Having to lead the funeral for a rich woman named Eleanor changed Father Michael’s life for good. He leaned over her coffin to say a prayer and saw that she had the same strange scar on her neck as he did. This chance find set him on a path to learn more about himself and find answers about his strange past.
As Father Michael looked into the case more, he met with Eleanor’s kids and asked for a DNA test to see if they were connected. The results proved what he already thought: he was Eleanor’s son, who had been given up for adoption a long time ago.
Father Michael was having a hard time processing this new information because it made him feel a lot of different things. He was sad, angry, and thankful at the same time. He wondered why his mother had given up on him and if she had thought of him since then.
Before he met Eleanor’s close friend Margaret, Father Michael didn’t fully understand the background of his adoption. Margaret told them that Eleanor got pregnant when she was young and scared, and that she had to make the hard choice to give up her son for adoption so that her family wouldn’t judge him.
When Father Michael heard what Margaret had to say, he felt calm again. He understood that his mum had made the choice because she loved him and wanted the best for him. He learnt that she had never forgotten about him and had been following his life behind his back all these years.
When Father Michael finally met Eleanor’s family and learnt more about his mother’s life, he felt like he had peace and a place in the world. He learnt to value the things she had given up for him and the love she had always had for him. As he stood at her grave, he mumbled words of thanks and forgiveness. He was finally at peace with his past.
