Zoe:
My niece and nephew were back, and it felt like happiness had returned to me. Over the past few days, I had been feeling sick, sad, and lonely.
Markus told me his parents wanted to see him, so he had gone back to spend time with them.
Whenever he did, I was left alone. He would not even pick up my calls, and that made the loneliness worse. Seeing Amy and Colin again changed everything.
"What is this on your face?" I asked Colin, my concern growing as I touched the handprint on his cheek. There was a similar one on Amy's face.
"They were bad people. They hit us," Amy explained.
As soon as she said that, I lifted my head to look at my mother. Tears formed in my eyes almost instantly, filled with anger.
"It's alright. Their father has taken care of everything," my mother assured me as she gently touched my hand, trying to comfort me.
"Kids, we have prepared food for you, and after dinner we will have ice cream for dessert," my mother told them cheerfully.
