No one remembered her when she was little, but as soon as she started earning money, her parents suddenly reappeared.
Her parents spent her entire childhood wondering where to place her. She had come into their family at the worst possible timethey hadnt wanted her. At first, her grandmother helped care for her, but after Gran had a stroke, there was no one left to raise the little girl. The modest pension and her parents wages werent enough to look after a sick woman, let alone a child. After a few months, they decided to send Alice to a childrens homejust for a while.
“Youll stay here while your father and I save up some money,” her mother told her.
Alice truly believed them and waited. But life in the home was no fairytale. No private room, no warmth or careit was almost like prison. She couldnt befriend the other children, the teachers ignored her, so to survive, Alice buried herself in books, sometimes donated by charities.
She always did well in school, and when she got into university, she was thrilled to move to a new city. She had barely any money to start, but she found part-time work and saved up to launch her own business. People laughed when she opened a tiny online shop selling homemade candles.
“What kind of job is that? Youll never make proper money,” they said.
But the little business grew. She was one of the first in the market doing this, and customers kept coming. A young man helped with deliverieseventually quitting his job to make candles with her. Slowly, it became a family business. The care home staff heard about Alice because she was the face of the shop, and soon, so did her parents. Under the pretence of making a purchase, they reached out, and after receiving their order, they turned up at her doorstep.
Alice wasnt pleased. Theyd forgotten her, and shed forgotten them. Maybe it was rude, but she threw them out, with her husbands help.
They hadnt wanted to raise her, hadnt even checked on her, and now suddenly they pretended to love her. It was too late. They shouldve looked for her sooner, shouldve brought her home. Now Alice was growna mother herselfand she didnt need parents like that.
