28March2025
The crowd gathered on the steps of St.Marys Maternity Ward was a sea of worried faces. A low murmur threaded through the relatives: Wheres Billy? I cant see Billy anywhere! Where did he disappear to? It was a puzzled whisper that seemed to bounce off the stone.
If Billy had been William, the newborns father, there would have been far fewer questions. But Billy was the nickname the family had given to their sister, Willa, and in this case it was a diminutive of the feminine name Willa. The very fact that Willa had vanished, instead of cradling her infant daughter in her arms, struck everyone as utterly out of the ordinary.
Ran off! That reckless thing, wailed Willas mother when she handed the paperwork and the final letter from her runaway daughter to her soninlaw, Robert, together with the baby. The letter read like a template for such occasions: she wasnt ready for motherhood, she asked not to be searched for, she would continue paying child support, and that was the end of her involvement. No return address, no explanation as to why a respectable womanjust six months ago dreaming of becoming a motherwould suddenly bolt like that.
Dont worry, Rob, Willas mother tried to soothe Robert. Shell come to her senses, her mind will settle, and shell return.
Emily, Willas older sister, said nothing. Her inner voice told her that Billy would not come back. When Willa decided to leave, she did it deliberately; she never left a job halffinished. If she chose to abandon, she would see it through.
Dont be a fool, Em, snapped their mother when Emily hinted that Willa might never return. Shell be back. A month or two will pass and a mothers heart will pull her back.
Divorce papers arrived three months later. Willa never attended the hearings, refused any guardianship, and the infantlittle Rosieended up with her father. Emily began to spend more time at Roberts flat, helping with the child and keeping company with Robert himself. Their shared misfortune made the arrangement feel inevitable; Emily, too, had been abandoned by a fiancé a year after her sons birth.
They had planned to marry when their child turned three and Emily finished her maternity leave, but Mark, the wouldbe husband, fled, leaving Emily drowning in debt. At least the court confirmed paternity, and Emily received at least a modest maintenance payment.
She feared that Roberts new partner would also abandon her, so she kept an eye on his behaviour, never mentioning her worries to anyone. In the end she realised she had been looking at the wrong man. Her sister turned out to be far tougher than anyone had guessed.
The pressure to have a child had never been coercive; Willa wanted the baby herself. Robert, on the other hand, suggested waiting five years to save enough money to convert their modest twobed flat into a threebed. Willa hurried him, and in a flash she left little Rosiehelpless and in need of a motheron the doorstep.
Perhaps the fact that Emily had already become a mother herself, or perhaps because Rosie was her own blood, made Emily treat the child as her own. Robert, a few times, handed Rosie over to Emily, saying, Take her to Mums arms. He also offered Emily to move in with him and his son, promising enough space for both families and suggesting she could rent out rooms to cover the mortgage instead of asking her own mother for help.
When Emily moved in, her mother launched a fullblown tirade, declaring that it was improper to take a sisterinlaws husband. Yet Robert brushed the former motherinlaw away, saying it was none of her business. Later, a few drinks later, he confessed that he was willing to marry Emily and even adopt her son as his own.
Everything will be fair, Em. Ill raise your child as mine, consider your son mine too. I wont force you into anything; lets just stay togetheritll be easier for both of us. He admitted he could earn a decent wage, but the endless diapers, doctor visits and baby food left him clueless. He praised Emilys knack for handling children, though shed never earned a high salaryshed been a nursery assistant before maternity leave, at a private childcare centre.
Roberts proposal felt mercenary, yet Emily realised that the fairytale love shed once chased brought her no happiness beyond the love for her own son. Perhaps it was time to be pragmatic. Robert was sober, decent, and never shirked his responsibilities. Rosie had grown attached to him in two years, even calling him Mum at times. Could everything that had gone wrong now be for the best?
The mother never turned up at the weddingno one really expected her anyway. The ceremony was a modest affair; they toasted with a single shot of whisky, listened to friends wish them well, and returned to Roberts flat where the four of them already lived.
Life changed little, save for the fact that the children now shared one bedroom while the adults occupied the other. Emily and Robert were, after all, people entitled to a little happiness of their own.
The next morning, a delivery boy rang the bell. Robert, waiting for the parcel, opened the door just as his former wife, Willa, barreled in.
Darling, Im back! she announced. When Robert brushed her away harshly, forcing her to step back, she blinked and asked, Arent you glad to see me?
Should I be? Robert replied with a sneer.
Hed rehearsed his reply countless times, but when the moment arrived he could only ask why she had returned.
I want to see my daughter. And perhaps we could sort things out.
I know my actions werent perfect, but Ive already built a family. I wont let traitors back in.
She muttered something about Emily, and Robert snapped, You think you can replace her with me? Youre dreaming.
Emily, just out of the shower, caught sight of the slightly ajar nursery door. The children, hidden behind the frame like a fort, watched the scene unfold. Willa, spotting them, rushed past Robert and lunged for Rosie.
Rosie, my dear, look how youve grown! she cooed, snatching the infant. In the chaos, little Andrew her brother lunged at Willas leg, teeth bared. With only stockings and a short skirt on, Willa let out a piercing scream, dropping Rosie onto the floor before clutching her own wound.
Emilys gaze cut through the tableau. You snake, she hissed. Youve turned my sister against me. I wont let this stand.
In the end, custody never swung back to Willa; she had refused guardianship years before, and Rosie had never known her mother. Even the mothers attempts to force a reverse arrangement fell flat.
Robert and Emily finally cut ties with Willas mother and, soon after, moved to another city without leaving an address. They now live happily in a new town, raising three children. Only their closest friends know that Rosie sometimes boasts shes the daughter of a real witch, while her mum Emily is a kind fairy who rescued her. Andrew, ever the storyteller, swears his father was a dark wizard who fled a good fairy.
Its a comfort to think that a good father has finally found his place, with a happy family of mum, dad, and two little ones. After all, every story deserves a proper ending.
Lesson learned: no matter how tangled the past, you must choose the life that steadies the heart, not the one that tempts you with fleeting shadows.
