You were loved so fiercely that the people around you made terrible mistakes trying to keep you safe.*
*I hope one day you can forgive us.*
*Love, Mom.*
I held the paper against my heart.
For years, I had carried one belief more heavily than hunger, cold, or loneliness: that my mother had left me with nothing.
Now I understood that she had left me too much.
Secrets. Fear. Love without explanation.
I bent forward, pressing my forehead to the letter.
A sob rose in my throat, but it did
