Despite her earlier words, Mama asked no questions about how her son came to be this way. She prepared food with fierce concentration as Mina chatted to her, speaking of Aurea and the artisan competition and all the wonderful sights she had seen. Luka was his usual quiet self. Lisette sat at the kitchen table, repairing a chemise without speaking. Perhaps she was reluctant to interrupt the reunion between mother and daughter, but after a while Mama’s questions about Rien drew her out of herself.
At first Mina tried to redirect the conversation, knowing Lisette’s bitterness at being exiled from the homeland she loved. But Mama’s gentle acceptance soon had Lisette speaking about the country she had not seen in years. To Mina’s surprise, she even spoke about the daughter who had been taken f
