56 SIERRA

Carrie was right the entire time because as I grew older, I learned that mama was more than just the mother figure we all want. She wasn't ordinary; she was above and beyond everyone else. She was observant and had finesse, and she knew how to bend straight lines without getting caught. She knew everything about evil, and she also taught me everything.

Like Allison, I took Carrie's advice to gain Mama's trust. It wasn't easy, as she had warned me. I didn't know where to begin since whenever I approached Mama, all I could feel was nervousness, and she was always mad and strict with me. Facing her was like facing Satan himself.

And what's worse was I had forgotten that I had once been Allison, and I had simply forgotten how to be like her. Allison, as I recall, was a crybaby who was always afraid but yet did things she was afraid of anyhow. But, as time went by, I grew accustomed to lying and became a professional, just like my mother. I felt like I had inherit