Forgive Myself - By Victoriya Stoyanova

I forgive myself, Kalino! That’s what I’m doing! And think that the greatest wisdom, the greatest reverence to life’s right to change is maybe to let our children grow up. To let them throw us out of their heads, to rebel and to conquer our superstitions, our fears, rules, our distorted ideas of good and bad, our false advice for decency and piety, false measures for truth and lies. To let them meet their own demons and angels, to pay their own bills with destiny and others, to choose their own feasts. And to celebrate them on their own. To let them get ill and to heal on their own. To open on their own the children’s backpacks that we have stuffed with ourselves for the road. Just to heal the child that we have bequeathed them and to go back to it when the time comes. Healthy. And I ask for their forgiveness. So that we can start forgiving ourselves. Forgive myself. – From the novel Paths of Fire – Maria Laleva