Chapter 78

• After a few moments, I rose from the dusty floor and entered the narrow corridor. Martha was leaning against the banister, her eyes misty, staring at the floor. She muttered quietly, "They claimed that it was an accident. While playing in the park, she ate some poisonous berries. She had no chance because her healing factor hadn't fully matured. It was too late by the time they found her. Thelma didn't even get to say good-by. The police just showed up out of nowhere and told us she was gone."
• "I'm truly sorry," I said.
• She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt and said, "This is not your fault. There is nothing to apologize for. It occurred many years ago. They say that time is a great healer, but it isn't. Every day, I think about that little girl... and my sister. Violet wasn't the only one who died that day; Thelma also perished. A mother's love for her child is the most powerful thing on the planet; it never dies or diminishes with time. My poor Thelma, she used to be a fantastic scholar at university, but after Violet, she can't even remember her own name."