How did you first manifest your powers?
Powers! You know, I did think of them as powers at the very beginning, briefly. Then everyone said it was sickness, so I figured they must be right. Still hard to imagine, after all these years, I really did have powers. Of course, I really was sick, too. That was the problem, wasn't it? It all got jumbled up, the fact and the fiction and the secrets. Mother popped up not long after I started seeing things, but she was always so much more... distinct.
I remember it was a bad day. A 'loud day', as I used to call them. Hadn't been diagnosed yet, so the school faculty was… unsympathetic. I even heard the word 'truculent' bandied around. Interesting how such a silly word can gut you in the right context. Yet at the end of the long, loud day, there she was, waiting for me with a loving smile and a nice warm pie. I couldn't eat it, to our mutual regret, but the love was what mattered. To be clear, I was the one who started calling her Mother. It made her happy, too. It was such a difficult time in my life, but Mother got me through. And when I say, "got me through", I do mean school, too. Hey, if she was just in my head like everyone said, how could it be cheating if she gave me some guidance on my exams? Mother always has all the answers, after all.
That's not to say she couldn't be, ah, temperamental, even in those early days, but you must agree that's hardly unusual in a parent. When they got me on meds and everything started quieting down, I was worried she'd go away, too. Such a silly concern in hindsight. Mother would never leave me. I told them she did, though. It was our little secret for the longest time. Can't tell you how good it feels to have it out in the open.
Is your sin-seed in your brain or in your heart?
Must be me brain, don't you think? People always said I was sick in the head. It'd be a right good laugh if they had it wrong this whole time! But I doubt it.
What do you hide in the deepest parts of you?
That's a bit of an odd question. If it's hidden well enough then I wouldn't know about it, how would I know to tell you? Let's narrow it to known unknowns. If you'd asked me in my old life, I would have said my deepest secret was that I still believe Mother's really real, but that doesn't seem to bea controversial opinion nowadays. I guess the new fear is I'll wake up strapped to a bed any second. That probably doesn't surprise you, but it's difficult to think of much else. On the whole, I've pretty much told you everything, haven't I?
Is your hand your hand?
Not since my little 'accident', I guess. Oh! I nearly forget sometimes I've still got the other. Though you could just as easily say that one belongs to Mother.
Do you remember the face of your mother?
Funny you should ask! She's standing right behind you.