Chapter 72: Broken and Miserable

I stirred a small cube of sugar in my tea and watched it disintegrate into nothingness. 

"So," Mama said as she smacked her lips after taking a sip of her own tea, "Spill, from the top."

I kept stirring my tea, because it gave me something to do with my hands. "Before I begin, I want to say that I'm very sorry-"

She tutted at me. "I don't want to hear some sob story. Get straight to the point."

I stopped stirring my tea. There was nothing to stir in anymore, after all. Slowly, I took a deep, much needed breath and looked Mama Ruth straight in the eye. 

"I found your diary in the attic one morning," I started eventually, not being able to bear the accusing look in her eye. "I was bored, so...so I started reading it, soon realizing it wasn't an ordinary book. Honestly, I hadn't even reached the part where you revealed your actual origin until last night."

Mama took a long hard gulp of tea. "Last night? What happened last night?"