At 5 a.m., I got a call from my son-in-law: “Come pick up your daughter at the bus stop. We don’t want her anymore.” When I arrived, my daughter was barely breathing, covered in bruises and broken bones. She sobbed, “My husband and his mother… they beat me.” Rage exploded inside me. I rushed her to the hospital, but she didn’t survive. I packed my bags and went to their house—because that family needed to understand what it feels like when a mother loses her child.

Margaret took a sip of her tea, looking at the vibrant colors of the living world around her. She looked at her daughter, who had walked through hell and come out holding a lantern.

“Who?” Margaret asked.

And as the sun set, they both began to laugh.

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