She hadn’t spoken to her in years. She didn’t even realize she knew where she had moved to, even though she’d been here for over 10 years To say she was shocked when she opened the mailbox to find a package with her mothers return address on it was an understament. Along with the bills that seemed to pile up this time of the month, was a tiny padded envelope with the address 2322 whispering pines. The address of the house of horrors and traumas that she grew up in.

Her palms were sweaty as she wringed her hands anxiously before reaching for the package, rushing upstairs to her apartment and tossing it on the coffee table in disbelief,

Her townhome was what her mother would call a mess, however she simply calls well lived in. Clothes are in a pile against the chair in the living room, waiting to be laundered as she just got home from a long business trip where she had just closed a 7 figure deal.

not sure of what to do, she went into the kitchen to make herself a gin and tonic

She hadn’t thought about her mother in years. She had worked hard to put the trauma of her upbringing behind her and has done a pretty good job at it - running a successful business, building a chosen family of people who truly cared for her. She was living everyone’s idea of a charmed life.

Yet here she is, terrified of an bright orange padded envelope with the distinct handwriting of a bitter woman sitting on her coffee table.