The Abandoned

• Samantha Silk, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2015

Name? I do not have one, well I suppose I did once but I cannot remember it. I was left behind when my Mama & Papa went on a trip that was 14 years ago; I do not know why they haven’t come back. I can’t remember them, when I try to, I only see blank faces. I know they aren’t coming back but a girl can dream, I’m almost 18 and owe my education to the nice people who took me in, they gave me a new name and a home but I feel like a stranger when I’m with them like I don’t belong there. Is that weird, being a part of their family for most of my life and feeling like the black sheep, their all so caring and gentle but I just want my real Mama & Papa back. I want to hear the sweet voice that once sang to me at night when my dreams gave me a fright. The hugs I was given when I was sad. I don’t believe that my parents just left me, abandoned their only child but everyone says it was for the best, that the best thing they did was bring me into this world, I don’t believe them, my parents are coming back and when they do I’ll be waiting.
I can’t lose hope, I know they’ll be back, Papa will walk me down the aisle as Mama cries with joy, you must think I’m crazy to think they miss their little girl and that they’ll be home soon but I can’t handle the truth that I was just unwanted, a mistake they erased from their lives. I’d rather think positive than negative, I do wonder why they left and why I have high hopes on their return. I’ve always wanted answers to so many questions; the problem is that no one knows the correct answer except my parents who disappeared from my life long ago. I should give up on them but I don’t want to, I don’t know where they are or if they even remember the girl they abandoned but it would make me happy just to hear their voices one last time, maybe that’s all I need to forget about them just one more embrace, one more lullaby, one more everything.
Do I at least deserve that, I have never done anything wrong, I never judge people, I don’t gossip or spread rumors, I never walk away when I see someone upset, all I ask in return is that you don’t judge me for my hopes and dreams. I want what everyone wants, to fit in, to be seen, to be a part of something extraordinary but everyone has that one thing they crave the most, it may be to fall in love or become a professional football player. It’s good to have a dream, a goal, mine is to find my parents but I’m afraid of what they may say... I’m afraid of knowing the truth. Am I a mistake? Was I abandoned?