"But. That isnae here nor there. Since Adem'd...done what he'd did...I'd not been able ta. Ta love, I suppose ye'd say. Or ta feel as deeply as I should. I dinnae even know how deeply I should feel.
"So when Isidora came ta me with confessions o' how she truly felt, I didnae ken what ta do. And sa I ran away -- left fer the military, after pushin' 'er away from me. I hurt her. And I ken that I did, too -- I did it because I didnae ken how to feel about her."
She stopped then, unable to continue as the tears blocked her vision and the lump came back to clog her throat. She felt Sappho's arms come around her then, and she leaned into the embrace, a mother's love something she'd lacked for far too long.
"I didnae ken, child," Sappho whispered to her, tears unshed clustering in her voice, r
