Emily and James divorced when their daughter Lily turned two years old. James simply couldnt live with his wife anymore. She was always unhappy, always angry. Sometimes she complained that James didnt earn enough, other times that he was never home and didnt help with their daughter.
James tried his best to make her happy, but nothing worked. Friends said Emily had postpartum depression. Maybe she needed to see a doctor or take medication.
But James doubted that. She hadnt been easy even before Lily was born, and now it was as if shed lost her mind.
He couldnt remember the last time hed seen Emily smile. Even when she was with Lily, her face was full of irritation, making him want to scoop their daughter up and take her far away.
Still, James suggested therapy. The response was a torrent of rage.
“You think Im mad? You think Im hysterical? How could I not be, living with you?”
After that, James couldnt take it anymore. He filed for divorce. To spite him, Emily took Lily and moved to another town. She didnt ask for child support and didnt tell him where theyd gone.
James searched for a while, then gave up. He loved Lily, but the thought of facing Emily againthe shouting, the blamemade him accept the situation.
Meanwhile, Emilys bitterness never faded. She blamed James for everything, convinced hed left for another woman. That anger eventually turned toward Lily.
She never hit her, but Lily grew up surrounded by a cloud of resentment most people never knew.
There were no celebrations in their home. Lily only learned about birthdays in nursery school.
“Mum, guess what? Tommy had a birthday today! Everyone gave him presents! Will I get one too?”
“No. Thats nonsense. You didnt do anything to deserve it. Im the one who gave birth to youif anyone should be celebrated, its me. And stop asking. Its a waste of money.”
They didnt celebrate Christmas either. Luckily, Father Christmas visited the nursery, so that was Lilys one holiday. On Christmas Day, they ate plain food and went to bed as usual.
Emily couldnt stand laughter. Maybe because shed forgotten how. If Lily giggled at cartoons, Emily would snap, “Why are you cackling like that? Theres nothing funny!”
So Lily learned smiles were bad. Laughter was wrong. Seriousness and sadness were the only way.
No one knew if Emily had mental health issuesshe refused to see a therapist, calling it a waste. She believed life wasnt for joy. Happy people were just fools.
Lily tasted sweets for the first time at nursery, when another child had a party. They were delicious.
That night, she dreamed of growing up and buying herself a whole bag of sweets. The thought made her smilethough she quickly hid it.
Its hard to say how Lily wouldve turned out if shed stayed with Emily. Her mother only grew angrier. Neighbours avoided her. Old ladies crossed the street, muttering about her temper.
But all that rage took its toll. Emily was diagnosed with cancer. Distrusting doctors, she only went to hospital when it was too late.
A neighbour took Lily in when Emily was taken away. Before leaving, Emily gave the woman Jamess name and where he lived. Maybe she did care, in her own way.
Emily didnt come back. Lily wasnt told right away. The girl was already so quiet, so afraid of doing wrong.
Social services were called. They found James quickly.
Hed been remarried six months. When the call came, he told his wife, Sarah, he wouldnt abandon Lily. Hed been searching for her.
Sarah was kind. She knew how much James had suffered. “Go and bring her home,” she said.
Lily didnt remember her father. She was terrified, convinced life with him would be worse.
James arrived with a giant stuffed rabbit and a bag of sweets.
Lily shrank back, but her eyes locked onto the toy, then the sweets.
That won her over. Only Father Christmas gave sweetsand he was good. No one else had ever given her any.
As Lily clutched the rabbit, the neighbour told James the truth.
“God rest her, but Emily was a bitter woman. Never smiled, never spoke kindly. Poor Lily was always walking on eggshells.”
Jamess heart ached. He shouldve fought harder, searched longer. Fear of Emily had stopped himand his daughter had paid the price.
After the paperwork and funeral, they drove home.
“Your birthdays soon,” James said gently. “What would you like?”
Lily stared. “Mum never gave me presents. She said birthdays were silly.”
James froze. “Thats not right. Birthdays are special.”
“Can I just have sweets, then?” Lily whispered. “I really like them.”
James could only nod, his throat tight.
That night, after putting Lily to bed, he poured a glass of whisky in the kitchen.
“She never celebrated her birthday,” he said when Sarah came in. “All she asked for was sweets. Like some treat shed never had. How could Emily do that? Just to spite me?”
Sarah hugged him. “Dont blame her. Life punished her enough.”
“I blame myself. I told myself theyd be fine. Now Ive got a child whos scared to be happy.”
Sarah smiled. “Then well give her the best birthday. For every one she missed.”
The party was in a week. By then, Lily had started adjusting.
What amazed her most was how much James and Sarah laughed. Shed thought adults forgot how.
And breakfast wasnt just plain porridge! Sarah made pancakes, scrambled eggs, fruitso many things.
But the biggest shock? Sweets were always in the house. James said she could have them anytimejust not too many.
On her birthday, Lily woke up to a room full of balloons. There was cake for breakfast, with candles to blow out!
They went to the fairground, and she got seven giftsone for each missed year.
Children adapt quickly, especially to happiness. Within a month, Lily laughed loudly, hugged without hesitation. Emily had hated being touched.
School started. Life got better. Sometimes Lily struggled to separate memory from imagination. But she knew she was lucky.
A year later, she called Sarah “Mum” for the first time. Because, sadly, Sarah was more of a mother than Emily had ever been.
