Chapter 7 - The truth revealed?

Lyra

After work, I decide to risk it and take a walk in the forest. The air is so crisp and clear, and it feels as if the colours are brighter. It has to be the hormones! It feels so good to be right there in the thick of nature. It feels right. It feels like home.

I sigh. The forest was never really my home. I only feel this way because I spent so many years with the werewolves. Now I’m pregnant with a human child from a man that doesn’t even know and doesn’t look like he might want the responsibility.

I told Mrs. Duncan that I was pregnant when I returned to work earlier. She was shocked, but she was really kind about it. Thankfully, she said that my job would be safe. I can’t see myself raising this baby without having a job.

For the first time in a long time, I’m grateful I don’t have one of those high executive jobs in the city. In our small-town, things move slower, and I can give my baby what he or she needs. Financially and emotionally. At least, that is the hope.

My thoughts drift as I walk through the forest to when I was an orphan. I was so lonely even though we were all in the same boat. My trust was damaged in the worst possible way. I was left at the orphanage as a baby, so I never knew my parents.

When I was old enough to look for them, nobody had any information, and that just made things so much worse. To be completely abandoned by the people who were supposed to love me broke something inside of me that might never be repaired.

Then I met Eli. He knew that I was an orphan. I told him, but I never told him about the things that happened to me in the orphanage. I guess that is one of the reasons I fell for him. Eli never pushed me into anything.

Not even the marriage contract. I sigh as I realize he never pushed me because he also had secrets he was hiding from me. There is probably a lot more than just his affair. Now I carry a huge secret. I sigh as I make my way back into the garden of the bed-and-breakfast.

I guess I should probably think about finding an apartment. If I’m going to have a baby, I can’t raise him or her in a bed-and-breakfast. A horrible thought crosses my mind and I push it back down instantly. I can’t leave my baby at an orphanage. Not after what I went through myself.

My life is so overwhelming at the moment that it feels as if the world is spinning. I take a couple of deep breaths and decide that I can’t spend every evening in my room alone. I go upstairs and grab my bag before making my way back onto the main street.

As I’m walking down the street, an idea starts to form, and I make my way to the library. It smells of books the moment I walk in and a friendly older woman smiles from behind the counter. I nod and smile back and make my way down the first row of books.

When I come back up the second row, I decide to ask the old lady for help. Within minutes, she has me paging through what I’m looking for. I want to find out how much the human world really knows about werewolves.

As I page through book after book of fantasy, I sigh deeply and wonder if there are other things in the library that might interest me. I take the chance and make my way back to the friendly old lady.

“I know you probably won’t have what I’m looking for, but do you have like birth records or adoption records here?” I hold my breath knowing she probably doesn’t, but I’m here, so I may just as well try.

“We do. We keep all the birth and city records in the library. You know the old building that flooded?” She smiles and waves her hand through the air and I know which one she’s talking about. “Well, they used to keep all the records in the basement, and a week before that flood, someone thought it would be a good idea to move everything here. Can you believe it?” She laughs, and I’m a little stunned at the coincidence.

“Good thing they did, huh?” She grins as she shows me to the cabinet. Each drawer has a time period marked on the outside and I thank her for her help. I scan the drawers and find the year I was born and hold my breath as I page through the names.

There aren’t many files, but there are a few. I find mine easily enough, not expecting to find anything inside and as I open the folder, I feel my heart racing. It’s actually filled with a couple of documents and I make my way to the table.

I find my birth certificate, which is surprising since I’ve never seen it. Not the original. I rub my finger over the names of my parents when I realize they have the same last name. My parents were married! One thing that makes me feel good is that the nuns at the orphanage called me the name my parents gave me.

I sit back in my chair and just look at the piece of paper in my hand. Eli lied to me! My heart starts to race as I distinctly remember Eli telling me his people never found anything. When we were first married, I wanted to know about where I came from.

Eli offered to find out, and I was deeply disappointed to find out that there was no information. He lied! I just found it without much trouble. I page through a couple of reports from the hospital that are from the week I was born, but they don’t mean that much to me.

As I page on, I find a letter and my heart sinks when I read the ending. “Love, mom.” Tears instantly fill my eyes and I close the file. I grab my stuff and stuff the file in my bag without thinking before rushing out of the library.

I can’t read a personal letter like that in a public place. Not after I thought for so many years that I was just left there. That nobody cared about me! I need to be on my own in a safe space for this!