Chapter 16
Milo saw Claribel again when he was seven.
He asked.
Not her.
Important.
They met in the pavilion.
The birdcage still stood there.
Changed.
I had removed the latch.
Then the door entirely.
Vines grew through the bars now.
Flowers.
Nothing could be locked inside.
Milo noticed Claribel staring at it.
“That cage?”
She nodded.
“I’m sorry.”
He looked at her.
“For bread?”
“Yes.”
“For shut?”
“Yes.”
“For Grandma?”
“Yes.”
He thought carefully.
Children deserve time too.
Then:
“You were mean.”
Claribel swallowed.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted people to obey me so I would feel important.”
Milo frowned.
“That’s dumb.”
“Yes.”
He had inherited Mother’s gift for clarity.
Then he asked:
“You gonna marry Dad?”
“No.”
“Good.”
I coughed to hide a laugh.
Claribel almost smiled.
Milo picked a flower growing through the old cage.
He did not give it to her.
Also fine.
After ten minutes, he wanted to leave.
We left.
Claribel stayed behind.
No one punished her.
No one welcomed her back into the household either.
Consequences can be quiet.
She had wanted a permanent place inside Harcourt.
May you like
Instead she became someone we could remember without allowing near the center.
That distinction protected everyone.
