There were no justifications, no backstories, no "you have to understand where I was coming from." She simply stated what she had done and named it as wrong. "I hurt you." Not "I hurt you because I was stressed" or "I hurt you but I had good intentions." Just the clean, devastating truth of it.
She said, "I was wrong. I was cruel because I was afraid, and I used my words to make you feel as small as I felt inside. I have spent your whole life trying to be 'right' instead of being your mother." the day my mother made an apology on all fours better
"Why here?" I asked. "Why like this?"
An apology made on all fours cannot be faked. You cannot be condescending with your nose an inch from the floor. You cannot be defensive while your knees ache against hardwood. The body tells the truth that the mouth often hides. There were no justifications, no backstories, no "you