Maddie leaned against a bench, staring at her stitched foot. “Mom, I can handle the flight myself. Just have him meet me at the airport. I haven’t packed much yet, but I need to visit the orphanage before I leave.”
There was a pause on the line before her mother spoke again, her voice softer now.
“It’s important to go back, Maddie. That place raised you. Your father and I donated some money recently—I wanted the children there to have a little more, to live a bit better than before.”
The kindness in her mother’s voice cracked something inside Maddie.
“Mom… I don’t blame you or Dad,” she said softly, sensing her mother’s unspoken guilt. “I know you did everything you could. It was hard back then… transportation, communication… everything was harder.”
Her mother’s voice broke slightly. “We searched for you everywhere, Maddie. We never stopped. But the years…” She trailed off, unable to finish.
Maddie closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting to her childhood. Her earliest memories of the orphanage were cold and lonely, but she had always wondered—if circumstances had been different, would she have stayed with her family in Haichester?
***