"You're worthless…"
"You're nothing but a waste of air in this family."
"You should just die."
"You can't feel love, you psychopath."
"I should have never given birth to you…"
Those voices returned with the clarity of ice water poured over my skull, a shock so sharp it felt like my bones recoiled. The forest disappeared for a heartbeat, replaced by the sterile white walls of that old room, the metal handcuffs clinking as the officers dragged her away.
My mother's face twisted with hatred, her eyes wild enough to make even the officers flinch. I remembered the cold floor under my bare feet. I remembered the way her spit flew as she screamed at me. I remembered how every word hit with the precision of a well-sharpened blade.
