Chapter 16 - The Second Letter
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The thick, manila envelope arrived in the afternoon mail. I recognized the return address of the state penitentiary immediately. It was the second letter Renee had attempted to send since Lily’s brief, final response months ago.
I placed it on the kitchen island, staring at it as if it were a dormant explosive. When Lily came home from the center, she noticed it immediately. She didn't flinch or pull away. She simply picked it up and weighed it in her hands.
"Are you going to open it?" I asked cautiously, wiping the countertops.
"No," Lily said, her voice entirely devoid of emotion.
"You don't have to read it, but you should know you have the right to set a boundary with the warden. We can have her mail blocked if it is causing you distress."
Lily walked over to the trash can beneath the sink. She didn't tear the envelope open. She didn't look at the handwriting on the back. She simply dropped it into the garbage, letting it fall among the discarded coffee grounds and vegetable peels.
"It isn't causing me distress," Lily explained, turning back to face me with a perfectly calm expression. "Renee writes these letters because she is looking for absolution. She wants me to tell her that her guilt is forgiven so she can sleep better in her cell. But her guilt does not belong to me."
"That is incredibly wise," I murmured, feeling a profound sense of pride wash over me.
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"I spent my entire childhood carrying the secrets and the shame of the adults around me," Lily said, leaning against the island. "I am done carrying their emotional baggage. Renee made her choices. She can live with the silence."
She walked to the refrigerator, pulled out a bottle of water, and seamlessly changed the subject to the new plumbing fixtures being installed in the Dayton house. The ghosts of her past were still trying to reach her, but Lily had completely removed their power to haunt her present.
