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She is sad when she talks about him, but then her mood shifts and becomes sharp. I can’t decide on colors for Flora. Sometimes, I think she’s all different shades on different days.
Maybe because she is still learning to be herself. She says if she can do it, anyone can.
I talk to Flora and Keith with pictures. Which is to say, I don’t talk much. I listen a lot. I like to listen to people who are actually speaking to me. Who look me in the eye and care about my reaction. We’re all getting good at charades; plus I get to draw. As much as I like, as often as I like.
The speech lady tells me my pictures are very good. She has a friend who displays artwork. She would like to introduce me to her.
I want to find my mother.
The Bad Man killed her. I know that. I was able to draw that for my friends. But I don’t know what happened after that. I have a special picture in my photo boards. The therapist lady helped me make it. It’s like one of the emojis I have learned about, except I designed this one with my mother’s eyes and my mother’s hair.
I touch it first thing in the morning and last thing before I go to bed. And I feel her, silvery and warm in the air around me.
I show her picture often to Flora and D.D. I make my questioning face. We are all getting good at this.
D.D. figured out first what I wanted. She says they haven’t been able to find any records. Of my birth, or my mother. But they have been retracing the Bad Man’s life. They know he ran a business in New Mexico. There are legal records. Now they are working on the illegal stuff. He is dead, and witnesses will come forward. She tells me they will have information soon.
The FBI out there have already started hunting. Sooner or later, they will find a stretch of desert, dotted with bones just like in the mountains. My mother will be one of them. They will carefully lift her from the red dirt and bring her home to me. Her name is Flora Dane. She is a survivor and my mentor.
Her name is D. D. Warren. She is a detective and my protector.
Her name is Kimberly Quincy. She is an FBI agent and the person who will bring all my lost sisters justice.
My name is Bonita. I am pretty. I am strong.
I am my mother’s daughter. Always.
