She burst into a loud laugh when she saw the shock on my face. I sat there, terrified, staring at the woman who had given me life.

"You see, child, I'm always ready," she teased, and I looked back at her in horror. All the confidence I had vanished from my eyes as I gazed at her.

"How could you! How could you do this to us?" I shouted in agony, tears streaming down my face.

My mother was alive; the woman who had brought me into this world was very much alive, contrary to what I had believed. The realization overwhelmed me as I looked at her.

"You see,...