All young Alfie knew about himself was that hed been found screaming from hunger and cold on the steps of an orphanage. His mother mustve had a shred of decency left because shed wrapped him in a warm blanket, tied a woollen shawl over it, and stuffed the wailing bundle into a cardboard box. Didnt want poor little Alfie freezing to death, apparently.
There was no note with his name, birthdate, or any clue about who he was. But clenched in his tiny fist was a rather large silver pendant shaped like the letter “A”his mothers parting gift.
This wasnt some mass-produced trinket. It was handmade, stamped with the jewellers mark. The police tried using it to track down his reckless mother, but the trail went cold. The jeweller whod crafted it had died of old age, and his ledgers mysteriously held no record of the piece.
So, Alfie was registered at the orphanage as Alfie Unknown, and just like that, the world had one more state-raised child.
His entire childhood was spent in care, utterly deprived of parental love, dreaming of the day hed finally find his mum and dad.
“Something terrible mustve happened for her to leave me like that. Shell come back for me someday,” hed tell himselfsame as every other kid in that place.
When he aged out, his foster carer hung the pendant around his neck and recounted his story.
“So, she wanted me to find her one day?” he asked.
“Maybe! Or maybe you just yanked it off her neck. Babies grab things, dont they? It wasnt even on a chain when they found you!”
The council gave him a tiny flatcramped, but his own. He enrolled in college, graduated, and got a job at a garage.
***
He met Emily by accidentliterally. They collided headfirst on the pavement. Well, first they bumped into each other, sending her stack of fashion magazines flying. Then, as Alfie scrambled to pick them up, their foreheads cracked together so hard they both saw stars. They sat there, dazed, blinking through tears as passers-by stepped around them. And thats when Alfie knewhe was smitten for life.
“Ive got to make it up to you! Let me take you for a cuppa?” he blurted.
Emily surprised herself by saying yes. There was something endearing about his clumsy, bear-like warmthlike shed known him forever.
“Alfie, its madI feel like Ive known you my whole life!” she said within five minutes.
“Funny, I was just thinking the same!”
They became inseparable, texting and calling constantly, almost freakishly in tune. If Alfie nicked himself at work, Emily would ring within seconds: “You alright? Felt like something happened.”
“Youre me, and Im you. Youre my destiny,” Alfie told her once. “Shame I cant introduce you to my parents. Ive got no one.”
“Well, Ive got plenty! And theyll adore you.”
***
“Mum, Dadmy boyfriends from care,” Emily announced at dinner.
“Care?!” Her mother, Lydia, clutched her chest and sank into the leather armchair. “Theyre all troubled, antisocialhave you lost your mind?”
“Mum, Alfies kind and funny! You cant tar everyone with the same brush!”
“Quite right, love,” said her father, Robert, a retired officer. “Judge a man by his character, not his past. Bring him roundwell see what hes made of. Then well decide whether to panic.”
“Robert, you dont understand!” Lydia wailed. “We didnt raise her to marry some nobody with no family! What if his parents were addicts?”
“Well cross that bridge when we come to it,” Robert said sternly.
Lydia stormed off, slamming the door. Robert winked at Emily. “Chin up, duck. Well manage.”
“Thanks, Dad!” She kissed his cheek. “So, Saturday?”
“Of course. Id like to meet the lad whos stolen my daughters heart.”
***
On the day, Alfie stood at the door, smartly dressed, clutching two bouquets (for Emily and the future mother-in-law) and a Victoria sponge.
Beaming, Emily led him into the kitchen. “Mum, Dadthis is Alfie!”
Robert shook his hand warmly. Lydia took the flowersthen went sheet-white. For a moment, she seemed unable to speak.
Eventually, she composed herself. “Forgive mejust a bit flustered,” she muttered, herding them to the table. Over lunch, she eyed his pendant. “Thats unusual, Alfie. Not something youd find on the high street.”
“Only thing Ive got from my mum. Had it in my fist when they found me.”
Lydia didnt utter another word all evening, just pushed peas around her plate. Robert, however, took to Alfie instantlyfootball, fishing, they had loads in common.
“Top lad!” Robert declared after Alfie left.
“Top lad?!” Lydia shrieked. “Clumsy, ill-mannered”
“Lydia, have you lost the plot? Whats he done?”
But she was adamant. She turned to Emily. “Youre breaking up with him. Now.”
No explanationsjust another dramatic door-slam.
***
*This cant be happening,* Lydia thought frantically, staring at an old photo tucked in the bookshelf.
There she was, young and proud in black-and-white, wearing the exact same pendant now around Alfies neck.
“So I didnt lose itthat little brat ripped it off me!”
She stuffed the photo in her pocket. Robert and Emily couldnt see itnot yet.
After a sleepless night, she settled on a plan: talk to Alfie and convince him to leave town.
“Love, I behaved awfully last night,” she told Emily over breakfast. “Id like to apologise to Alfie too. Give me his number?”
Clueless, Emily scribbled it down and skipped off.
The moment she left, Lydia called. “Alfie, could you pop round? An hour?”
“Course. Be there.”
An hour later, he stood on the doorstep. Lydia, red-eyed, beckoned him in. “We need to talk.”
“Alfie, you must leave Emily. Swear youll never tell heror Robert.”
“Alright, I swear,” Alfie said shakily, perching on the sofa.
“Emilys your sister.” Lydia slid the photo toward himher younger self, wearing the pendant.
“Mum?” Alfie whispered, tears welling. “And Dad?”
Lydia shook her head. “Roberts not your father. Wed split when he joined the army. I was young, stupidgot involved with your real dad. When I fell pregnant, he vanished. I told Robert the baby was stillborn, left you at the orphanage, and we married later.”
“And me? What about me, Mum?”
“You were a mistake, Alfie. You cant wreck everything Ive built. You werent wanted then, and youre not wanted now. Leave. Disappear.”
Alfie stood frozen. *This* was his mother? Her words*”You were a mistake”*echoed cruelly.
“Goodbye, Lydia,” he murmured. “Your secrets safe.”
“Not for long!”
They spun aroundEmily stood in the doorway, fists clenched. “I always thought you were decent. But youre rotten, Mum. Absolutely rotten.”
***
“Sorry, sis,” Alfie mumbled, staring at the floor to hide his tears.
He ran blindly, wishing he could burst like a balloon and vanish.
Days later, he enlisted for deployment.
Robert and Emily came to see him off. Robert gripped his shoulder. “Stay safe, son. Youve got family waiting for you.”
Emily hugged him tight. “Come home, brother. We love you.”
For the first time, Alfie felt warmth in his chest. He might not have a mother, but he wasnt alone. He had a father and a sister.
Shame hed already fallen for Emily as more than that.
As for Lydia? She ended up alone. Robert divorced her, disgusted by her cruelty.
And who did she blame? Alfie, of coursealways turning up at the worst possible time.
