The lost time

Lily doesn't remember her father. Her mother said that he had left when she was a baby. One day she told the whole story to Lily. She told her that her father said that he would stay if her mother had taken her to an orphanage. And she chose Lily. She had grown up in an orphanage herself and had to go through situations beyond her imagination. So, she never wanted her daughter to face the same situations. She told Lily that she had no family other than her.

She felt sad for her mother and was grateful to her. She also loved her so much, although she was a little quirky. One day, she was telling about her school at the dining table. She said that one of her teachers was so nice. Her mom heard it and stopped her. She told Lily that it sounded like she wished her teacher was her mom instead of her. Lily quickly said that it was not like that and added that she loved her mom so much. But she got even angrier and told her to stop lying to her. Lily was so shocked at her behavior.

Her mom was jealous even of her friends. If she mixed with any girl and looked happy her mom forbade her to mix with that girl again. Like this one day, she was talking with her school friends in front of their house. And her mother saw it. She immediately appeared there and ordered Lily to go home right then. Her friends were also shocked at her this kind of behavior. When Lily came home, her mother was angry and told her that she was not allowed to talk to those girls anymore. Lily tried to convince her and said that they were her friends. But she didn't listen to her and said that if she had loved her, she would do as she said. Lily loved her mom and so could not say 'no' to her.

And the older she got, the more her mother limited her. She had passed schools then and was to choose a college. But she could not decide and went to her mom. She told her that she didn't know which college to go to. Her mom said that she knew Lily would want to abandon her and move away. Lily said that her future depended on it. And without a second thought, her mom titled her selfish.

One morning, she realized that she could not open the door of her room. She asked herself what was going on and called her mom. She came but didn't open it. She told her that she was not going to let her out until she promised she won't leave her. Lily cried and begged her mom to unlock the door.

That's when she realized that it was not happening right with her, so she decided that she should run away. She waited till nightfall and climbed out of the window when her mother was asleep. She wandered the streets till dawn, thinking what to do next. She knew that she could not go back home. She was still walking and suddenly saw a woman who stared at her with a shocked expression. Lily was getting nearer to her and thought if she was another lunatic.

"Excuse me", Lily said, "Do we know each other?" The woman said that she hoped to God they do. Then she asked Lily if she was 17. She was and said 'yes'. She asked her why she was asking. She replied that it may sound strange, but her daughter who was kidnapped from her 17 years ago had Lily's eyes and the same heart-shaped birthmark on her neck.

Lily could not believe it, but her heart was telling her to hear the woman out. They sat at a bench and the woman said how 17 years earlier she turned away for just one second and her daughter vanished. Her husband could not bring himself to forgive her and left her saying that it was her fault that they lost their daughter. She cried a lot for losing a happy family: her daughter and husband.

But all these years she never lost hope, she had been looking for her daughter all around the country. She believed that she would find her. Lily agreed to get a DNA test, and it all turned out to be true. The woman who had been calling Lily her daughter had kidnapped her. And the doctor confirmed that the woman she met on street was her biological mother. The mother as well as the daughter was so happy with the news.

When the police came and arrested the kidnapper mom, Lily asked her why she had done that. She replied that she just wanted to be a mom, but she was infertile. Lily got angry and said that she was not only an awful human being, but also a horrible mother. She got angry and addressed Lily as an ungrateful brat.

However, many years have passed since then, and Lily was glad God gave her and her real mom a chance to make up for the lost time.