Page 46 of Mysterious Teacher : Arrival
“All the horrible decisions,” Dr.Ang went on. “He betrayed his own people. As your country fell on desperate times, he ignored it, doing little or nothing to help ease the pain he’d caused his people. You, on the other hand, grew increasingly generous. You willingly gave up your jewels to try to help those in need. You taught your brothers to be fair and kind and even generous to their servants. You yourself were kind, never turning away someone in need. But for all that, PiYu abandoned you. When the country turned against him, the coward ran away with his tail between his legs. He knew what was coming. His assistants had warned him. But he took no measure to warn or protect you.”
Sonya listened with interest but wasn’t surprised by what Dr.Ang said. Though her memory was foggy, his telling of her life brought back glimpses of her last days as a royal. His assessment of her husband didn’t really surprise her much either. Even at the time, she’d heard grumbles of discontent about his leadership.
“When they captured you, they needed to make an example of you, to put you on display like some sort of unusual animal at the zoo.”
She could almost smell the death around her and hear the groans of pain.
“Many protested. Those who knew and loved you tried to push the authorities to release you. They petitioned, they marched the streets, and they screamed out their anger. But when several of them were beaten and then a few were even killed, the protests quieted down and eventually stopped altogether. By then your imprisonment was reluctantly accepted by the people who had lost all hope. You were starved and left to die.”
“Yes,” she said. “I do remember the hunger, the endless hunger.”
“To add to the pain of that ordeal, in the midst of all this, you gave birth...a beautiful little girl...something that PiYu did not even want. No, not only was he not prepared to have a child, but a daughter? A mere girl? That was unthinkable. Only a son would do for him.”
“That’s all far, far behind me, Dr.Ang. A lifetime ago.”
“It is,” he said. “And this is your chance to start again.”
“Yes,” she said with a sigh. She wanted to leave that old part of her life far behind and starting new was what she needed. Only now... “I can finally be with my daughter.I don’t know what to say.”
Sonya smiled and took a moment to allow this new information to sink in. Her daughter. Her little girl. How many times had she wondered about her over the years?
Every minute of every day.
She’d lost count of the number of times she had imagined how her little girl was doing, what type of woman she was growing up to be. There’d been a time when she’d wondered if she was even alive, but she never allowed those thoughts to stay with her for too long. No. She’d always push those thoughts away and think of the life her little girl was living.
She thought of her long-lost daughter...that beautiful young woman she’d met one day before. The instinctual need to protect her offspring grew stronger by the second. The thought of anything happening to that girl was excruciating...unthinkable.
A shiver shook her as she thought back to the previous night.
What would have happened to April had she been alone with those two Nazis/Communist? Would she have fended them off? Could she have? Two men against a young innocent woman?
The thought alone was enough to make her weep.
Dr.Ang smiled and nodded. “I see that you are already lost in thoughts of your little girl.”
Holding back the tears of joy, Sonya stood and put her hand over her heart. “Yes.Thank you. Thank you for saving me and thank you most of all for taking care of my little girl all these years. I’ll never thank you enough.”
“Will you let her know?Do you want her to know you are her mother?”Dr.Ang asked.“If so, I will help you tell her.”
“No,” Sonya said after a brief moment of thought.“I see how she is happy with you as her only parent.I don’t want to change anything.The secret will be just between us.Thank you for raising her so well.She is a wonderful and sweet girl.”
“Just seeing you here with her is all the gratitude I need,” he said.
“I look forward to getting to know her and to catching up on all the moments I missed. This new perspective on my relationship with her changes everything. I mean...having her as a student...my heart was in it the moment I saw her, but now...knowing everything...my heart is in it in a whole other manner. Thank you, once again.”
