CHAPTER 63

{AHVI’S POINT OF VIEW}

I sit across from Grandma at a restaurant and she stares back. A lot goes on in my head and questions are filled to the brim but I have no idea where to begin or how to put my question.

There’s this pang in my chest that just grows with every passing second; it spreads across my chest like a deadly virus that is threatening to take me out at any moment and there is an unswallowable lump in my throat that just hurts. Nothing makes sense, but at the same time, everything makes sense.

“What do you know, Ahvi?” Grandma begins, placing her forehands on the table and leaning her body forward, a concerned look glistening as she watches me. “This wasn't how I wanted you to find out everything but I guess some things just can't be controlled,” she sighs, leaning back on her seat. “If it were up to me, you would have learned of your identity the moment you came of age but your mother was unpredictable.”

I finally open my mouth to speak but no word comes out. I try again.