Couldn'T Have Asked For More

Auntie, do you know my mom? I asked after my first day at school.I was six. She told me my mom had long been gone. Auntie, do you know her name when asked to write ‘My Mother’ essay at school.I was eight. Why, my love, do you need a mom, she asked. I could see water in her eyes as she clutched me to her heart. Afraid of hurting her, I pledged never to ask again On the eve of my tenth birthday, she climbed into my bed ,smoothed my hair and started telling a story: There was a young princess in love with a handsome prince They were to marry each other but the prince was killed in an untimely crash Grief crushed her in its jaws Before the prince’s coffin could settle in the earth and her tears could abate she found out she was carrying a child She could not reveal this to a soul for fear of family dishonor and societal humiliation. So she left to live with her favorite aunt in Paris for a full year She swore her aunt to secrecy and there, she gave birth to the cutest girl Left the baby with a sinking heart and a promise to return Back home, she could not eat or sleep the baby’s cries always resonating in her mind She told her dad, the king she would like to adopt a baby The king agreed-anything for his daughter’s lost smile and she brought the 6-month old baby home to raise her in an ocean of love She taught the child to call her Auntie though it broke her heart Here, she paused and broke down sobbing into my pillow. I caressed her gently wiped her tears and ran my fingers through her hair Finding a tiny voice, I whispered you are the princess, mom Written on:07/21/2016 Contest:'Long Lost Family' by Silent One