My name is Matthew, and for most of my childhood, I believed my family was perfect. It was simple but warm. My parents, Chlóe and Richard, seemed inseparable — at least, that’s how it appeared in my innocent world. My father ran a mechanic shop in a quiet village in Tuscany, and my mother stayed home to care for me. As their only child, I was their world, and I thought nothing could tear our little family apart.
But one day, everything changed, like a lightning bolt splitting a calm sky. My father was suddenly fired from his job, and though I didn’t understand the details at the time, I could feel the tension in the air. His laughter faded, and a heavy silence settled over our house. Though he found another job, it was clear the stress weighed on him. Money became scarce, and nights were filled with shouting and the sound of smashing plates. I would hide under my blankets, trembling, wishing for peace.
Then came the final blow. My father discovered that my mother had been secretly seeing another man. Our home, once filled with warmth, became a battlefield. The arguments were endless, and finally, my father walked out, leaving us behind. I begged my mother to let me see him, but she would always shout, “It’s his fault, Matthew! He abandoned us!” Her words hurt, but they didn’t erase my longing for my father.
One cold morning, my mother came to me with a bright smile, one I hadn’t seen in a long time. “Pack your things, sweetheart, we’re going to the sea!” she said. My heart leaped with excitement. The sea! It felt like a dream. She quickly packed some clothes into an old suitcase, and when I tried to bring my toy trains, she stopped me. “We’ll buy you new ones there,” she promised.
We arrived at the bus station, bustling with people. After buying the tickets, she said we needed to make a quick stop. We boarded an old, creaky bus that rattled its way down the road. I daydreamed about the beach, imagining the waves and the castles I would build. Eventually, the bus stopped in front of a decaying building, its walls peeling and windows fogged.
“Wait here, Matthew,” she said, pointing to a bench outside. “I’m going to get you an ice cream. Don’t move.”
I nodded, sitting on the cold bench, waiting for her to return. Time seemed to drag on, and the sun began to set, the wind growing colder. Fear slowly crept in. I called out for her, but my voice was lost in the growing darkness. I fell asleep, alone, shivering on the bench.
When I woke up, I was no longer outside. I was in a warm bed. Confused, I opened my eyes to find myself in a strange room. My heart raced. “Mom?” I called, hoping she had returned.
The door opened, and there stood my father, with a woman I didn’t recognize.
“Dad! Where’s Mom? She went to get ice cream, and now she’s gone!” I asked frantically.
My father sat next to me, his face full of sadness. He took my hand gently and said the words that would forever change me: “Matthew, your mother abandoned you. She’s gone. And she’s not coming back.”
It felt like the world had collapsed beneath me. My mother had abandoned me? No, mothers didn’t do that. I cried, shouting that it wasn’t true, that she had promised. But my father held me close and repeated, “She’s not coming back, son.”
Years passed, and my father and I moved to Positano, a coastal town by the sea. He eventually married a kind woman named Usúla, and although I kept my distance at first, I began to accept her. Then, a baby brother, Denny, was born, and for the first time, I understood what a real family felt like — warm, peaceful, safe.
My father told me more over the years. After my mother abandoned me, she called him the next day, coldly telling him where I was and then hanging up. Her parental rights were revoked, and I never heard from her again.
Time moved forward. I graduated, got a great job, and was able to buy my own apartment in Positano. But one stormy evening, everything changed again. As I was walking home from work, I saw a figure sitting on a bench outside my building. A chill ran down my spine. The woman looked up and whispered, “Matthew…”
“I’m your mother,” she said, her voice trembling.
I froze. She looked older, worn down — a stranger.
“Why now? After all these years?” I asked, feeling a mix of anger and disbelief.
I called my father and Usúla, and they arrived quickly. Their presence calmed my nerves.
“It’s your choice, son… if you believe she deserves a place in your life,” my father said gently.
I looked at her, the woman who had left me all those years ago, and all I felt was emptiness. The buzzer rang, and my father went to answer the door. She tried to follow him, but I stood up and said, “You’re not my mother. My mother is the one who raised me, who stayed when you ran. I don’t want your excuses. Leave. And don’t come back.”
She broke into tears, but I didn’t move. She turned and disappeared into the night.
I turned to my father and Usúla, and with all the strength I had, I hugged them. “I love you. Thank you… for everything.”
They were my family. My home. My truth.
And her? Just a ghost from a past I’d already outgrown.
Lessons Learned:
Don’t abandon your children. They didn’t ask to be born; you brought them here. The least they deserve is your love.
Family is made not by bl00d, but by those who stay, who love, and who choose to be there through thick and thin.
I, Matthew, know this better than anyone.