Ellen was in her early twenties when she found out she was pregnant. She had a lover, but he ran away as soon as she told him the news. His parents quickly sent him to another city to study and told her he didn’t want the baby. Her mother also turned away from her. She just kicked her out of the house. She said she wouldn’t take her back with the baby.
Ellen was homeless. At least her girlfriends let her stay with them at first, but they all had their own concerns, so they started refusing her more and more often. When she was eight months pregnant, she had to live at the train station. There she met a woman who worked at a local cafe. She offered to do dishes in the kitchen before she gave birth, to earn a penny. She also said she would let her sleep indoors. Better than on a bench.
A few weeks later, Ellen became the mother of a wonderful baby boy. She cried day and night, because she understood that she would have to give him up. Along with the abandonment, she left a note:
«I’m sorry, son. I can’t take you away, because I have nowhere to live. I really want you to be happy!»
Ellen went back to the owner of the cafe and continued working for her.
Now Ellen looked nothing like the young girl who had once been homeless at the train station. She is well-groomed, bossy, and quite well-off. She bought the cafe after the death of the owner, and now she runs it herself. However, all these years she blames herself for giving up her son. She had no more children. Such a punishment of fate, perhaps.
One day a man came to her and said he had something serious to talk about. When Ellen saw him, she was dumbfounded. She realized from just one look that this was the man she had broken up with twenty-two years ago. It was her son!
«Hello. My name is Aleks. I am your son,» said the young man and held out a note,» written by Ellen.
«And how did you find me?» she whispered through her tears.
«It doesn’t matter anymore. I just knew from the note that you didn’t give me up for nothing. You must have had a very difficult time in your life. But I want to thank you for life and for the fact that I had a happy childhood. Even though my parents were poor, they never even considered abandoning me.»
After these words, the son left, and Ellen burst into tears, clutching the note in her hands. She knew that she could never forgive herself. It was her burden for life.
