Sofia Lanka wiped my tears again and nodded. "Okay, no more crying. Mommy will never not want you.".

Once Sofia Lanka reassured me for a while, my emotions steadied, although I was clearly more clingy than I had ever been. Even when she stepped into the kitchen to get the dishes done, I dragged over a small stool to sit close to the door, watching her as though I did not want her to depart.

Feeling a bit helpless, Sofia Lanka guessed that she had made me feel insecure with her last question. She suspected that after a couple of days, I would stop shadowing her wherever she went.

That...