**Diary Entry**
The door swung open as Emily and Thomas sat quietly at supper. A dishevelled woman strode in, tossed an old rucksack into the corner, and flung her arms wide. “Alright, Dad,” she said, grinning.
Thomas choked on his food, coughing violently. Emily glared. “Who the hell are you? And whats this ‘Dad’ nonsense?”
The woman squinted. “Mind your own business, love. I aint here for youjust my dear old father. You forgotten me already, Dad? Its me, your little girl, Rebecca. Been years, but I couldnt rest easy, wondering how my old man was getting on. Not poorly, I hope?” She gave a fake sniff.
Thomas finally managed to croak, “Whywhyve you come?”
“For my present, Dad. The doll you promised me twenty years back.”
Her mum had died when Rebecca was seven. Thomas lasted six months before bringing home Emilyhis new wifeand her two lads. First thing, Emily turfed Rebecca out of her room and into the shared one. “Boys need it more,” Thomas had muttered, avoiding her eyes. The lads, older and rowdy, tore her schoolbooks to shreds. Night after night, shed rewrite her homework by moonlightEmily forbade wasting electricity.
On her eighth birthday, Thomas took her to an orphanage. “Wont be long, love. Ill visit weekends, bring you that big doll from the shop windowremember?”
She waited. He never came.
Now, Rebecca plonked herself at the table. “Go on then, Auntie, dish me up some stew. Starvingnowhere to kip last night.” She cackled at her own joke. Emily slammed a bowl down. Rebecca tsked. “Still tight-fisted, eh? Come on, fill it proper!” She turned to Thomas. “Right, Dad, break out the savingslets toast to family reunion!”
Thomas glanced at Emily, who hissed, “We dont drink.”
Rebecca slapped her knee. “Knew it. But unlike you, I dont visit empty-handed. Auntie, fetch my bag.”
Emily flushed. “Get it yourself!”
Rebecca arched a brow. “Youre missing the point. I aint just visitingIm moving in. You chucked me out oncefairs fair. Clear off, or behave, and I might let you stay.”
Emily shrieked, “Thomas, are you hearing this? Your brats bullying me!”
He fidgeted. “Rebecca, dont be rude. Emilys mistress here.”
Rebecca sighed. “Pathetic. Youve let her walk all over you. Dont worryme and Auntiell sort this. Maybe send her packing too!”
Emily screeched, “Ill call my son! Hell toss you out!”
Rebecca smirked. “You mean Danny? Likelier hed pawn you for a bottle. Shame about your eldest, thoughheard he drank himself to death. Younger ones headed the same way.”
Emily sobbed. “Leave my boys alone! Look at youliving rough!”
“Thanks to you. Snatched a widower, booted his kid for your own. Bet you never spared me a thought. Well, Im backand your lifes gonna be hell. Got a bloke toothree stints inside. Hell be here next week. Well settle in, give you grandkids. Proper family, eh, Dad? Missed me?”
Thomas nodded weakly. Rebecca smirked at Emily. “See? Now, make up a bedIm knackered. And heat the bath afterneed a scrub.”
She pretended to sleep, eavesdropping as Emily hissed, “Spineless! Shes moving in with some convict! Theyll rob us blindor worse! Throw her out!”
Thomas mumbled, “Shes my daughter. You made me abandon her onceI wont again.”
Rebecca silently cheered. *So hes got a shred of guilt left.*
A rustle made her peek. Emily loomed with a pillow.
“Try it, and its prison, Auntie.”
Emily jumped. “II brought you this. For comfort.”
Rebecca laughed. “Cheers. For a second, I thought Anyway, bath ready?”
Emily fluttered. “Your dads heating it. Fancy some pancakes?”
“Suspiciously nice, aint you? Poisoning me? Wont workIve got an iron gut. Youre still the same snake.”
For a week, Rebecca tormented Emily, who finally begged, “Have mercy, love. Im not young anymore.”
“Where was yours when you tore a little girl from her home? Ashamed? Im not. Youll pay for every tear.”
Emily knelt. “Forgive me! Lifes punished me enough!”
Rebecca waved her off. “Fine, get up. Youre broken enough. Keep your lifeIm leaving. No doll, eh, Dad?”
Thomas stammered, “Take moneybuy whatever”
“You still dont get it. I didnt come for cash. Just one wordthat you loved me. But no. Goodbye.”
She shouldered her rucksack. No one followed, though shed hoped.
A car waited past the village. She climbed in and wept like a child. Her man held her. “Told you it was daft, digging up the past. Disappointed?”
She looked up. “Yeah. Thought hed loved me all alongjust slipped up once. They never even remembered me.”
He squeezed her. “Shouldve listened. Come onkids are asking for you.”
She wiped her tears. “Missed them too. Lets go. But first, a showerwash it all away. And stop by Mums grave. Picked flowers on the way. As for Dad? Hes dead to me. Got you and the kidsthats enough.”
**Lesson Learnt:**
Some wounds never heal, and not all kin are family. The past cant be fixedsometimes, walking away is the only peace youll find.
