32

We stayed with Mom that night. We talked about a lot of things. The next day, we talked again about what we were going to do. Mom wondered why Eileen had targeted our family specifically.

    “It might be random,” Mom said.

    “I don’t think she would do all of that, breaking up a couple, choosing Lily as a daughter and marrying a man randomly,” Christian pointed out.

    “She got rid of me,” Mom said.

    “So?” I asked.

    “So, the reason so many people don’t like me is because I was a born on a day when there was snow.”

    “You think that had something to do with her choice?” Christian asked.

    “Maybe she thought I was inferior like so many other people do. Some people consider us to be inferior, even if they come from the same family. She might have thought it wasn’t a big deal to go to a family and get rid of a mother who isn’t as good as other mothers.”

    “You don’t believe that,” Christian asked, sympathetically.

    “I don’t, even though some people do.”

    The sympathy Christian showed made me want to kiss him.

    “This sounds like a factor in Eileen’s decision on which family to be a part of,” I said.

    “What do you mean?” Mom asked.

    “Eileen doesn’t like to kill, which is why she cast a spell and sent you here, instead of killing you when she wanted to replace you,” Christian explained, understanding.

    “I thought of that too,” I agreed.

    “Yeah,” Christian said. “It would make sense that she didn’t want to hurt someone she doesn’t think of as inferior. Which was why she broke up the marriage of someone who was born when there was snow.”

    “She must have had her friends look for someone who was born at a time when there was snow and they found Mom,” I said. “And she still didn’t want to kill Mom until after she was devastated by another failure to be a mother.”“Why does she want to kill you now, if she wanted you as a daughter?” Mom asked.

    “Because she wasn’t able to connect with me,” I explained. “The failure hurt her, it didn’t just make her angry. She’s taking revenge for her failure on us.”
    “And your Dad?” Mom asked.

    “I call him every day. He said he got himself someplace safe. Eileen sent him divorce papers, but he hasn’t seen her since she tried to kill me.”

    “She’s leaving him?” Mom asked.

    “Maybe she wants to try to be a mother in a different family,” Christian suggested.

    “Even though Dad told the police what Eileen did, they can’t find her,” I said.

    “She must be hiding in another kingdom,” Christian concluded.