It has been years since Ambrosia has spoke about Tera to Sophia. It appears Sophia really is a true friend. She has kept the secret too. Ambrosia’s mother was wrong to say that Sophia could not be trusted. Sophia may appear wild to parents and schoolmasters, but she knew what was important to Ambrosia and kept the secret safe.

It was one of the rare journeys that took Ambrosia, her mother, and Tera to another village to show their horses. It must have been an important show because Ambrosia’s mother and Tera have been stressed out and arguing all day. Now that Ambrosia was older, she was free to roam the show. She would wander around and check out all the different horses until finally deciding that it was never as exciting as she’d hoped it would be and she heads back to her mother. Through the crowds of people she spots them; Tera and her mother with one of their horses-yelling and getting red in the face. Quickly, Ambrosia tries to figure out if she had done anything wrong. After concluding she had not, she continued on. As she reached her mother she overheard talk of Tera leaving and moving out. Confused she stepped back-had she heard this correctly? Tera was finally out of the house? It felt as if a ray of sunshine would burst out of her-she finally had a victory. She doesn’t know why or what they were fighting about-but Tera and his games were finally over. It was her time to come out of her shell. No more living in the shadows waiting to be found. No more mornings full of pain. No more Tera. From now on, it would be just Ambrosia and her mother.

After three years had passed, life would prove to be difficult for the two of them. Ambrosia’s mother now worked three jobs to support Ambrosia and their horses. They had to move to a smaller house, one in a nearby village. Ambrosia saw even less of her mother. She found ways to get by though-new friends, a job, and now she found that boys could keep her busy.

Ambrosia’s mother caught on to one of her crushes-Dustin. Dustin worked at a local merchant. Ambrosia’s mother would make random stops to the market to instigate a conversation between Ambrosia and Dustin. She fueled their interactions. Dustin was very polite and eventually the two started talking regularly. Although Ambrosia liked Dustin, she was cautious to let him get to know her. What if he found out about her secret? Would he make fun of her? Or worse, what if he asked questions? Dustin eventually asked Ambrosia out on a date for Thursday. They were to go to a show and then he would take her home. Ambrosia was so excited she told Sophia. Being the friend she was, Sophia wanted to get to know Dustin, and see how cute he was. Tickled at the thought that she may soon have a boyfriend that none of her friends new-Ambrosia let Sophia meet him. A few days later, Thursday to be exact, Dustin cancelled the date. Devastated, Ambrosia went to Sophia. Sophia explained that Dustin had told her that he felt Ambrosia was too shy. So, her loss of trust in others has destroyed a potential relationship. So much for stepping out of her shell. She thought she had been doing so well. Dustin seemed to like her, but proved that to be a lie. This gave Ambrosia more reason to guard herself from others. It also frustrated her the more she thought about it. Holding onto these secrets from the past can’t be helping. She decided she would tell her mother about her events with Tera. Throughout the years, as Ambrosia improved in school, she had learned that what happened between she and Tera was more Tera’s fault than her own. She was young and naive to his manipulations and abuse. Surely her mother would not get angry at her.

That evening when her mother came home, Ambrosia awkwardly had a conversation with her. She said to her mother “I want to tell you something.” Her mother stopped and listened. This was a good start. Ambrosia explained that Tera had abused her when he lived with them. Almost unfazed, her mother asked what she wanted her to do. Ambrosia said “Nothing, it’s over. I just thought you should know.” Feeling a little better about telling her secret, Ambrosia went about her way. That seemed easy enough. The days passed and it was if Ambrosia had never said anything at all. Everything was normal. Too normal. Ambrosia began to wonder if that callous response from her mother was the right response. Or the response she had been looking for. Her mother didn’t seem to question it or be stunned at all. It could have been worse, her mother could have been angry. “Oh well” she thought, at least she can try to move on. Leap forward into the life she’d been missing out on. Shedding the secrets of her past.