily had no higher education, so I offered her a temporary position as a cleaner. Outraged, she refused and rang her mother at once. Aunt Margaret screamed down the line that I owed her for my upbringingthat without her, who knew where Id be? She threatened revenge if I didnt help Emily.
My feelings were tangled. All these years apart, and she hadnt changed a bit. But I had. I was no longer the helpless girl shed once known. I decided thenI needed neither such an aunt nor a cousin in my life.
