Heathcliff’s search for belonging

A reimagining of Heathcliff's past, a most beloved character from the novel "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë.

Liverpool, 1771

My darling boy, my Hitesh,

I am most happy you are reading these lines, for it means you will finally know of your past. I must hurry because the dear Mr. Earnshaw will be here soon to pick you up – but let me find the words to tell you why I am giving you away.

Your father, my beloved Ravindra has been lost at sea for over a year now. He never returned from the last voyage he wanted to embark on, back to his home country, to receive his father’s blessing.

You see, Ravindra was from Cambay a port town in Gujarat, India. He had chartered on a British ship from Liverpool when he realised that his father had an arranged marriage in mind for him. To avoid his duty towards his family he fled aboard a vessel of the British East India Company. He knew that he degraded himself in status by becoming a lascar, but he was ready to work hard and see the world.

He walked into our tailor shop one day. He was such a handsome man. My father recognised Ravindra’s effect on me and immediately asked him to leave the shop. Ravindra came back a few times, always smart enough to avoid my father. Finally, one day he looked me in the eye and dropped a small piece of paper on my sewing work. In it, he declared his love for me and asked me to marry him. Marrying Ravindra meant losing all my family relations. Still, I said yes.

When Ravindra never returned from his journey the money he had left behind ran out. We have been living on the street for more than a year now. When Mr. Earnshaw saw us today and offered to help us I asked him to take you with him. I cannot believe the generosity of this good man.

I will give Mr. Earnshaw this letter to give to you when you are older, and I do hope sincerely that you will take it upon you to come looking for your old mother. Ask for me in my father’s shop on Derby Square. Hopefully, my family will know of my fate. I will always be waiting for you.

With all my heart,

your loving mother,

Emma Kelly

It was a stormy night in Liverpool when Heathcliff reached the city of his birth. After finding an inn to leave his belongings, he asked his way to Derby Square and stood in awe at the sight of his grandfather’s tailor shop. Inside there was only an old woman. She looked at him in surprise, as if no one ever intruded on her quiet contemplation. With a slight head shake she seemed to remember that she was running a shop and asked how she may help. Heathcliff forced a smile and asked for Emma Kelly.

“Emma is not in. Who are you?” The bluntness of the old lady appealed to Heathcliff, he had always hated the fake politeness of the people living in Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights.

“My name is Heathcliff, and I am looking for her because she might know about my past.”