She squeezed my hand.
“And then your father died, and I was left with a secret I didn’t know how to confess.”
I looked away.
For a moment, I was angry.
I wanted to ask how she could have allowed me to grow up without knowing the truth. I wanted to tell her that she had taken away my chance to understand my own history.
But when I looked at her frail body and remembered everything she had done for me, the anger became more complicated.
“You should have told me,” I whispered.
“I know.”
“You should have trusted me.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
She began to cry.
“I was wrong. I won’t pretend otherwise.”
I sat quietly for a long time.
Then I took her hand and kissed it.
“You are still my mother.”
She looked at me through her tears.
“Even after this?”
“Yes. You raised me. You loved me. You were there when I needed someone. Nothing can erase that.”