The Contest

Chapter 7: Willow DeLaughery

As the four of us sit at the small wooden table in our kitchen before the King's arrival, I can't help but notice the tense silence surrounding us. Mother and Cecily hardly notice as they eat, but I know I sense it, as does Grams, since she keeps eyeing me curiously like she's trying to figure out what I'm doing. Which is nothing, really, I'm simply sitting at my place and swirling the soup in my bowl with my spoon. I've lost my appetite after what's happened so far today.

Grams break the silence by promptly dropping her spoon onto the table with a loud clatter, and stares intensely at my mother. "Sera, how did Willow come into our lives?" My mother looks up, shocked at the question being directed at her. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I asked, child," Grams presses on quite intimidatingly. "How did Willow come into our lives?"

"The natural way," Mother answers quietly, as if this was something to be ashamed of. Grams doesn't buy it, and shakes her head. "Do not lie to me, Sera," she practically growls, slamming her fist on the table. Cecily and I jump, but Mother seems to be holding her ground. "Tell me, daughter, how exactly Willow entered our lives, right down to the last detail!"

I watch tears spring to my mother's eyes and hear Cecily say, "Grams, please, you're scaring us." Grams whips her head to the older girl and replies steadily, "Cecily, dear, this doesn't concern you." Cecily looks at me in confusion. I shrug and watch as her face falls. The poor girl has no idea why this is happening, bless her heart...

"What are you accusing me of doing?" my mother argues. "Lying to my own daughter? You really think I would--" Grams cuts her off with a shout, "THE LAST DETAIL, SERA!"

Another silence falls over the room, this one more tense than the last as we wait for my mother to say something, anything. She takes a deep breath and looks at me remorsefully. "She's right, Willow."

"Right about what, Mother?" I ask, not really wanting the answer. Mother takes my hand and begins explaining. "It was a spring night like any other in Laughery. I was sitting at the table after Cecily and her father had gone to bed. I was working on a..." she pauses, looking like she's trying to find the right words, then continues with a nod, "...a project. We'll say that for now. It was quiet, except for my quiet voice as I... spoke to myself." Mother seems nervous about this detail in the story, but I brush it off and listen.

"Suddenly, I heard a cry from outside the door. When I opened it, there was a young girl who couldn't have been much older than six, perhaps. 'Please help me,' she cried, 'I'm scared.'" She is overcome with emotion and she turns to wipe away a tear. "I asked her where her parents were, and she told me that they had scared her into running away. I brought her inside and made her some tea to calm her down, then let her sleep in the spare room until we could sort matters out in the morning."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. She hasn't described the girl or said any names, and even though I knew exactly who this girl was, I decided to inquire about her. "Mother, who was she?"

My mother, if I can even call her that, can't seem to look me in the eyes as she whispers, "It was you, Willow." My heart races, and I shake my head in disbelief, trying to figure this all out. "If it was me," I say, "then why don't I remember any of it?"

A shadow falls across my "mother's" face as she slowly glances around the table at each of us before finally settling her gaze on me again. "I cleared your memory." I don't understand what she means by this.