Every child born . . .
Is born to all of us.
We are ALL responsible—
We are ALL responsible.
These things go on.
That’s what I have come to understand.
All around us . . . in the . . . wings . . .
In the dark.
In the shadows . . .
We don’t even know they are there.
Till they affect us in some way, and we are pushed to the shadows and . . .
We see . . .
What goes on.
And we are astonished . . .
You know, ever since I found out Glory will be comin’ home?
I have been wondering about her biological mother.
I sometimes wonder if she senses what happened to Glory.
One day . . . when all this is behind us.
One day I plan to . . . to locate her.
To meet her for coffee and to . . .
Tell her the truth.
My heart is just racing.
It started racing after the crabapples.
And it has not slowed down.
Since.
Ever been swimming the day after a storm?
Glory and I always loved to swim in the ocean! And oh we will be doin’ that again when she comes home. Every summer weekend!
I was on the synchronized swim team in college, so to improve our strength we would go to the Bay of Fundy and swim. And I was an excellent swimmer, I was, so one time, everyone else had left, but I wanted to swim some more, so I was walking on the shore, lookin’ for a good spot to go in, when I suddenly noticed the tide rushing in, fast, faster than you can imagine. The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world! And there is ocean on one side, and forty foot cliffs on the other. And I start to run, scrambling over the rocks, and the tide is covering my feet and then my knees and by the time I got to the other side it was up at my neck.
rosellen crosses towards centre stage, along gail’s hallway.
There is not an hour goes by where I don’t imagine . . .
That I am in that segregation cell.
Inside my daughter.
I see the white walls.
I see the white floor.
The camera.
The little window, the evil eyes looking at me.
I am wearing the shift that she wears.
I am cold.
I know she is cold.