Collision

Chapter 10

I didn't know how to feel sitting before them. There was an awkward silence for a moment before my aunt said, " How do you feel, little flower"? " Physically lousy. Emotionally well, I can't answer that now can I? On the one hand I should be angry. You were one of the only family I had left after everything happened, and instead of taking me in, you left me. You stuffed me in a boarding school, and didn't talk to me. Five years, neither you nor my grandmother spoke to me, instead you left me to fend for myself. However Uncle Rudolph and you may have saved my life as Dr. Arbuthnot pointed out, and so I must take that into account as I try to figure out whether to be angry, or happy to see you after five years." I told them. " I was broken Lily. After everything happened your grandmother and I were broken. We still are. I lost my sister, my brother in law, and my niece." Helena pleaded. " And I lost my mother, father, and sister! I was broken too. I needed you, needed all of you. But you just left me. You left me." I trailed off, tears coming down my face. " I know my love, and we are so sorry. More than words can express. There is no plausible excuse why we left, other than grief. It makes us do crazy things. It made me go down a road I never want to go down again. That was the main reason. Little flower, if I could have I would have taken care of you, but grief took me down a path of drugs. It took me four and a half years to get out of it. Rudolph could not have cared for you by himself, not with him being a diplomat, and taking care of me." Helena pleaded with her newfound niece sitting on her left side. I looked down, and nodded, " I understand. You had to take care of yourself before you took care of me, right?" I asked and Rudolph nodded. " Had Helena not been on that path we would have taken you. We would have stayed with you." he told me, sitting next to his wife. " I suppose we must start over then? A clean slate?" I asked and her uncle and aunt smiled, " If that would be alright." Helena said. I nodded, and we all hugged for a moment. " I just have one question: If you knew it was me the whole time on the train why didn't you say anything?" I asked them, and they smiled. " We knew you were under a different name, and we didn't want that to be exposed." Rudolph told me. " Also we were afraid of how you would react." Helena added. I nodded, " Honesty. I appreciate that. Thank you. Now if it's alright, I think I'm ready to go back to the compartment". Rudolph scooped me up as Helena planted a kiss on my forehead. " We'll check on you tomorrow alright?" she told me, and I nodded. Uncle Rudolph carried me to my compartment where Mary and the doctor were waiting. He set me down, and I nodded, said " thank you", and he left.