Albina caressed the photo longingly.
-Umberto, I miss my parents, I miss them so much.
She said in a trembling voice, she felt like she hadn’t seen her parents in a long time, so long that their appearance was a bit of a blur to her and she felt unreal when she saw the pictures.
Seeing her red, swollen eyes full of tears again, Umberto looked around, trying to find a tissue for her. But he discovered that they were in the dirty attic with nothing around.
He looked at the box and discovered that there was something inside, he spoke to divert Albina’s attention.
-Albina, look at the box, there is still something inside.
Umberto’s voice made Albina’s tears stop for a moment, she closed the adoption certificate and put it aside. She saw two thick journals inside.
After opening it, the first page was handwritten by her dad.
According to Albina’s recollection, Dad kept a diary almost every day and never stopped.
John liked to carefully write down all his daily experiences and feelings.
But Albina had never seen these two journals on her father’s desk.
The cover was a bit old, it looked many years old. The pages were also a bit yellowed.
When she opened the first page, it was Juan’s vigorous and powerful writing.
First, he noted that Marisa was unable to have children because she went into business with him and worked hard every day, which broke her health. His mother advised him to divorce Marisa and marry someone else.
But how could he do such a ruthless thing? Marisa was the woman he loved. Because he proposed to undertake a business venture, which caused his ill health. He would never let her down in this life.
So they discussed it for a long time and he decided to go to the orphanage to adopt a child.
Seeing this, Albina frowned. This was exactly the same thing grandmother said, she didn’t lie to her.
Then she looked down.
Juan wrote:
-When we first entered the orphanage, the director put a lot of information about the children in front of us. Marisa and I fell in love with Albina at a glance. This little girl is very beautiful, but her eyes are full of confusion AND panic. The director said the girl was left at the entrance of the orphanage, with a blow to the back of the head. She lost all memory, only knowing that her name was Albina. Besides, she was different from other children, after entering the orphanage, no crying, no trouble, no talking, no laughing.
-Marisa and I followed the director to see this little girl. Other children are playing in the yard. She is sitting in the room, her figure small and full of loneliness. The director said that if we adopt Albina, we must be prepared. Maybe because her head was hit, it may have an impact on her future life. After Marisa saw this little girl, she was silent on the road, then she went into the director’s office and decided to adopt her directly.
-Later, Marisa told me that when she saw the girl’s eyes, she wanted to protect her and let her have a stable life. I didn’t tell her, I also thought the same thing when I saw Albina for the first time….
Albina’s eyes were a little wet, she turned to the second page with trembling and there was a picture at the top.
She was wearing a small skirt and her mother was holding her in her arms, the person who took the picture should be her father.
The writing was still vigorous and powerful, I could see the excitement and enthusiasm between the lines.
-Today is the day we adopt Albina. This child is destined for us. Even the last name is the same as mine. It must be that God feels sorry for her and sends her into our arms. We have a little princess!
The following were the idle words, just like what the baby looked like on social media. But I could feel the warmth when they look at the text.
Next were records of the daily life of the Juan and Marisa raising Albina.
It was the first time they became parents and they knew nothing. They learned experience everywhere, many complicated situations happened to them.
Turning page by page, Albina looked at these diaries, as if she could see the scenes when her parents were taking care of her back then.
The diary said that her parents had always been worried about her mental health. Because they didn’t know what happened to her in the past, what shadows she had in her heart. Because of that, they were careful in everything they did, for fear of irritating her.
Albina immediately remembered that when she was very young, she often had vague memories of her parents taking her to see a psychiatrist.
When Albina laughed for the first time, Juan wrote excitedly:
-Albina finally learned to laugh. Marisa and I were right, when this little girl laughs, it is as if the sky is clearing after the rain and the sun is coming out, it is warm and beautiful.
In the diary, it was also recorded that Juan and Marisa donated money to the orphanage every year.
Her memories emerged little by little. When she was a child, her parents often took her to help at the orphanage, but when she grew up, they did not take her there.
Perhaps he feared that when she grew up, he would be suspicious because of this. So he took her to the orphanage somewhat less frequently and the annual donation continued until the year her father died.
He recorded how Dad felt when he went to the orphanage.
He wrote kindly:
-The children at the orphanage are like Albina, they are all little angels. I hope they can meet people who care for them and love them too.
These two diaries recorded a lot, only up to the second, last page.
Juan wrote:
-Albina has grown up, she doesn’t know she is an adopted child and I am not going to tell her. In the future, I will keep these and the adoption certificate together. Albina just needs to be the little princess of the Espina Family. Just grow up happily, that’s enough.
Closing the diary, Albina’s tears finally could not be controlled, they fell and she burst into sobbing tears.
Umberto went downstairs while she read the diary.
Juan’s diary could only be read by Albina.
He already knew Albina would cry when he brought her the handkerchief, but he did not expect her to cry so sadly. The small figure crouched there, hugging her knees, crying so hard that the sobs overflowed.
Umberto rushed over, took her in his arms and comforted her, stroking her back:
-Don’t cry, Albina, don’t cry.
He took out a handkerchief and wiped away her tears. Then, new tears came out. No matter how she wiped them away, it was incessant.
Umberto pressed her face directly against his chest.
Albina lay in his arms, hugging his waist tightly and crying.
He had no idea how long it took, Albina finally stopped crying, her voice was hoarse and her eyes were too puffy.
Umberto was still the same as before, stroking her back, as if he wasn’t tired.
-I’m fine,” she lifted her head from Umberto’s arms in a hoarse voice.
Umberto saw his puffy eyes, he felt distressed and amused. He packed the box, held it with one hand and took Albina down the stairs with the other.
He let Albina sit on the couch, then went to the bathroom to get water and two towels. One to clean her hands and face, the other to apply to her eyes.
Albina leaned back on the couch and let him foster her eyes.
He didn’t know what she was thinking, after a long time, he said:
-Umberto, my parents are very good people.
Just as Umberto took the towel from her face, she stopped her hand and said with a smile:
-Yes, they are very good people.
He thanked them very much, gave Albina a complete home and raised her with love.
After Umberto finished speaking, something occurred to him, he looked at Albina and asked:
-You, now that you know that you are adopted, have you thought that…?
He didn’t finish his sentence, but Albina understood what he meant and shook her head directly:
-No, in my heart, they are my parents, the parents who are closer than my biological parents. As for…
He paused, gritted his teeth and said:
-As for my biological parents, they haven’t looked for me for so many years, maybe they already have other children and have forgotten about my existence. So I will not join this.
When Juan and Marisa adopted her, they didn’t even change her name. If they really wanted to look for her, they should have found her after so many years.
Also, Juan wrote in a page of his diary that because he was worried about Albina’s psychological problems at that time, he also went to the police station and asked them to pay attention to those who were looking for the girl named Albina.
But so many years passed, no one had found the Thorn Family, which was enough to explain everything.