Chapter 9
Clara asked to see Sofia alone.
I hated the idea.
Which was exactly why I knew I needed to let her choose.
I stayed outside the room.
Door open.
Close enough if Clara called.
Far enough that the moment belonged to them.
At first, they sat across from each other.
Clara held the memorial candle in both hands.
Unlit.
Sofia looked at it.
“You used to light that for me?”
Clara nodded.
“Daddy said Mommy could see.”
Sofia’s face broke.
I looked away.
After a while Clara asked:
“Did you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Every time?”
Sofia swallowed.
“A lot of times.”
Clara thought about that.
“Why didn’t you come out?”
Sofia closed her eyes.
“Because I couldn’t.”
“Helena?”
“Yes.”
Clara nodded slowly.
Then:
“She said dead people don’t come back.”
My jaw tightened outside the door.
Sofia did not react with anger.
Good.
She said:
“She lied.”
Clara looked toward the hidden passage.
“Did she hit you?”
Sofia hesitated.
“No.”
True enough.
Not every wound needs the child’s full detail.
“She kept me somewhere I didn’t want to be.”
Clara thought.
“That’s bad.”
“Yes.”
Another silence.
Then Clara placed the candle on the table.
“Do I have to call you Mommy?”
Sofia’s face went completely still.
“No.”
My chest tightened.
“You can call me whatever feels okay.”
Clara looked relieved.
“Can I call you Sofia?”
Sofia smiled through tears.
“Yes.”
That hurt.
But it was honest.
Clara had been four years without a mother.
A title could not restore time.
Sofia understood before I did.
Then Clara moved closer.
Not an embrace.
Just close enough that their knees almost touched.
Sofia did not move.
Neither did I.
May you like
Healing did not need to look impressive.
Sometimes it was two people sitting inches closer than before.
