What Mother Never Told Her
Lily couldn’t stop thinking about the letter.
Emily wasn’t my sister.
Those words had followed her all the way home.
She sat on her bed, holding the photograph from the house on the hill.
For years, she had believed she knew her family.
Now she wasn’t sure what was true anymore.
The sound of the front door opening made her sit up.
Her mother was home.
Lily walked downstairs.
Her mother looked tired. She placed her bag on the table and noticed Lily standing there.
“What’s wrong?”
Lily stared at her.
“Who is Emily?”
Her mother’s face immediately changed.
For a few seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered, “Where did you hear that name?”
“So you do know her.”
“Lily…”
“Who is she?”
Her mother sat down.
“Please sit.”
Lily remained standing.
“I don’t want to sit. I want answers.”
Her mother looked down at her hands.
“Emily was someone from my past.”
“That’s not enough.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Her mother closed her eyes.
“When I was seventeen, I lived at St. Mary’s Home.”
Lily’s eyes widened.
“The children’s home?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“My parents were gone. I had nowhere else to go.”
Lily slowly sat down.
“What happened there?”
Her mother took a deep breath.
“That was where I met Emily.”
“Who was she?”
“A little girl who had been brought there when she was very young.”
Lily frowned.
“How old?”
“About five.”
A strange feeling settled in Lily’s chest.
“Why were you so close to her?”
“Because she reminded me of myself.”
Her mother smiled sadly.
“She was lonely. She was scared. She didn’t trust people easily.”
“What happened to her?”
Her mother’s eyes filled with tears.
“She disappeared.”
Lily stared at her.
“Like the records said?”
Her mother nodded.
“One summer morning, Emily was gone.”
“Did anyone look for her?”
“We did.”
“Did you?”
“I never stopped.”
Lily’s voice became softer.
“Then why did you lie to me?”
Her mother looked at her.
“Because the truth was dangerous.”
“Dangerous for who?”
Her mother didn’t answer.
Lily stood.
“Is Emily alive?”
Her mother looked away.
“I don’t know.”
The answer hurt more than Lily expected.
She turned toward the stairs.
“Wait.”
Her mother reached for her hand.
“There is something else you need to know.”
Lily stopped.
“When Emily disappeared, she left something behind.”
“What?”
“A bracelet.”
Lily looked down at her wrist.
The small silver bracelet with the flower-shaped charm suddenly felt heavy.
Her mother noticed it.
Her expression changed.
“You still have it.”
Lily’s heart raced.
“You gave this to me.”
Her mother shook her head.
“No.”
Lily stared at her.
“Then who did?”
Her mother whispered:
“Emily.”
Silence filled the room.
Lily couldn’t breathe for a moment.
“You’re saying Emily gave me this bracelet?”
“Yes.”
“But why?”
Her mother wiped away a tear.
“Because she wanted you to remember her.”
Lily shook her head.
“Remember her? I was a baby.”
Her mother looked at her.
“You were there.”
“Where?”
“At St. Mary’s.”
Lily’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“You were there when Emily disappeared.”
Everything suddenly became confusing.
Her mother continued.
“You were very young. You don’t remember.”
Lily stepped backward.
“Why was I there?”
Her mother hesitated.
“Because Emily was your…”
She stopped.
Lily stared at her.
“My what?”
Before her mother could finish, there was a knock at the front door.
Both of them froze.
Another knock.
Three slow knocks.
Lily looked toward the door.
“Are you expecting someone?”
Her mother didn’t answer.
Instead, she stood up.
Her face had gone pale.
“Go upstairs.”
“Why?”
“Now.”
Lily didn’t move.
The knocking came again.
Her mother walked toward the door.
Lily followed quietly.
Her mother opened it.
Nobody was there.
Only a small brown envelope lay on the doorstep.
Her mother stared at it.
She knew exactly what it was.
Lily picked it up before her mother could stop her.
Her name was written on it.
She opened it.
Inside was another photograph.
Lily looked at it.
It showed a little girl standing beside Emily.
The little girl was Lily.
But that wasn’t what frightened her.
Behind them stood a man Lily had never seen before.
On the back of the photograph were six words:
Your mother never told you about him.
Lily slowly looked at her mother.
“Who is that man?”
Her mother didn’t answer.
She couldn’t.
Because she was staring at the photograph as though she had just seen a ghost.
Then someone whispered from across the street:
“Lily.”
She looked up.
A man was standing beneath a streetlight.
He turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Lily looked at her mother.
Her mother’s voice trembled.
“We have to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because he found us.”
END OF EPISODE 5
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