I waited. But it paid off after a few days. Anais had come back—and she had brought her mother. Good god, it had been so long since I had seen Tania. But, of course, she didn't recognize me.
She was looking at the little girl with a little bit of annoyance and a little bit of confusion. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked, slightly snappish. I wanted to step in, to snap back at her, "Don't you snap at our daughter!"
But I couldn't.
Anais looked at her mother, then at me. "Aleen man tell me to bring you here. He say there somethin' im-poh-tant you have to talk 'bout," she said, even more annoyed than Tania.
She shook her head. "All right, Anais, I'll talk to him," she sighed. Tania turned to me. "Who are you? Why do you want to talk to me?"
"Do you understand my language?" I asked her. She nodded. "Good. Oh, hold on a minute, I need to go get something." I went to a box and got out one of the roses I'd made over the past seven years. "This, quite honestly, was one reason I wanted to see you," I told her. "I wanted to see how you react to these."
She looked at it in disbelief. "You … but how … is that …?" she sputtered. "Where did you get this?" she said finally.
I shrugged. "I made it. Where else would I get it?" I asked, and she just stared at me. "But as for the other reasons …well, now you don't need me to tell you who I am, do you?"
"I … think I have a pretty good idea," she whispered. "But how did you … become this? I want you back. I still love you, but …"
I turn around. "But what?"
Tania swallowed. "It's just … I can't really cuddle you like that, can I?" she asked, smiling a little bit.
That wasn't what she was going to say. I could tell, just by the way she'd said it. "Tania, what did you really want to say?"
She bit her lip, looked down. "I'm sorry, it just feels like … it's not you anymore. I'm sorry … but you're … different now."
I glared at her. "Are you kidding me? You can't stand to be around me just because I look different now?" I walked away, facing away from both Anais and her mother. "You … just go. I need a minute. But … please keep bringing Anais. She has a right to know me, and I have a right to know her."
I didn't turn around, but I heard Tania say, "Let's go, Anais," and I heard the door slam as they left.
A/N: Jeez! Why do people ONLY look at this story? This is a really crappy one that I had a dream about, and that's the ONLY reason I wrote it! Please, look at Those Who Continue! That is the one I'm really working on!
