When I was little, I had a full, happy family. There were three of us: me, my mom, and my dad. But the unpredictable happened. Mom ended up in the hospital. Pretty soon she left this world. And Dad started drinking. He tried so hard to cope with his grief. The refrigerator was often empty. I went to school dirty and hungry.
I stopped learning and socializing with other people. The neighbors saw this picture. They reported it to the child welfare authorities. They wanted to take away my dad’s parental rights. But he convinced them not to. They agreed, but said they would come again in a month.
After the visit of the social workers, my father immediately went to get groceries. Then we cleaned together. Since that time my father no longer drank alcohol. One day my father said that he had to introduce me to a woman. I couldn’t understand – didn’t he love our mother anymore? He said he did. But it would be better for them, because then the child welfare authorities wouldn’t come around anymore. That’s how I met Aunt Martha.
We visited her, and I liked her. She has a son William, who is two years younger than me. We became friends with him. When we came back, I told my father that Aunt Martha was a beautiful woman. And in a month we were already living at her place. We started renting out our apartment.
Life was getting better. But it wasn’t for long. There was another tragedy. Again a loss. This time my father passed away. Three days later the child welfare workers came to us again. They took me to the orphanage. Aunt Martha didn’t forget about me. She constantly came to visit and wanted to take me back.
She collected documents. But it went on for a long time, and I stopped believing that this day would come. And then one day they called me into the principal’s office and told me I could go home.
Aunt Martha and William met me at the front door of the orphanage. When I saw them, I couldn’t hold back my tears. I hugged them tightly and burst into tears. I was glad to be back in the family. Aunt Martha tried to comfort me, and I told her:
“Mom, thank you for taking me back home. I’ll make sure you never regret it!”
I was back within my own walls and started going to my old school.
***
Time passed quickly. I graduated high school and went to university and then got a job. William is doing well, too. He and I are real brothers, though not blood brothers.
We grew up. We each got a family. But we don’t forget about Mom. Every weekend we come to visit. Mom got along well with our wives. They are like friends. I will always thank God for having Mama Martha in my life. I don’t know where I would be or what I would be without her.
