The Lost Son of Castleton

The Lost Son of Castleton

Wednesday February 13 2019 mrs. Bates, my mum, sent a message to my brothers, Len and Al: "We need to chat". The entire family agreed on meeting at mums house the following Saturday afternoon. Only Al's wife was not able to be there due to work.

Mum sat down the family and began to tell what had happened. Len interrupted, learning what it was all about, telling he already knew they had another brother they thought had passed away. Dad had told him years ago, but asked him not to bring up the subject again, as it always had been a great pain in mums heart. Len had kept this promise. Al, who is not at Facebook, had somehow heard the stir in the town about my name, so he had googled my name and found a picture. He then knew for sure, that we were related. He just couldn't figure out how. A stone fell of the chest of my mum, and after she had explained to everyone what happened, everybody was full of understanding, joy and happiness.

The lost son everybody thought had died had "returned"; the lost son of Castleton.

I for my part was sitting at home in my house in Denmark. Never have I ever felt time pass by this slow. It was like everything went slowmotion. I had to go outside to get some fresh air, but didn't want to go too far away from my computer, as I had made the deal with mum, that if the family wished to make a videocall, I would be ready.

My brothers were happy, but felt they need time to think what to say to me. Next morning I received a nice long email from Al welcoming me into the family and introducing me to his own family and life story. We have been emailing several times a day since. It is so lovely, but I still can't wait to talk with him.

Yesterday my older brother, Len, wrote a post at his Facebook wall introducing me and the story to his friends. Everyone has been amazed. Reading his entry i choked up and tears ran from my eyes. I am not a emotional person, but his entry moved me. 

I cannot describe how much their welcoming has ment to me. As an adoptee with the story of a foundling, searching for the biological family is always with a big unsecureness. Once abandoned, the fear of re-rejection is overhanging. To find the true story my life has already been mind changing. I not never have imagined anything like this. 

The adoption stories

The story my adoptive parents were told while adopting me, was following: 

I was found in a babycarriage on the doorway to a childrens hospital in Seoul with a note of my name and birthday. I was very ill from tuberculosis and was perhaps abandoned due to medical costs of treatment. 

The story from the korean adoption file:

In Januar 2019 I received a copy of my adoption file from South Korea. This gave the information, I was found laying in the roadside at Paju-Kun at this following address: Geummaru 4(sa)-gil, Papyeong-myeon, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do. Paju-Kun a village few miles from the border of North Korea.