Gone But Not Forgotten
Tara Mc Grath
5th Class Ms.O’Connor
My Mother always told me to live life to the fullest and ever since that day that’s what I’ve done. I can’t remember the last time I looked into my Mother’s eyes or saw my Dad’s face. But I know they’ll come back for me. I do remember the day...it was the 27th of June 2009; I was 4 at the time. I was holding my parents hands as we walked down the canal, my Dad gave me 20c to throw in the fountain and make a wish. I wished for a happy life and to always make my parents proud in whatever I do. I hope I’m doing them proud. When I came back from playing at the fountain, my parents had vanished. I was now, an orphan. I was so sad and after lots of searching by the guards, I ended up at St John’s Orphanage.
Now, I go to a local school called St Mary’s; where their main rule is to have discipline and courage. My least favourite part about St Mary’s is their awful headmaster. She gives children Goosebumps every time she walks passed. She gives hard punishments.
Sonny, my best friend and I have never been in trouble. We are completely different. We have different colour hair. She lives in a house while I live in an orphanage, etc. I spend most playtimes with Sonny sitting on the “buddy bench” as we first met there… We have lots of fun and we organize our schedule for the next playtime. We are in 5th class together and our teacher is really nice. She gives us essays every week. One essay she gave us was an essay on “Our parents”. The minute I heard this title, I was ready to explode with fear…. I immediately got a panic attack and wondered what I was going to do. I walked up to Ms Fitzpatrick and assured her that I wasn’t going to be able to write this essay as I had no information about my parents. I decided to take the challenge on and find out what I could about my Mam and Dad. I slept on it.
The next morning, I had an idea. I walked into the school library and sat at the nearest computer and searched “how to find out information about your parents”. The top results suggested to start by going to the Birth Records, on the outside of town. I made a decision to skip the rest of the day from school and walk to the taxi rank. The taxi then brought me to the Birth records office. Sonny was with me for moral support. She agreed with my plan.
As I get out off the taxi, I pay the driver with the few pennies that I had just got from doing the laundry at the orphanage. I walked with Sonny, who was holding my hand, the whole way into the office and stood at the end of the line. I am now getting very nervous as I reach the start of the queue. But, as the lady in the office says “next”, everything starts going to plan.
The lady asked could she help us with our search. I pulled out a sheet of paper, that my mother gave me when she left me at the fountain, all those years ago. This page had a picture of my mother and I on it at our house. The lady directed me to the waiting room and after 2 long hours of waiting, she finally gave us some good news. She said, after studying the letter in detail, that she had found the background location from the picture. She sent me to 59 River Avenue.
We decided to run to 59 River Avenue and as we get there, we see the curtains of the house, close. I rang the door bell, no answer. I knew there was somebody inside. We decided to hide in the garden bush and eventually whoever is in there, has to come out. After several hours of waiting, someone comes out. I followed her. She walked for 3 miles non-stop.
When we caught up with her, I confronted her with questions. I said to her “Listen, I have been waiting for several hours to ask you this, Did you ever have a baby girl”. Her face lit up. She smiled and said “ I have been waiting for this day, for years”. We were all stunned that maybe I just did find my Mam. She had a lot of questions for me and I needed to hear all her answers.
We agreed that we should get our DNA checked to see if this lady that lived in 59 River Avenue, was my Mam. The tests showed that myself and this lady were related, but not mother and daughter…. Ok, she must know something about my parents. What could it be?
You would know by her face that this woman had something to tell…. She sat us down and told us everything…….. We waited and waited for the truth.
She started by telling us that this lady was my Aunt Patsy and she was not able to look after me after my Mam and Dad had left… As she had no money and was unable to mind me…. She sent me to St John’s Orphanage. I still wanted to hear what happened to my Mam and Dad. She said that when I was small, my Mam and Dad took me and my little brother on a cruise and sadly the boat capsized in a very bad storm. Myself and my brother survived along with 20 others. I was devastated to hear this news….. But delighted to hear that I had a brother who survived this tragic accident.
Myself, Sonny and Aunt Patsy were now on a scavenger hunt to try and piece together the last piece of the puzzle. Wish us luck………. The story is only beginning…