Chapter 15
At eight, Orla asked who Cora was.
She had overheard Margaret.
I told her.
A maid who worked here when I was a boy.
“What happened?”
I explained carefully.
“I broke something. My father blamed her.”
Orla stared.
“You lied?”
“I tried to tell him.”
“But?”
“He made the lie stay.”
She considered.
“Then why she fired?”
“Because my father was unfair.”
Simple.
Then:
“Evelina her kid?”
“Yes.”
Orla sat quietly.
Then said:
“So she did same thing.”
Exactly.
“Why?”
“People sometimes copy the thing that hurt them when they’re scared.”
She frowned.
“That dumb.”
Children remain efficient.
“Yes.”
Then:
“Did you say sorry to Cora?”
“No. She died before I knew.”
Orla’s face fell.
That was consequence too.
Some apologies become impossible.
May you like
You still change behavior.
You simply do it without expecting the dead to certify you.
