Page 18 of Tis the Season for Sass
“I—I don’t understand.”
“Most people don’t remember things from their early childhood. We start to clearly remember things around age four or five. That isn’t to say that we don’t have memories from our lives before that period of time. It’s not that they aren’t there. They are. We just can’t see them because those memories are usually inaccessible. In your case, they’ve been torn up, buried away. Whoever did this was trying to conceal your identity, to protect you. I’m simply able to uncover these memories for you. Flashes from the earliest part of your past. They are once again yours.”
“Are those people…are they my parents?” Ginger asked, her voice shaky and unsure.
“Yes. Their names are Lorna and Gregory.”
“How do you know them?”
“They were members of our pack.”
“Show me more please,” Ginger begged.
“I’ll show you as much as I can,” Rafe promised.
He dug deeper into his majik, wanting to show Ginger as much as his majik would allow.
Memories of a young couple doting over their baby filled her mind. Followed by an image of a young boy smiling and telling her that he loved her.
“Did I have a brother?”
“Oh, my Goddess, Rafe! Is that who I think it is?” Grace asked.
“It is,” Rafe confirmed.
Ginger pulled away from Rafe, severing the connection along with the visions.
She glanced to Sofia who had tears streaming down her face.
“You need to explain what is going on. How you know all of this and how do you know my brother, who I didn’t even know I had?” Ginger demanded. So many thoughts and memories were flowing through her head.
“I don’t know what to believe. If these memories are true and my parents loved me so much. Why did they give me away?” Ginger fought back a fresh round of tears.
“Oh, honey. They didn’t give you away. They were killed by witches. We thought you were dead as well.” Grace wrapped Ginger in a tight hug.
“And…my brother? Is he?” Ginger sobbed. The tears she had been holding back broke through. There was no stopping them.
“Honey, your brother lives.” Grace pulled away from the hug and handed Ginger a box of tissues.
“I—I actually have a brother?”
“I’ve already called him, he is racing here as fast as he can,” Rafe said.
Sofia held Ginger close, consoling her and unsure if her sobbing was that of grief, joy, or sheer emotional overload.
Minutes later, a man a few years older than Ginger entered the room. His eyes as watery as hers.
Ginger’s head burned with the information overload. Everything that she had ever known—and believed—had been false. Her parents hadn’t given her up. She’d had a family who loved and cherished her. She stood up, desperately wanting to embrace her brother. She tried to breathe but it felt as if no oxygen entered her lungs. The room around her seemed to spin.
“They truly loved me.” Tears flooded Ginger’s eyes and streamed freely down her face.
“They did,” Grace said before the darkness crept over Ginger.
14
“Ginger! Ginger!” Sofia yelled.
One moment, Ginger remembered standing there, trying to reach her brother, her mind absorbing shock after shock. The next moment, she was on the ground and out cold.
