A Hidden Past

“Why did you never tell me?” Aurora asked. She tried to keep the accusation from her voice. The point here was information, not blame.

Her mom sat across from her at the cafe, her eyes down-turned. “It was never the right time,” Helen said. “I had been planning on telling you as you got older, once you could handle all the reality of it. It wasn't simple and I wanted you to have the best childhood I could give you. And then, with the... visits to the psychiatrist...”

“You mean when we thought I was going crazy?” Aurora asked. The accusation in her voice was out full-force, now. Time for another deep breath.

“Right,” Helen replied. “When the whispers started. You were so upset. Neither of us knew what to do. I just wanted to protect you, make it easier on you.”

“And you didn't think once that, just maybe, this could all have been tied back to what you did? What Chromorphia did? It's no wonder the doctors were useless!” Aurora was raising her voice, now, but she didn't care. This woman had deceived her her whole life. And she was just sitting here, calmly?

“There wasn't...” Helen started. Her voice broke and she waited several moments before trying again. “We had you thoroughly screened once we got out of that place. We were sure there were no side-effects of... whatever it was those bastards did. I just wanted you to live a normal life!”

“Yeah, well, congratulations on that point, mom,” Aurora said. She threw her napkin down and stood from the table. “My life is never going to be normal. Maybe if I'd known that earlier, I wouldn't be in this mess. I just want one thing from you before I go.”

Helen looked up, tears brimming at the edges of her bright blue eyes, so similar to Aurora's own. She tried to speak, but just nodded instead.

“Tell me where they kept us.”