The first seconds seemed strange, as if he didn’t know where to put his hands.
Then Emilia grabbed her finger.
Sylvia cried.
— It’s so small.
— Yes.
— Mom …
I was waiting.
— I was really afraid.
Kimah.
— I know.
— But I was angry too. Because … — she swallowed. — Because I thought that if you had another child, then what she did for us would become less important.
These words surprised me.
— What does this mean?
— All my life I’ve told myself that we are your point. Me and Misho. That you sacrificed everything for us. And when Emilia showed up, I felt … replaced.
I sat next to her.
— No one can replace their child, Sylvia.
— I know it with my head. But not with his heart.
I put my hand on her shoulder.
— You will always be my daughter. And Mikhail will always be my son. Emilia doesn’t take you anything.
— But it will inherit.
Here is the truth.
Small. Unconvenient. But still there.
I looked at her.
— Yes. He will inherit. Like you. But love is not a property that is divided into square meters.
Sylvia bowed her head.
— Sorry for the court.
These words did not erase anything.
They couldn’t.
But they were a beginning.
— And I’m sorry I kept you aside — I said. — I shouldn’t have told you everything from day one. But I had to tell you more.
She nodded.
Emilia made a little sound and smiled in her sleep.
Sylvia looked at her.
— Maybe one day he’ll call me cocoa.
— Maybe.
Mikhail came much later.
Not with gift.
Not with an apology.
He came with questions.
— What will happen to the house?
That was the first thing he said.
Todor was there.
He looked at him calmly.
— Hello, Mikhail.
Mikhail didn’t even answer him.
He was watching me.
— Mother, we need to talk practically.
— Okay. Let’s talk practically.
— If something happens to you, will the house be left to this child?
The word „this “ hurt me.
But I didn’t raise my voice.
— Part of my property will be distributed among all my children.
— „All “?
— Yes. Sylvia, you and Emilia.
He smiled bitterly.
