having him there. Sophie knew that sometimes the only thing to do was forge ahead.
“Where was I born?”
Her mother’s popped her head up in surprise. Shaking her head, she stood, as if flabbergasted by the simple question. “You were born here. Of course. Why would you ask such a ridiculous thing? I never!”
“Well, Henri said he heard you mention to his mother that maybe I was born somewhere else….” She didn’t want to drag Henri into this, but she also wanted to be sure. Her mother’s reaction did feel quite strange.
“Henri. Oh, well … you know how mothers talk. I … um … tea? Would you like some tea?” She clapped her hands at the idea.
“No tea. Why are you acting so odd? What is the big deal? I don’t particularly care where I was born, but it’s odd if you kept it from me.”
“Well. In that case. I suppose you weren’t technically born here, per se.” Her mother glanced at Henri. “What all did you hear, boy?”
“What do you think I heard?” he responded smartly. Sophie looked at him and smiled. His comeback won him a few points.
“So, I wasn’t born here? Technically? You are making it rather confusing.” Sophie asked, standing next to her mother.
“Well, technically….”
“Technically, where was I born, then?” Sophie stared at her mother incredulously. The idea of being born somewhere else meant she’d lived somewhere besides this small village. It meant she’d lived more than she knew.
“Technically … I don’t know. What’s important is that I have you, and your father loved you so. That is all that matters.”
“How could you not know? That makes no logical sense. Where did you give birth to me?” Sophie pressed, her words growing icy.
“That’s the thing. I mean, the question I wanted to avoid. Technically, I didn’t give birth to you.”
“Technically who did then?” Sophie was now frozen over, completely. No warmth came from her as she heard her mother’s delicate story. She turned stone cold.
“I don’t know,” she said, then threw her arms in the air, as though saying it out loud gave her a relief she had waited for.
“You don’t know?” Sophie squawked at the woman who suddenly felt a stranger. “What does that even mean?”
“I’m so sorry, Sophie. I don’t know. I wanted a baby and then there you were. The only condition in taking you was to go away as far as possible and never return. So your father and I did that. It was like a gift from the heavens. The Saints looked upon me and knew I wanted a child and then you arrived.” Tears streaked her mother’s cheeks as she revealed a hidden history to her daughter.
“You lied. All those years you lied. To my face. Father too. I deserved to know the truth.” Sophie stated. She spoke with calculated composure. The part that offended her the most was the deception.
“But you must have known somewhere deep inside. You always held back. You never said I love you, or gave hugs and kisses like the other children your age.” The tears kept flowing; creating a river that divided the two women. Sophie’s face remained still as stone.
“Maybe I never gave them because you spent my childhood lying to me.” Her eyes were glacial, looking at this woman who had become a stranger so quickly with not a speck of hear break.
“I’m so sorry, Sophie. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“But you did.”
“I wish I knew more. I wish there were answers. Your father came home one day after mining, and saw a woman on the street with a baby. You. Your father stopped to speak with her, because she was upset, crying. She said she had to go somewhere and couldn’t take the baby. Your father offered to help. The woman said ‘you must take the baby and go far from here, where she would be safe.’ He brought you home, knowing how I longed for a child.”
“You took someone’s baby?” Sophie asked, stunned.
“I insisted we go back and find the woman, because your father wasn’t thinking
“Where was I born?”
Her mother’s popped her head up in surprise. Shaking her head, she stood, as if flabbergasted by the simple question. “You were born here. Of course. Why would you ask such a ridiculous thing? I never!”
“Well, Henri said he heard you mention to his mother that maybe I was born somewhere else….” She didn’t want to drag Henri into this, but she also wanted to be sure. Her mother’s reaction did feel quite strange.
“Henri. Oh, well … you know how mothers talk. I … um … tea? Would you like some tea?” She clapped her hands at the idea.
“No tea. Why are you acting so odd? What is the big deal? I don’t particularly care where I was born, but it’s odd if you kept it from me.”
“Well. In that case. I suppose you weren’t technically born here, per se.” Her mother glanced at Henri. “What all did you hear, boy?”
“What do you think I heard?” he responded smartly. Sophie looked at him and smiled. His comeback won him a few points.
“So, I wasn’t born here? Technically? You are making it rather confusing.” Sophie asked, standing next to her mother.
“Well, technically….”
“Technically, where was I born, then?” Sophie stared at her mother incredulously. The idea of being born somewhere else meant she’d lived somewhere besides this small village. It meant she’d lived more than she knew.
“Technically … I don’t know. What’s important is that I have you, and your father loved you so. That is all that matters.”
“How could you not know? That makes no logical sense. Where did you give birth to me?” Sophie pressed, her words growing icy.
“That’s the thing. I mean, the question I wanted to avoid. Technically, I didn’t give birth to you.”
“Technically who did then?” Sophie was now frozen over, completely. No warmth came from her as she heard her mother’s delicate story. She turned stone cold.
“I don’t know,” she said, then threw her arms in the air, as though saying it out loud gave her a relief she had waited for.
“You don’t know?” Sophie squawked at the woman who suddenly felt a stranger. “What does that even mean?”
“I’m so sorry, Sophie. I don’t know. I wanted a baby and then there you were. The only condition in taking you was to go away as far as possible and never return. So your father and I did that. It was like a gift from the heavens. The Saints looked upon me and knew I wanted a child and then you arrived.” Tears streaked her mother’s cheeks as she revealed a hidden history to her daughter.
“You lied. All those years you lied. To my face. Father too. I deserved to know the truth.” Sophie stated. She spoke with calculated composure. The part that offended her the most was the deception.
“But you must have known somewhere deep inside. You always held back. You never said I love you, or gave hugs and kisses like the other children your age.” The tears kept flowing; creating a river that divided the two women. Sophie’s face remained still as stone.
“Maybe I never gave them because you spent my childhood lying to me.” Her eyes were glacial, looking at this woman who had become a stranger so quickly with not a speck of hear break.
“I’m so sorry, Sophie. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“But you did.”
“I wish I knew more. I wish there were answers. Your father came home one day after mining, and saw a woman on the street with a baby. You. Your father stopped to speak with her, because she was upset, crying. She said she had to go somewhere and couldn’t take the baby. Your father offered to help. The woman said ‘you must take the baby and go far from here, where she would be safe.’ He brought you home, knowing how I longed for a child.”
“You took someone’s baby?” Sophie asked, stunned.
“I insisted we go back and find the woman, because your father wasn’t thinking
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