Thank Goodness I Lived!

A mother regales her tales of woe.

(Note: The prompt for this work came from Bryn Donovan’s 5,000 Writing Prompts. The prompt was on page 173, prompt number 28: Myers-Briggs Type INFP – ironically, my Myers-Briggs type, in INTP, does not have a prompt in this book.)
“Hello, Miss Espinosa,” said Valerie Tanner, entering the front door. “How are you doing?”
“Okay,” said Kajina. “I try my best.”
“I am so glad that you have decided to meet with me today.”
“It’s good to be seen.”
Miss Espinosa lived in a luxury condo overlooking the Atlantic Ocean on Florida’s east coast. She’d lived in this condo for over a decade, enjoying life with her four children. Her fourth child, Enrico, had just been given life in prison for a murder that he denied even knowing about.
“I thought we’d talk about your son today, Miss Espinosa. Is that okay?”
“Okay.”
Kajina fixed them both a cup of tea and then went over to the coffee table in the living room. It was funny she never thought that this would be the son that she would be waving at through a glass wall.
As they sat down, Kajina began to betray a life of hard work and sacrifice in her movements.
She was getting old.
Valerie appeared to be enjoying her tea. It was steaming hot camembert tea from south Vietnam.
“Like I said, Miss Espinosa. I’d like to talk about your son, Enrico.”
“You’d like to talk about Enrico?”
Kajina began to cry softly.
“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to talk about this if it’s too painful.”
“No, no. It’s okay. I have prepared my spirit, and my soul is in order. You may continue.”
“Yes. Yes, I understand…Was he a good kid? Did he…do his homework?”
“That’s a tough question. He often complained that life was too constricting. Oh my God. Do you think he actually did it? Do you think it’s possible that something that came out of me could do something that bad? Thirty people?”
“We don’t know. And I need to tell you that I don’t have the authority to pardon anyone. I’m not a judge, and I-“
“I know all that. It’s just…I’m not trying to be disrespectful. It was just a sudden loss. My son has just graduated from school. He was an honor student.”
“I understand.”
“It’s just such a difference in behavior. A differential. It’s so hard to believe. I raised my sons well. And my daughter. I gave them every tool they needed to become successful. My other kids didn’t turn out so well. He was my fourth. My youngest. He showed promise.”
“Miss Espinosa, we think there could be a possibility that your son was innocent.”
“Innocent? Oh, I am so happy. You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
“Yes, we think your son may have been set up by the real perpetrators. We are looking at the evidence now. But I should tell you that it will be an uphill battle, either way.”
“Yes…”