Other Mothers
/ˈaləˌpɛːrənt/ /ˈaləˌpɛːr(ə)nt/
An adult animal or person involved in parent-like care of an individual which is not his or her offspring.
Oxford English Dictionary
One is of my father atop a high column, slipping, and falling. I awake just before he hits the ground.
The other, is of my father being replaced in the middle of the night by somebody else.
A death of sorts, but camouflaged.
It was not an event, as such, but the culmination of repeated absences.
At some point I knew she was gone.
I did not ask about it.
I did not speak of it. But I knew it and I felt it.
A death of sorts, but camouflaged.
“Being a parent was the heart of my life. It was much easier once she left me to it.”
