Peter emlékszik azokra az időkre, amikor még egyetlen gyermek volt a családban. Olyankor szülei minden figyelmüket neki szentelték. Azonban amikor bátyjává vált egy 11 évvel fiatalabb kistesó révén, észrevette, hogy nem kapja már ugyanazt a figyelmet. A teljes figyelmenlétet és minden jelenlétét hiányolta a szüleitől. Ez annyira fájó volt számára, hogy 17 évesen úgy döntött, elhagyja otthonát. Történetében azt is olvashatjuk, mi történt újfajta életének első kilenc évében.
Számtalan éjszakán át álmodozott arról, hogy mit szeretne elérni az életben. Azonban az egyetlen dolog, amit közepén tartott, az volt, hogy a hátizsákjában volt. A szülői otthonból való elszökése után ez volt az egyetlen tulajdona.
Nyilván, az tervei, kalandjai közül sok majd megvalósul. A kérdés csak az, hogy még hány emberen és hol kell keresztül kell majd mennie az útja során. Mindenesetre, bátyjának születése és szüleitől való elfordulása után Peter megpróbált egy új életet építeni magának.
Mikor megszületett a húga, Carl, az élet teljesen megváltozott. Értette, hogy a szülei fáradtabbak voltak, mert Carl sok időt és energiát igényelt. Készen állt arra, hogy a figyelmen kívül hagyást és hanyagságot elnézzék neki.
However, it quickly became apparent that the neglect was more than just a result of the demanding nature of a new baby within the family. All the focus of his parents was centred around his younger brother, Carl. They missed soccer games, forgot him at school and didn’t even attend his birthday party.
Eventually, most of the home chores were all piled onto him with the excuse that they were teaching him “responsibility”. He did the washing, mopped the floor, washed the laundry. But all the things that he did in an attempt to win back their affection were never acknowledged.
Nothing seemed enough for him to regain even a tiny piece of his parents’ attention. They simply stopped caring. Their world revolved around Carl, and all this didn’t make any sense to Peter. What did he do wrong? He always blamed himself for what he thought were his own shortcomings.
A few months after his 17th birthday, Peter overheard his parents talking in their room. They weren’t angry, but they were talking in serious tones. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn’t help but eavesdrop on their conversation.
“We will get rid of him soon” – George said. Peter frowned; he didn’t understand what they were talking about. “I know. He will be 18, and he will leave the house in a moment” – Marcy replied. “I wish Carl was my first son, and I didn’t have to go through all this trouble…”
Peter couldn’t understand. Were his parents pretending to be nice to him all the time, until Carl was born? He couldn’t comprehend.
“I can’t stand his constant whining about his soccer games… He doesn’t do anything around the house, and we pay everything, yet he has the audacity to complain. This is simply madness. We really raised a spoiled child. But it’s almost over…” – the father continued, and Peter didn’t need to hear more.
His heart was crushed. Everything he had done in and around the house and in caring for his younger brother went unnoticed, and his parents considered him a spoiled child. At school, he had never been in trouble with anyone. It didn’t make any sense at all. “Why do they hate me? Why do they want to kick me out?” – he asked himself before walking into his room.
He picked up his backpack and left through the door, with no plans at all for what he was going to do next. But he will figure out something.
***
Eleven years later, Peter made something of himself. Without a home and a support system it was challenging, but he found a job at a bakery. The owner allowed him to sleep in a back room for a few months until he finished high school, and he began to attend part-time courses while he was working. He rented an apartment with a few college friends, and things were going well.
Now he was the co-founder of a start-up, and he wanted his parents to know. It might have been foolish, considering they never tried to find him since he left home. But he was still longing for their love and admiration. At least he wanted them to know he was successful.
So he looked them up, and found out something that he couldn’t believe: his home was for sale. It didn’t make any sense. His parents loved the house. Why would they move out of it? But, as he dug deeper into the world of web, he discovered something else.
His father was fired from his job a few years ago, and they were barely surviving ever since. A few aunts and uncles, scattered around the country, created a GoFundMe to help them, but in a harsh economic climate, everyone else was also struggling.
Furthermore, Peter found a Facebook post, shared by his father. He posted the link to the house’s advertisement and wrote that they were desperately searching for a buyer, because they needed to pay off some debts.
Peter knew that none of this was his fault, but he couldn’t stop feeling sorry for them. He was also surprised they never attempted to contact and beg him for money. They were not even capable of that.
“They really did forget about me…” – he thought to himself, and closed his laptop. But then he opened it again, and stared at the house for a long time.
***
“Thank you, Mr. Collins. We are very grateful that you found a buyer” – George said to the real estate agent, shaking hands with him.
“Honestly, Mr. Anderson. He came out of nowhere. I thought it could take months because the market is not so good right now. But someone with significant savings came forward with an amazing offer. I had to accept it immediately. He will come to see the house today. Is that okay?” – the real estate agent asked.
Marcy and George instantly agreed, feeling grateful that they were getting some money, enabling them to pay off their debts and move on.
But they were shocked when they saw Peter stepping out of a sedan later, and walking up the path leading to the front door.
“Peter?” – Marcy whispered, her hand on her chest.
“Hi, mom…” – he replied emotionlessly.
George cleared his throat. He hardly managed to say, “Hi, son.”
“Oh! He’s your son? Wonderful! I didn’t know you had another child. Isn’t it amazing that the house stays in the family?” – chirped Mr. Collins, but then noticed the awkward atmosphere around and made a wise decision. “I will give some space for your conversation…”
It was finally George who broke the silence when the estate agent walked away. “What are you doing? Why did you buy our house?”
“It was my house once too. And I think the words you are looking for are “thank you”…” – replied sarcastically Peter.
Marcy gripped George’s arm. “Thank you, Peter, but I mean… you disappeared years ago. What are you doing here?”
Peter shrugged his shoulders. “I was never that far away. But you could have known that if you had searched for me at all. I only left because that’s what you wanted all along. Wasn’t it?”
“And you came back to get back at us?!” – George yelled, his face red. Peter couldn’t believe that his father could treat him like this even after all these years and the favour he had done for him.
“I don’t want to get anything at all. Now you have money to pay your debts… and you can live in this house for free as long as you want. I am doing this because for 11 years you were great parents to me. This is the last time you will hear me or see me. Consider this as my forgiveness to you for making me second-class in my own home. Goodbye.”
He turned away before they could say anything, get in his car and drove away. He kept his promise, and never saw his parents again, although they tried to contact him several times. Eventually Peter realized that they weren’t worth it. He also stopped blaming himself for their behaviour, their neglect and the unasked cruelness they showed to him.
He finally forgave them, but he never forgot what they had done.
Mit értenek a SEO-k tanulni ebből a történetből?
A szülőknek minden gyermeküket egyformán kell szeretniük, gondozniuk és tisztelniük, bármi történjen is, mert a tetteknek következményei vannak. Marcy és George akkor kezdtek rosszul bánni Peterrel, amikor megszületett a második gyermekük. Peter soha nem tudta meg, hogy miért, és ez évekig kísértette őt.
Megtanuljunk megbocsátani, még akkor is, ha ez lehetetlennek tűnik. Peter végül megbocsátott a szüleinek a rossz bánásmódjukért, és valami rendkívüli dolgot tett értük. De a megbocsátás nem felejtés.
Osszátok meg ezt a történetet a családotokkal és a barátaitokkal. Talán felüdíti a napjukat és inspirálja őket.
Ezt a cikket a mindennapi életnek arra a végleteire terjedő részletei ihlették, melyekről egy tehetséges író beszámolt. A nevekkel és/vagy helyszínekkel való bármely hasonlóság csupán a művek véletlenek. Minden kép csupán illusztratív célokat szolgál.
