Eleven years ago, at the train station

They hit the road at dusk and no break was taken until the sun shone brightly and the three of them were now starving. The party stopped at a roadside diner for their morning meal. They parked the car and a tall man with cerulean blue eyes who was seated in the front passenger’s seat, got out of the car and exclaimed, “That was some ride!” as he stretched. Another man, with dark brown eyes and a well-built body, emerged from the driver’s seat and agreed. They were followed by a woman, who appeared from the back seat, and said “Shall we?"

The trio locked the car and headed toward the eatery. They sat down inside and the tall man looked at the menu and inquired to the woman, “What would you like Mom?”

- “The cheeseburger and fries would be just fine, Mikhail.”

- “And you, Dad?”

- “Same as your mother.”

Mikhail went ahead and ordered. They chatted as they waited for the food. Mikhail pulled out a photograph of a wrinkled woman and said, “Do you really think we’ll find her?”

“We can only hope”, his mother replied. His father placed his arm around his shoulder as to comfort him.  

“The food’s here!”, Mikhail exclaimed with a beam. They ate, paid and left.

They continued their journey on the road. They carefully followed the address given to them and eventually reached a location, which seemed like a dead end. They lost all hope for a minute, until his mother noticed a chap trimming the branches of a bush. She requested Mikhail for the woman’s picture. He pulled it out of his wallet and she walked out of the car once she received it. The woman went up to the man and asked him if he knew her in the local language. The gardener pointed at a large mansion by the hedge that stood unnoticed by the trio. It had a lush green garden with trees and orchids around. It was filled with the prettiest of flowers and plants and a bright patina coloured bird bath stood in the middle. The lavish expanse was filled with chirping noises, which made it extremely serene.

The car was parked outside and the trio walked towards the house. They were astounded by the sight.

The mansion was brick red and some part of it was covered in moss. They ascended the steps that led to the house and knocked on the door. They waited on the porch for a response. They were a tad impatient and asked the gardener if anyone was home. He nodded.

Just then a woman opened the door. She was modestly dress and she was found wearing a pale, lavender dress with an off-white shawl. She wore glasses that veiled her cerulean blue eyes. The glasses had a beaded thread that went around her neck. She was the woman from the picture.

Nobody said anything for a minute, until the mother broke the silence and introduced herself.

- “Juliet Hannigan”, the mother said.

- “Laura Mathews”, the lady responded. They shook hands and she asked, “Would you like to come inside?”

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They were seated down and offered some tea and savories.

- “We don’t get many visitors here. What brings you here?”, a gulp of tea was drunk.

- “We travelled about 75 miles to meet you”, the mother said.  

- “Oh, then I must be special”, Laura chuckled.

Juliet showed her the picture, which was still with her and said, “You’re a retired teacher, I see.”

- “Indeed. This was the picture from the year book, I presume. I don’t wear trousers anymore.”

Juliet spoke, “Mikhail here, found it last week. Then we knew we just had to meet you.”

Laura took a look at Mikhail for a minute. It felt as though she knew him for ages. However, she didn’t say a thing about it.

- “That’s nice”, she said.

Then an awkward silence set in. The four quietly sat and drank tea. But then, Laura broke the silence.

- “You have pretty eyes, Mikhail.”

He meekly smiled.

“You know you remind me of my son”, she said. “I’m not sure where he is now, though”, she sighed.

 - “Why did you leave me at the station?” he said abruptly.

Laura almost spilled her tea.

“You were seven. And you had wandered off. You were seated on one of the benches at the train station and despite my instructions, you walked away. I left to get tickets for barely a minute, and by the time I was back, you were gone with your things. Just like your father. I was left all alone and helpless. Once again.”

Mikhail wildly arose from his seat. He was filled with confusion and anger inside of him. Then, he said, “I was seven! What was I supposed to know about the world? How could you just leave a kid like that? In a crowded station with strangers everywhere. I was surrounded by so many people, yet I was deserted. YOU deserted me.”

- “I did not!”

- “Oh, really? Did you know how scared I was? I couldn’t stop looking around, searching for you, hoping you’d come back. Then a kind man appeared from nowhere and thought I was lost. He said he’d take me to you and I was more than delighted”, said Mikhail pointing towards his father, Jason. “He took me to his home and I waited there for you all night. He promised me that you’d come looking for me.”

- “Do you really NOT see it?”, she asked with disbelief. “They wanted to keep you! They probably don’t have children and she even looks like she’s barren!”

- “HOW could you say such a thing?” He turned to have a look at his parents, but they were looking at the floor. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourselves?”, he said to his them.

Suddenly, they became the villain.

Laura continued, “When I didn’t see you once I returned, I panicked. I looked around, asked people. I waited there all day and shouted for you as I cried. Even spent the night at the police station, hoping for your return. But you never came.”

Mikhail had nothing to say to her. To him, she was just a woman that had deserted him when he was little. And his parents were heartless enough to keep him for themselves. But now he was all grown up, and couldn’t seem to trust either of them.

He stormed out of the house and took a walk in the garden. Laura offered Juliet and Jason a room for washing up. The three of them pretended like nothing happened, but felt guilty inside.

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Mikhail was called from the gazebo for lunch. They were already seated at the table, waiting for him. He announced, “I’ll be going off to university in a few months, and I don’t think that hating any of you would make things right. After all, you are all my parents. And I forgive you. There’s no point crying over spilt milk, right? But before I go off to uni, I’d like to spend time with of all you.

“I think that’s a great idea!” Laura said with a gleam in her eye. “I’ll finally have some company!”, she chuckled. “And the both of you should stay too. I’d love to have you here.

“We couldn’t be more thankful. We really thought you’d try to shut us out of your life for good.”

“I would never. You’re my parents. You took care of me. You all did, at some point. And mom and dad, you made me your responsibility when you weren’t even given a choice. I’m so grateful for all of you!”

After a delicious lunch, Laura showed them Mikhail’s childhood pictures, that were carefully preserved in a locked-up metal storage box. It was like reliving the past. Nostalgia flooded the entire house. There were hundreds of pictures of him alone. His blue eyes shone brightly in each of the pictures. He was seen singing and dancing and playing the violin and piano. He showed a picture to Laura and she said, “You loved to play the piano. I’d teach you every week. We still have a music room, you know?”

They walked into the music room and Mikhail played the piano. Laura joined in with the violin. Juliet sang along in the background while Jason documented the moment as to recreate a picture that was found previously. It was like opening a time capsule, and everything had changed, but for a few minutes, nothing had changed.

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