Hushed Willows Does it mean anything to you?

Lucky for Ibis, Seabreeze did not take it that way.  Instead she breathed in the smell of her daughter and noted the way it had changed over the season.  No longer did she smell like her mother's milk, or the mountain, or her siblings (as much), but instead she had begun to take on a sweet smell of her own.  How long until this one changed, too?

I want to tell you something, though, she said, soft gaze pointed down at her baby.  You're entitled to your hurt.  You're allowed to not understand what is happening, and you're allowed to ask questions about it.  Mama will help you through it.

But you can't hold onto it forever.  It's not good for us to always have this seed of hurt in us, because after a while it grows and becomes part of us, and then it's harder to get rid of.  Sometimes, it changes us forever — for better or worse.  So you hold onto it for as long as you need to, but when the time comes, mama will help you let it go.