I Was Her Tomorrow
A day postpartum, I slept upon my mother's chest. I did not know her fears, I did not know her tears. I only knew the rhythm of her heart. " "I was her tomorrow." " My tiny fingers wrapped around her hand, and she whispered promises I was too young to understand. But I believed every one of them. . As months passed, I learned to smile when she smiled, to laugh when she laughed, to reach for her whenever I was afraid. " "She was my whole world.' ." I never saw the shadows growing inside her. I never understood the distance. I never knew why the warmth began to fade. . "I was only a child." . Then new footsteps entered our lives. New voices filled the rooms. The grown-ups spoke a language I could not understand- . "A language of secrets, of desires, of choices." . Still, I waited by the door. Still, I stretched out my arms. Still, I called for the people I loved most. . "Because children do not know betrayal. Children ...