INNOCENT AND UNFORGOTTEN

Emily had been an orphan since she was five. Her mother fell ill and died, and soon after her father vanished from her life. Six months later her grandfather breathed his last, and her grandmother survived the rest of the family for only a year.

A caring aunt, Margaret, who lived alone in a remote hamlet, took Emily in. Margaret was already raising three children of her own, and the house was a pressure cooker of fear. The aunt scolded the children for every little thing, struck them mercilessly, and only later, trembling before the family icons, would she weep bitterly. The sobbing children would cling to her, begging for mercy, and a fragile peace would settle over the home.

Emily kept her distance, terrified of the hot hand of an angry aunt. She dreamed of growing up quickly and escaping the house forever, clinging to memories of a family that had once known love and understanding. My dear child, will you really leave me behind? her dying mother had whispered, stroking Emilys hair as she sensed her own end.

Years passed. When Emily turned eighteen, she walked away from Margaret and the three cousins with a sigh of relief. She didnt care where she was headed; she only wanted to be far from that hateful roof.

She returned to the city of her childhoodBirminghamwhere the aunt had once taken her. The air seemed sweeter, the night stars brighter, and the people felt more familiar. She slipped back into the tiny flat she had once shared with her closest relatives. Everything smelled of the carefree days shed once known. Margaret had been subletting the flat all those years.

Emily found work as a waitress in a bustling café. Generous tips, persistent admirers, champagne flowing like rivershow could a stillyoung soul resist such a whirlpool of desire? Life spun, twirled, and dazzled her.

A year later she found herself alone, cradling a newborn in her arms. She was forced to return to the village and face Aunt Margaret once more. You havent even learned to step over the threshold, and youre already bringing a child! the aunt snapped. Yet Margaret took her in, insisting the infant be christened that very Sunday at the village chapel. May an angel watch over her, she said, naming the baby Faith.

Emily wept day and night, convinced her youth had been ruined forever. The village, however, offered endless chores, keeping her hands busy. Eventually she steadied herself, but the dream of leaving never faded. When Faith grew older, Emilys resolve hardened. She could never become comfortable with rural life.

Before she left, Margaret warned, Mind the company you keep, love. The wrong friendships can drag you into the abyss. Back in Birmingham Emily enrolled Faith in a nursery and took a job as a helper to a market stallowner, Mr. Brown, who sold sweet treats. Browns son, Arthur, showered Emily with flirtations, offering sweets, promises of marriage, trips back to his familys estate, introductions to relatives

Confident that a future lay ahead, Emily agreed to have another child with Arthur, who named the girl Jasmine after his mother. Not long after, the new father began to avoid her, then dismissed her outright and cut off all contact.

Emily refused to burden Aunt Margaret again; it would have been shameful to appear before her with two halforphaned children. Lord, why do I keep leaping from one pit to another? she muttered, vowing to claw her way out of the mire alone.

Only God seemed to understand how heavy the world had become for a young woman whose hands were often tied by loneliness. When she felt herself sinking, she recalled Margarets words: You are now without kin, without tribe. Rely only on yourself, and perhaps a sliver of sunshine will peek through your window. Despite Margarets harshness, the aunt became a stoic exampleshe had raised her own brood and taken in a stray orphan despite having relatives aplenty. Only now could Emily truly comprehend and cease judging her.

Years slipped by. Emily grew cautious in relationshipsthere were none to speak of. The children grew, filling her life with endless demands. She bore the weight of her fate like a heavy cross, calling it bitter wormwood. Yet at thirtyseven, destiny introduced her to Victor at a holiday resort. He admired how she tended her daughters, how she laughed, how she held his gaze for a heartbeat.

The pair quickly became acquainted. That first night Emily poured out her hardships, needing someone to hear her lament. Victor listened, nodding, absorbing every word. When she finished, he said, Emily, marry me. You wont regret it. Their union followed. Faith and Jasmine grew close to Victor, who loved them sincerely. Victor adored Emily, hovering around her like a bee around a blossom. Yet Emily stayed cold, doubting his love, fearing another burn. She never opened her heart, convinced that as a wife she was already wellfed, clean, and pressedwhat more could she ask?

Victor hinted often about having a child together, but Emily brushed it off, content to raise her daughters. One angry evening he shouted, Snow queen, at least look at me tenderly once! Im being led away! Emily retorted, Youre nothing but a puppet on a string. Let them take me; I wont cry. When she later returned home, Victors belongings were gonehe had vanished forever.

What was missing? Emily wondered. At first she relished her single life: eating what she wanted, sleeping whenever, ignoring the mess of dishes, socks, and shoesfreedom in its rawest form. But years passed, the daughters married and left the nest, and Emily found herself alone with only freedom and memories. A yearning to see Victor again grew into a painful ache, a scream echoing through her chest. Twenty years had slipped by; she longed to glimpse his life, however briefly.

Through mutual acquaintances she learned Victor lived in a suburb. She decided to visit, concocting a story: If his wife greets me, Ill claim Im a distant relative. She set off, heart pounding.

A middleaged woman opened the gate. Can I help you? she asked. Are you looking for Victor? Emily inquired, nerves taut. He lived here Who are you to him? the woman pressed. Im a cousin, Anna, Emily blurted. Come in, Im Lucy, his widow, the woman replied, ushering her inside.

Emilys legs gave way; she felt faint. Lucy supported her to a sofa, offered water. When did this happen? Emily whispered. A year ago. Victor fell terribly ill. He held a secreta woman he loved madly. He lived with me, but in his dreams he called out to her I forgave him, though jealousy gnawed. We never had children; he didnt want them. He waited, then that Emily called…

Lucys voice trembled as she recounted Victors final days in hospital, his refusal to speak of the other Emily. I closed his eyes, whispering his name, Lucy said, tears streaming. I thought Id tell you everything, but you came at the right moment. Emily choked on sobs, then steadied herself.

Im that Emily, she confessed, breath ragged. I came to see Victor. Its too late. I crushed his love. I was orphaned at five, taken in by Aunt Margaret in the village. I never learned to love, to cherish, to forgive. My life taught me to distrust. Victor sensed that. Lucy, wiping her eyes, replied, You were his sanctuary. Had you arrived sooner, perhaps hed have healed. It seems fate placed you here to hear his story Youre not wholly innocent; you never tasted love as a child. That left a void.

Emily shrugged, bewildered. The two women embraced like sisters, their cries mingling, bitter and cathartic, as the curtain fell on a life stitched together by loss, yearning, and fleeting hope.