When Thelma Harris was just one, her father, Thomas, abandoned her and her mother, Erin. A cheerful, vibrant woman, Erin was reduced to a desolate soul when Thomas left her, but she fought against the odds for little Thelma, who had a bright future ahead of her.
Professionally, Erin worked as a stewardess on international flights and was frequently away from home, so she couldn’t care for Thelma all the time. As such, she placed her in an orphanage run by the town’s church near her home in Atlanta, Georgia.
Thelma met a little girl at the orphanage who looked like her | Photo: Shutterstock Erin herself was an orphan, raised in an orphanage run by a Catholic church in Atlanta, and had attended a community school. Later, she took up a flight attendant course after graduating from university and became a stewardess.
She brought Thelma home only during her yearly vacations, and they spent time together. Other children in the orphanage were envious of this because even though Thelma spent most of her time in the orphanage, she at least had a mother who cared for her and loved her. But apart from Thelma, nobody knew how lonely she felt when her mother saw her only twice a year. She was mostly alone because none of the kids wanted to befriend her out of jealousy, and out of boredom, she developed an interest in painting.
When Thelma turned 16, painting also became the reason why she decided to take up the Arts in college. But Erin wasn’t in favor of it — she wanted her to take medicine, which led to a huge fight between the mother and daughter, resulting in their estranged relationship.