Stranger

Stranger

I don’t usually find myself in strangers homes. Yet here I was. Standing cautiously in a

cluttered, musty, hallway. A short, bearded man, with the name Renee, beckoning me

into his lounge. Yes. I had won the auction. A beautiful velvet green evening dress.

“Renee” who I foolishly had believed to be a woman, had been messaging me.

I had always been an anxious woman. Even though I hovered over this peculiar man my

height did nothing to suppress my racing thoughts.

“Charlotte. Please come in. Come in. Sit.” I wanted to run. I managed a smile and

entered the uninviting room. Years of hoarding had only allowed for a small walking

space to the already half covered sofa. I graciously sat, he disappeared for a moment. My

eyes scanned the room. A familiarity started to calm me as I was drawn to the

knick-knacks lining the shelves. It was as though I had seen them all before.

I had no memory of ever being in this home, nothing made sense.

My thoughts were disrupted by the sound of voices. An elderly woman appeared at the

doorway and behind her, Renee, holding the green velvet dress.

“Hello, so your the new owner of my beautiful dress. Morag.” She held out a trembling

wrinkled hand. Her grip was strong, even if she did appear frail.

“Charlotte.” I nodded back at her.

“With red hair like that, you don’t look like a Charlotte. You will look stunning my

dear.” She turned to caress the dress in Renee’s hands. “I could tell you so many

stories.” she hesitated, drifting away in to her thoughts. I stood quickly, I noticed her

swaying as she leaned into her walking stick. I ushered her onto the sofa. She continued

to speak. A smile covered her face and her blue eyes seemed to sparkle. The memories

flooded back to her. She pointed up to the photos that lined the wall behind her. Most

were black and white but one stood out. A red haired woman in the green velvet dress.

She was so beautiful, Charlotte felt an instant connection with her.

“You?” Charlotte questioned.

“No, this dress was my daughters, her name was Myra. I remember the day we went

shopping for it. It was such a happy day, she was so excited about her graduation. She

would be 50 now, wouldn’t she Renee?” Renee nodded silently.

“I am so sorry for your loss, Morag.”

“It was 30 years ago! We never found out what happened to her, she went missing.”

Tears filled her eyes. “That’s enough now mam, your upsetting yourself. Best we let the

lady go.” Renee handed me the dress, I offered the money, he shrugged it off. “Don’t

worry about it, it's a blessing we got to meet you. Your the spitting image of my sister and

you brought a bit of sunshine back into our lives. Even if there was a few tears.” I shook

Morags hand. “Goodbye” I whispered “Take care” Renee waved me off at the door.

The long drive home was filled with mixed emotions. It felt wrong taking the dress,

now that I knew the story behind it. I thought of my own daughter, age 5, but imagined

how awful it would be, were she never to return home.

I pulled into my Mothers drive way. A small 2 bedroom cottage was all she had ever

owned. I loved the childhood memories and the fact that at the age of 30 I could still

come home when I needed too. I couldn’t wait to tell her about my day.

I was greeted with hugs and kisses, from my two favourite people in the world.

“Lets see your dress on,” They both screamed at me in excitement.

It fitted perfectly, smelled a little musty but just needed to be dry cleaned. I strolled into

the kitchen as if I was on the cat walk. Neve danced around me,”So pretty mummy.”

My mothers expression left me speechless, it was as if she had seen a ghost.

“Mum, mum are you ok?” My mother headed for the bathroom, "Sorry ,I have a bad

stomach." she cried out, as she left abruptly.

I settled Neve down in front of the t.v. I Knocked quietly on the bathroom door. “Whats

wrong mum, please let me in.”

“Just something I ate” she muttered in between sobs.

“Please” I begged but she went silent.

I returned to the lounge but suddenly felt the urge to look at her old photo books.

She had very few photos. She never spoke about her parents, never spoke about any

family members. My father was never mentioned. I accepted it that way. “We are

happy, why bring up the past.” she would say. There it was, my dress on a beautiful red

head, the same red haired girl who’s photo adorned the wall of Morag and Renee’s

cluttered home. Now I understood, the pieces fell in to place. But the questions came to

me, one after another, overwhelming my already anxious brain. My mother was the

missing daughter! Why would she have disappeared all those years ago. Why leave her

family in such pain for all these years. Anger, disappointment, confusion, filled me.

“Come on Neve, time to go home.” I collected our stuff and left. It was that simple.

She chose to lock herself away in the bathroom. I didn’t care.

The week went by, it was strange, I didn’t phone her , she didn’t phone me. I had never

known this loss. I thought we had such a strong mother and daughter relationship. She

had kept secrets from me. From her own family. I had trusted her with my life but now I

had no idea who she was.

Two weeks later I found myself at Morags and Renees front door. I needed to tell them

the truth. Well at least what I knew. Their daughter was alive. She was my mother. She

had two weeks to come clean but I never heard from her. Now it was up to her Mother

and brother to find the truth out.