Chapter 24 - SOPHIA READS THE LETTER
At sixteen, Sophia asked about Victoria.
“Is she still alive?”
“Yes.”
“Can I write?”
“If you want.”
“Has she written me?”
“Not directly. She asked permission years ago.”
“Did you say no?”
“I said it would be your choice later.”
She thought.
“Do I want her letter?”
We gave her the reviewed one.
Not every adult detail.
The honest letter.
Sophia read slowly.
At:
I made Sophia poor because poverty made Emma easier to manage.
She stopped.
“She wrote that?”
“Yes.”
“She knew.”
“Yes.”
Tears appeared.
Then anger.
“I thought maybe she didn’t understand.”
“She understands now.”
“That’s worse.”
Sometimes yes.
Sophia finished.
“What do I say?”
“You don’t have to say anything.”
She wrote one paragraph.
Grandma,
I remember bread more than I remember you. I hope you understand what that means. I am not ready to know you.
Victoria replied through counsel:
I understand.
May you like
No pressure.
That respect became the first safe thing she ever gave Sophia.
