Chapter 64
Chapter Sixty-Four
My sweet girl,
I don’t know when you’ll read this. Maybe years from now. Maybe weeks. I hope much, much later. My heart has been failing quietly for years, and I’m running out of “laters” and “somedays.” So I’m writing this now, while I still have the clarity to speak honestly.
There are things I should have said to you long ago. Things I was afraid of telling you because . . . I didn’t know if you’d reject me for giving you up.
I did it because I love you more than anything in the world, and I believed that Laura would care for you in ways that I would never be able to at the age of sixteen.
I was sad, broken, and too immature to be a mother.
Laura was ready for you. She did her best and loved you the way you deserve. Please don’t be mad at her for not telling you the truth.
I don’t know if I will ever get the timing right, but I need you to know this:
You were never a burden on any life you touched. Not mine. Not your mother’s. Not anyone’s.
If anything, you were the reason I kept fighting for longer than the doctors expected.
If you’re reading this, and I’m gone, I hope you feel surrounded by more love than confusion. That was always my wish for you.
Always,
Lina