A Mother's Love

Spirit Weaver had been gone for some time. As she often was. This was the first she stepped into town in easily over a month, after all! And it had been even longer still since she’d checked her PO box. A thing that she forgot that she even had, most times. It had been…. Quite a while since she’d been in. Mostly because there’s never anything interesting there. This quarter’s stack felt no different, either. Junk. Junk. Junk. Jury summons (whoops). A bill. She was on the verge of tossing the whole stack away, when something caught her eye. An envelope with her name on it. There was no return address, no stamp… nothing. Almost like it had been slipped in there by someone, themselves. She did toss every other piece of mail, other than this one, and turned it over. It was sealed with a sticker in the shape of a leaf. Curious, but Spirit was already sold on the mystery, for sure! Pulling out a blade, which judging by the look the postage counter worker gave her was not a good thing, she cut through it’s seal, and pulled out the letter. Hand written. Hoof written? Horn written? Whatever. The penmanship could have used work, though, and Spirit had to struggle through it. It seemed all blurry and messy. A pause. She put on her reading glasses. Much better. The first thing she saw was a date, printed in the upper left of the page. It was a couple weeks old. But… Spirit had been later to things, for sure. This probably wasn’t even that important anyways. Spirit Weaver.

Not quite the name I would have chosen for you, but perhaps you’ve grown into a woman that fits it. I couldn’t even bear to think of a name for you, after all- given how much it hurt me to let you go in the first place. Wait. What? Spirit read over that first paragraph easily a dozen times. Who could possibly talk to her like that? Shaking her head, she’d move to the side of the post office, and take a seat, working through the rest of the page. It has been my dream for the past twenty-four years to finally speak to you. To make things right between us. I know that what I did was wrong, but you’d understand if you were in my circumstances, I’m sure. I want to make it up to you, my dear. Spirit felt her grip tighten on the page. She didn't want to read past it. She was shaking. But she pressed on. I'm sure you've grown into a smart young woman, and you've figured out by now that this is your birth mother. After all this time, though, I won't ask you to call me your mother. Just… know me as Taproot. Please think about coming to visit. Enclosed I've left my business card so you can find me easily.

Much love,

Mom And, when her eyes glanced over that sign off, the page free blurry again. She reached for her glasses to wipe away whatever was doing it. Only to realize that this time it was thanks to the tears forming in her eyes. Much love. Much love?? How could she possibly say something like that? She didn't know anything about her! And if Spirit had her way, she wouldn't even know her name! In a small fit of frustration, she tore the page into halves. Then quarters. And then tiny pieces, which fluttered into the bin like confetti. She hadn't even noticed the promised business card sitting on the seat she was at, until she was grabbing her bag, preparing to leave. Rooted Apothecary Services. She moved to toss it away, as well. But… something stopped her. What was it? Why would she ever wish to speak to the one that forced her into this life? What reason could she possibly have? She shook her head and dropped the card in, leaving without another sound. The postal worker let out a small sigh of relief. She wasn't usually like this. It was normally grab and go… They looked down towards the trash bin, noticing the business card that had clinked off the metal lid, and landed on the floor. With a curious expression, they picked it up in their magic. Looking it over a few times, they shrugged, before slipping it right back into Spirit's box. Maybe she'd need that next time!