A Tale of Shadows - THE OUTDATED VERSION

Chapter 17 - Rift

For the most part, the book written about Melinda was exactly what she had expected it to be, but there were still some details that managed to shock her. Everything was laid out in precise detail, including her mistreatment of her daughter, which she concluded Theresa would have had no way of knowing without an outside source. She could believe that the other woman had found out everything else on her own, but that part of her life was far too private and written about far too specifically for that to have been the case concerning that matter as well. However, the greatest evidence of all was excerpts from what she confirmed to be Griselda's diary, her claiming to have gotten permission to use them in the preface, and the excerpts recounting the most significant memories of Griselda's childhood in Griselda's style of writing.

That theory of hers was soon confirmed when one day, the daughter walked into her study upon seeing that she had finished the book with her head bent towards the floor, the young lady's steps impossible for her to not have heard among all the silence she was surrounded with. Looking as if she had swallowed something sour, she turned to face the pale and frail girl who was shivering with her entire body. 

"What is it?" she said sternly, furrowing an eyebrow.

Griselda let out a deep sigh. "In case you don't know this already, I must tell you that I'm an accomplice in Theresa's plan, and I'm truly sorry. I don't want you to think that I hate you, but it's complicated. Everything's changed from what I've known my entire life, and I've decided to stand for justice for lack of a better option. I'm sure you won't be able to understand my perspective, as I don't understand it myself, but I hope you aren't mad at me."

Glaring, Melinda crossed her arms, dragging the suffocating silence out as much as she could, knowing that there was no better tactic she could use against her. She stood there like a statue and waited to see if the girl would do something or if she would have to continue the conversation first. Half a minute later, the girl, whose hesitation she perceived as cowardice, which to her was quite ironic since she had the gall to reveal the most private aspects of their relationship, was finally ready to speak again, her voice just as feeble as it was before:

"I'm deeply sorry, mother, and I repent for everything I've done to you. I hope that you'll have it in your heart to forgive me, for I can't live when you resent me. You're my closest friend, my guiding light in life, and I don't know what I would do without you. Please, I beg of you, have some understanding. After all, you were once just like me, right?"

Melinda snorted. "Why would you ask for my forgiveness? I thought you fancied believing yourself to be better than everyone else, and, apparently, according to you, I'm a monster. Surely a monster would give you the best food and drinks and perfumes and clothes and a roof over your head and all the love and care you could possibly imagine. Is it now a sin that I sometimes treat you less than desirably? I wanted nothing more than to take you on the right path and to make you learn from your mistakes, but time and time again, you've refused my help, and now our relationship will never be repaired. It must be my fault, right, Griselda?"

Griselda stared at the floor. "I'm just kind of sad and betrayed and confused after learning that you were the one who killed my dad. I know that he was stabbed in the heart and that the gash was rather huge and I have to ask one thing: how could anyone, let alone the person I trusted the most, have done this? You did it to satisfy your caprices and he had to suffer for it so much, and even if he has gotten better with time in the afterlife, on some level he'll always be haunted by what you did to him. I can't even imagine the profundity of his misery and pain at that stab in the back from the woman he loved like no one else, the woman he thought was the greatest person to ever live, but now I can feel a fraction of it. I suppose I'm truly sorry for your pain, but how come did you not expect me to be as hurt as I am? Nothing in the world could bring me bigger despair forevermore!"