NEVER TOUCHED WHAT WASNT MINE
As a schoolgirl, Martha always looked down on and, at the same time, envied Annabel. She felt contempt because Annabels parents were hopelessly lost to drink, scraping by on odd jobs and barely able to afford lifes essentials. Annabel often went to school hungry, dressed in threadbare clothing, carried a certain sadness around her, and seemed weighed down by her troubles. Her father would sometimes hit herfor drinking too little, for drinking too much, for any excuse at all, really. Her mother, afraid of her husbands heavy hand, never defended her daughter.
Annabels only source of warmth and kindness was her grandmother. Every month, with her modest pension, Granny would give her beloved granddaughter a little wage for being well-behaved. Annabel knew that, even if shed been naughty, her nan would pretend not to notice and still slip her the money. Five poundsa tiny fortune to Annabel. That was the happiest day of her month! Shed dash to the corner shop, buy an ice lolly (one for herself and one for her grandmother), some fudge, and a few sweets. Each time she hoped to ration the treats throughout the month, but in two days, theyd be gone.
Whenever that happened, Granny would fetch her own ice lolly from the freezer and say,
Have this, my love. My throats a little sore today.
Strange, Annabel always thought, Grannys throat only ever bothers her the day my sweets run out Shed secretly look forward to her grandmother sharing.
Marthas family, by contrast, had everything. Their home lacked for nothing. Her parents held respectable jobs and doted on their only daughter, keeping her in the latest fashions. The girls at school sometimes borrowed Marthas things to look as chic as she did. She never wanted for food, warmth, or love.
Yet, Martha envied Annabels captivating beauty, the warmth she seemed to radiate, and her effortless way with people. Martha considered it beneath her to even speak to Annabel. When they met, Martha looked at her in such a way that Annabel felt she had stepped under an icy shower. Once, in front of everyone, Martha spat out,
Youre pathetic!
In tears, Annabel ran home and told her grandmother everything. Her nan sat her down, gently smoothing her hair.
Dont cry, my dear Annabel. Tomorrow, say to your bullier, “Youre rightI am with God.”
Annabel suddenly felt lighter.
Martha was attractive herself, but there was a chill to her beautyaloof and unapproachable. In their year, every girls favourite was Max: a slacker, a joker, always in trouble with homework but never caring about his marks or detentions. He exuded good cheer and optimism. Teachers, weary of sending Max outside for misbehaving and painting his report book red with low marks, nonetheless found it hard not to be fond of him.
By sixth form, Max had taken to walking Martha home after school. In the mornings, hed wait outside the gates to walk in with her and soak up the giggles and jeers:
Here come the bride and groom!
Even the teachers saw the spark between Martha and Max.
School ended with the sound of the final bell and a flurry of gowns at the leavers ball. The world opened up and their cohort scattered.
Martha and Max got married in a hurrylove had left its mark, plain for all to see, and not even Marthas extravagant wedding dress could hide it. Five months later, she gave birth to a little girl they named Sophie.
Annabel, after finishing school, found herself needing to work. Her grandmother had passed on; her parents, as ever, looked to their daughter for financial help. There were suitors, but she never met anyone who touched her soul or seemed to offer the fullness of life she craved. She decided not to rush into marriagetruthfully, she felt embarrassed by her familys drinking and didnt want to bring anyone near it.
Ten years slipped by.
In a waiting room of the local clinic were two pairs: Annabel with her mother, and Max with Martha. Annabel recognised Max at once: he had matured, a handsome man now. Martha, on the other hand, looked so frail and lost, hands shaking, eyes dulla woman aged far beyond her twenty-eight years.
Max gave Annabel an embarrassed, apologetic glance.
Hello, Annabel, classmate, he said, not wanting to be recognised by someone who knew his whole historyespecially not here.
Hello, Max. Looks like youve troubles, she said quietly, reading the room in a second.
A long time now, he admitted, eyes down.
A mother who drinks thats disaster. I know, Annabel said, reaching for the empathy she needed herself. My father died from it. My mother still battles it.
After that visit, Max and Annabel swapped numbersfor support, just in case. Struggles in common are, after all, easier to bear together. Max started to stop by Annabels house for adviceshe had more bitter experience to draw on than anyone. She shared what she had learned about living with addicted relatives, what helped, what never to do. She knew well: more men drown in drink than in the sea.
It wasnt long before Annabel discovered that Max had been living alone with Sophie for a whileMartha having moved in with her parents. Wanting to protect his daughter from Marthas unpredictable ways, Max had taken the little girl away. The turning point had come when Max returned from work to find Martha drunk on the floor and three-year-old Sophie standing on the wide windowsill, just steps from tumbling down four storeys!
Hed had his share of drama with Martha. The truth is, you cant see into anothers heartand Martha, bottom line, refused all help. She insisted it was all under control and she could stop any time. In reality, she was being dragged ever deeper into destruction. Eventually, their marriage ended.
Some time later, Max invited Annabel to dinner. There, over candlelight, he confessed that hed fancied her since school, but had always been afraid shed reject him. Then Martha became pregnant, life swept him along, and everything changed. Now, he saw their meeting at the clinic as fate.
Max asked Annabel to marry him. Finally, he had found the key to her heart. Annabel still liked him too, though shed never have crossed Marthas path while they were together. But now there was nothing in the way. Max was free and loved her. She had found a home for her love at last.
Max and Annabel wed quietly. Annabel moved in, and though at first Sophie was cautious about this new womanworried her father’s love might be dividedAnnabel soon wrapped the child in such kindness that Sophie wanted nothing more than to call her Mum. A couple of years later, Sophie gained a little sister named Maisie.
One day, the phone rang at their peaceful home. Annabel answered to findMartha. She only recognised her by her voice. The smell of spirits flooded in before Martha even spoke, and her haggard appearance said all there was to say about their old classmate.
You snake, you stole my husband and my daughter! No wonder Ive always hated you! Martha slurred.
Annabels face remained calm, dignified, and serene.
I have never taken what wasnt mine, she replied. You gave up your family, never understanding what you really had. Ive never spoken of you with cruelty. Truly, Martha, Im sorry for you
With that, Annabel quietly shut the door on her uninvited visitor.
Sometimes, life brings people into our path to teach us compassion or resilience, and sometimes, to remind us that happiness never comes from taking what belongs to another, but from kindness, patience, and staying true to oneself.
