Chapter 16 - Mother Bitter Letter Blaming Me For Everything
Two weeks after my father’s failed pilgrimage to Maine, a certified letter arrived in my post office box. It was handwritten by my mother, filled with bitter recriminations and venomous accusations from start to finish.
“I hope you are happy destroying your own flesh and blood out of pure, unadulterated malice,” my mother wrote furiously. “Your father’s health is failing, Eleanor is a broken wreck, and you sit alone in your cold Maine fortress. You always were selfish, but turning your back on your own mother is unforgivable evil.”
I read the letter sitting at my kitchen table, then calmly dropped it into the fireplace hearth. I watched the flames consume the paper, turning my mother’s toxic words into gray, floating ashes. They still refused to take accountability for their own actions, blaming everyone else for the consequences of their cruelty.
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It was a pathetic, predictable ending for people who valued appearances over human life. I walked over to the mantelpiece and straightened the silver frames holding pictures of Julian, Maya, and Leo. Their smiling faces brought warmth back into my heart, washing away the bitter residue of my mother’s letter.
Aunt Ruth walked into the kitchen, handing me a fresh cup of tea with a reassuring smile. "Ignore the noise, honey; some people are too proud to ever realize they built their own prison," Aunt Ruth advised wisely.
