Six months later, I was taken to the orphanage, while my aunt sold my parents’ flat on the black market.
When I turned five, I was left an orphan. The responsibility for me fell to my aunt, my father’s sister. While my parents were alive, we wanted for nothing. They held important positionswe had a spacious flat in the city and a little cottage in the countryside. After their deaths, everything changed.
My aunt doted on her own daughter, Emily, but we never got along. Even though she was younger, my cousin mocked me relentlessly. Aunt Margaret, though pleasant to strangers, was petty and calculating in truth. She never missed an opportunity. Not once did I receive kindness, support, or a warm word from her.
From childhood, my duties included scrubbing the house and washing dishes. I wasnt allowed to watch telly, and sweets were bought only for Emily. Soon, Aunt Margaret sold my fathers car. My mothers clothes and jewellery vanished, while she and Emily grew ever more fashionable. They dined in cafés and restaurants but never took me along.
As a child, I didnt realise Margaret had sold everything and claimed the money was for my upbringing. Years later, we moved into her tiny one-bedroom flat on the outskirts of town. Half a year after that, I was handed over to the orphanage, and the flat was sold.
Adjusting was hard, but I soon adapted. I got a decent education and, after finishing school, rented a small flat. I worked as a cleaner at a supermarket, though they promised a promotion. One day, the owner paid a visit.
When Mr. Thompson saw me, he asked me to his office after my shift. There, alone, he asked me to tell him about my lifewhat my parents had done. I recounted everything from the beginning.
He smiled and said he remembered me as a little girl. Hed been friends with my parents. Years ago, hed started a business, built a chain of shops, and now he was developing a new shopping centre. When construction finished, theyd need a manager. He offered me the job, though I lacked the qualifications.
I was about to refuse when Mr. Thompson promised to help me get the training I needed. Under those terms, I couldnt say no. The coursework wasnt easy, but it was fascinating. I passed without trouble and, in the end, received the promised positionwell-paid above all else.
Years passed. I bought a two-bedroom flat. One day, my cousin knocked at the door. I dont know how she or my aunt found me, but Emily, in her usual haughty tone, demanded I let her in and help her find work.
Without a university degree, I offered her temporary work as a cleaner. Outraged, she refused and immediately rang her mother. Aunt Margaret screeched down the line that I owed her for my upbringing, that without her, who knew what wouldve become of me? She threatened revenge if I didnt help Emily.
Mixed feelings stirred in me. All those years without a word, and she hadnt changed a bit. But I had. I wasnt that helpless little girl anymore. I decided thenI didnt need an aunt like that. Or a cousin.
