I said I wanted my mother. Words like lasers shot at me the instant I closed my mouth. Fingers clenched my chin and pressed into my jaw. “Stop that nonsense this minute. We’re your Ums now,” the tallest one said, fingers squeezing. “Look around,” she said, sweeping her sharp machete arm around the room, slicing through the stillness in the air. “Do you see anyone else asking for her mother or crying? No. You. Do. Not. And we won’t have you being the one to do it either. Understand me?”
