Never before had the young woman been allowed to see the family she'd left behind. All she wanted was to let them know she was safe and being well cared for. Today was going to be her first contact. She walked down the aisle of the near empty church...
Abigail lay on her bed, tears streaming down her face. The parcel given to her by James, via her Aunt Jean, lay beside her, unopened. She unstuck the pink envelope from the brown wrapping paper. On the reverse of the envelope it read,
I love you sweetheart. Be strong.
Dad
Another onslaught of crying followed. Once she had settled down, she opened the envelope. She pulled out a card with a picture of a teddy bear. She already knew from her Aunt Jean that the message on the card had been written when she was a baby at the welfare centre. That is, when James had visited her for what he thought would be the last time. Abigail read the message,
Dearest baby Abigail,
You were found with no name, and so I named you after your mother, Abi. She was a very good lady who selflessly saved me from myself. In return, I felt a duty to save you. I never realised then that I'd love you now.
I will tell you what your mother told me, be strong in your life - for your future self, and for the people who love you. There are people you may not even know who love you.
James
P.s. Her name's Penny
Abigail burst into tears at this. Whilst crying, she tore open the brown paper wrapping of the parcel. Under this layer of brown paper was a layer of pink children's birthday paper, with little cartoon fairies printed on it. The pink paper was wrapped in a pink bow. She took off this paper, delicately this time, respectful of the obvious care with which it had been put on. There, revealed before her, was a beautiful antique porcelain doll. Thin seams of resin across its face and arm showed where it had been fractured and then carefully repaired. It was dressed in a beautiful red silk sari, and had a small red bindi painted on its forehead. Abigail took the doll in her arms. She lay on her bed like that, weeping quietly for nearly two hours until finally succumbing to sleep.
Abigail dreamed of being sheltered from her dark raining tears under a bridge. There, she met James. He looked elderly, as she remembered him. He was wearing a smart suit with a white rose in a jacket buttonhole.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
