Tempting the Fates

Chapter 5

The woman before me was just as beautiful in real life as she had been in my dream. She wore a long white gown with an empire waist. She had gold jewelry everywhere- teardrop earrings, bangles on her wrist, and a long medallion that hung from her neck. It cradled itself right in between her breasts, which were slightly visible from her almost-sheer dress. Her skin was peculiar- it looked tan, but it was luminescent, like she had gold shimmer in her body soap. Her blonde hair fell in curls and was pulled back in the front with twisting braids. She was the absolute sight of beauty. Her plump pink lips pulled into a smile.

"Who are you?" I grabbed the metal nail file that was sitting on the table next to me and stood. I held the file up like I was prepared to stab her. "How do you know my name?"

"I've known you your entire life. And you know who I am." She clasped her hands together as she stared me down.

"You're the woman from my dreams." I held her gaze. "I know that, but I don't know who you are."

She didn't move or show any negative emotion at my dismissal. "Surely you've had your suspicions. You really are a smart girl. I know you can put the pieces together."

I played along, deciding that saying it out loud might help me decide if I was insane. "You're... I don't know, the manifestation of my subconscious? Better yet, you're a hallucination! This is just a trauma response brought on by a stressful situation." I shrugged. She laughed once, and it was so beautiful it made my heartbeat spike.

"So logical, my sweet girl. You will learn that sometimes the truth defies all logic." She moved forward and I gripped my makeshift weapon tighter.

"Don't come any closer!" I shouted. "Tell me who you are, and what you want."

"Callie... sweet Calliope." She stopped and moved my backpack from my chair to my desk. She sat down in the now-empty wooden rolling chair and motioned for me to sit on the bed near her. I held my ground. She nodded in defeat and set her hands gently in her lap. "Very well, but you may want to be seated for what I'm about to say."

Gritting my teeth, I reluctantly sat down on the edge of the bed and glared at her. I was so desperate for answers that I was willing to concede this one time. I clutched the metal file in my hand so tight that my skin burned.

"Okay. Start talking." I demanded.

"I am sorry for the sudden intrusion." She said, glancing around my room. "But I had to wait until your father left. Couldn't have him seeing me here."

"Why not?" I quirked an eyebrow at the odd statement.

"Because he would have thrown me out." She nodded knowingly. "He's not my biggest fan."

Gears were whirring in my mind, trying to piece together the puzzle before me. "You still haven't answered my question. I will ask you one last time, or I will have to ask you to leave. Who are you?"

The woman bit her lip and took a deep breath. "I'm your mother."

I nearly passed out right there. The nail file slipped from my hand, clattering to the floor. My mouth went slack as I stared at her. Years and years of searching were finally at an end if she was being honest.

I always trusted my mind to lead me right, but for once it was oddly blank. Instead, my heart was controlling my thoughts, and it was certain that the woman before me was in fact my mother.

"But..." I stammered. "My mother... she's... you're..."

"I am she." She shrugged. "You cannot deny that your heart knows this as truth. I've been trying to contact you for some time now. Your mind was so distorted by logic and reason that I had a hard time breaking through. People didn't always used to be so 'one or the other' about that, you know. I blame your father for that one."