Chapter 13
15 Points
Chapter 13
Rewind the clock.
A month ago, after receiving that call, the next day at work, a colleague from the medical department told me she was
pregnant.
“I hope it’s a girl,” she said, resting her hand on her still–flat belly, her lips curved in a soft smile. “I’ve always wanted a daughter. Ever since I got pregnant, I’ve been craving oranges, so I think I’ll call her Orange.”
She was the most dedicated female werewolf at work. Yet, when she spoke of her child, her expression was a serene gentleness I had never seen before. Noticing
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me staring, she turned to me and asked, “Peaches, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing” I shook my head.
That night, I had a dream about before I was born. My mom had discovered she was pregnant, gently resting her hand on her belly. She said, “Peachy, let’s name you Peachy. I craved peaches so much when I was carrying you.”
It was the love I had imagined, the love of dreams.
I went to see the doctor again. He said, “If you can’t move forward, try going back and see if that helps.” Some things couldn’t be eased by medication alone; they had become demons trapping my heart.
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I bought that gemstone necklace. In two months, it would be my mom’s birthday.
The saleswoman cheerfully asked, “Would you like to write a greeting card for your
mom?”
I said yes and took the pen from her hand. I thought, I’ll try again. I’ll try once more.
I’m no longer the clueless child I once was, and she has grown old and frail. Maybe we could talk.
Pathetically and pitifully, I always have hope. I keep wishing that she could still love me.
That day in the rain, I took that call. My fate had already been sealed a month ago.
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My ashes and belongings were brought back home and placed in a cemetery on the outskirts. My brother, who was my twin, is also buried there. His urn is very small.
On the day of the burial, the sky was overcast, but no rain fell. My mother stood by the gravestone all day long. Her sorrow and regret were beginning to show.
I thought I would feel relief, a sense of liberation. But in reality, as I watched her pain, I felt nothing but endless indifference. The years of pain and emotions seemed to have erupted and exhausted themselves in those few hours.
That evening, after my mother returned home, she sat quietly on the sofa. Abelard
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went back to colleage, my father went out on patrol, and Delilah returned to the Crescent Pack, settling into her role as Luna. Everyone, after this brief interlude, resumed their own lives.
After a long while, my mother suddenly tugged at the corner of her lips, offering a faint smile. “Peachy, now, it’s just the two of us… left here.”
