While I was fourteen, my mother died of cancer. It made me feel lost and alone. But when my Aunt Cheryl offered to take me in, I felt like I had found a way to be saved. Her big, well-kept house looked like the right place to get away from my sadness. It was clear right away, though, that Cheryl’s goals were not at all good.
After getting used to my new life, I realised that Cheryl’s kindness came with a big cost. The only reason she took me in was to get my fortune, the money my mother left for me. Cheryl’s true character slowly came out as she treated me like a second-class person by putting me in a small, dirty upstairs room while her kids lived in comfort.
Cheryl was mean to me in other ways as well, not just about where I lived. She kept telling me how “lucky” I was to have a house over my head, which made me feel like a nuisance. Her kids did what she did and ignored me, teased me, and made me feel like I wasn’t there. I was stuck in a nightmare and had to keep quiet while Cheryl abused me.
But I clung to the hope that when I turned 18, I would finally be able to get my fortune and be able to leave Cheryl’s house for good. But as the months went by, it became clear that Cheryl was already buying expensive bags, taking trips, and fixing up her house with my money. I didn’t think I could stop her.
Until my sixteenth birthday, when a stranger knocked on the door. He was a lawyer working for the estate of my mother and had come to show Cheryl how greedy she was. He showed Cheryl the proof of her wrongdoings with cool determination, and her world started to fall apart.
In just a few days, I was taken from Cheryl’s house and given to a trusted family friend to care for. I felt safe and loved for the first time in two years. Cheryl, on the other hand, had to deal with the results of her actions: her image was ruined and she could no longer afford to live the way she used to.
When I think about that hard time, I remember how close I was to losing everything my mom had worked so hard to get for me. But I also learnt something important about being strong and fair. Things will always get better when the truth comes out, no matter how bad things look.
