Dialogue Introduction: The Rest of the Story

After Stephen Hayes comment, I thought I'd post the rest of the scene my dialogue challenge was taken from.  So now you can see how it compares and contrasts to what I posted earlier.
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Growing up, Emma had heard stories about kidnappings at shopping malls and supermarkets.  Usually the mother in question would say that she turned her back for just a moment and her child had disappeared.  Emma’s mother had always watched her closely, scolding her if she took more than a couple steps away from her mother’s side.  If Emma insisted that she could watch out for herself, Mom said, “I know, baby, but I don’t want to lose you.”

Emma had promised herself that she would be that kind of mother.  She would be caring and attentive, making sure nothing happened to Louise.  And now only five minutes into her career as a mother she’d turned her back and Louise had disappeared.  She could only say in her defense that she’d assumed Louise was still asleep.

The good thing was that Louise was only two years old, and thus not well-versed in how to avoid a pursuer.  Emma didn’t need the armor to follow Louise’s tiny tracks, as well as the scrape made no doubt by one of the stuffed turtle’s limbs as Louise dragged it along.  She followed these tracks as quickly as possible, hoping to catch up to Louise before an animal did.

She followed her daughter’s footprints into a thicket, where in addition to footprints, she saw handprints as well.  Louise had begun crawling on all fours, probably to hide herself in the brush.  “Katya,” Emma called out softly.  “Are you here?”

She didn’t hear anything for a moment.  Then she heard a sniffling sound.  Bending down, she spotted the bright green form of Louise’s turtle among a bush.  Emma knew better than to try reaching into the bush, not wanting to scare Louise any more than she already was.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Emma said.  “I only want to take you home.”

Probably sensing the jig was up, Louise said, “I don’t want to go anywhere with you.  I want Papa and Katarina.”

“I know this might be hard for you to accept, but I am your mommy.”

“No you’re not!  Katarina is my mommy.  Papa said so.”

“He lied to you, baby.  I’m your real mother.  That man with me was your real father.   We came all the way from America to bring you back.”

“You’re lying!”

“I’m not.  He took you from me when you were a tiny little baby, just after you were born.  He made me think you were dead.  Mommy—Katarina—told me where you were so that your father and I could bring you back.”

Louise’s sniffling became louder now.  “No, that’s not true.  Papa wouldn’t lie to me.  He loves me.”

“Your papa did love you.  That’s why he lied to you.”

“No!  You’re the liar.”  Louise emerged from the brush, leaves and nettles caught in her tangled hair.  Her face had turned nearly the same red as Emma’s armor, her bottom lip trembling as she fought valiantly not to cry.

“Katya, look into my eyes.  They’re just like yours.  You have my eyes.”

“No.  I don’t.”  Louise closed her eyes, shaking her head.  “It’s not true.”

“And you have your father’s nose.”  Emma smiled at her.  “Louise Gladys Earl.  That’s your real name.”

Louise shook her head.  “No it’s not!  My name is Katya!  You’re not my mommy!”

Emma didn’t say anything for a minute, trying to think of how to reach her little girl.  Back in Rampart City she had hoped that just showing up would have been enough, that Louise would see the similarities for herself.  Clearly that wasn’t going to happen.  Emma couldn’t really blame the girl; Bykov and Katarina had obviously treated her very well, even spoiling her.  Why should she reject them in favor of some crazy American woman?

She thought of what Dr. Richman had told her, that she should communicate her love very clearly to Louise.  She put both hands on Louise’s shoulders and looked into her eyes.  “Katya, I want you to know I love you very much.  I would have given anything for this not to have happened.  I would have given anything after you were born to keep you with me.”  Emma took one hand away to brush her white hair forward.  “This happened after I thought you had died.  Before that it was red, though not as pretty as yours.”

“Why did it do that?”

“Because I was very sad after I thought I lost you.  I was so sad I had to stay in the hospital for a couple of months.”

“You went crazy?”

“Yes, I guess you could say that.  I started seeing a psychologist.  You know what that is?” Louise nodded, so Emma continued, “He helped me feel not so sad, but what really helped was going to the cemetery, where I thought they had buried you.  I used to spend hours talking to you.”

“Why did you do that?  If I were dead, I couldn’t hear you.”

Emma thought of the answer she had given to Dr. Richman.  “I wanted to feel close to you.  At your age that’s probably hard to understand, but when I went there, it felt like you were there, that you could hear me.”  Tears bubbled up in her eyes, but she made no attempt to wipe them away.  Instead, she smiled slightly.  “When Katarina said you were alive, I was so happy.  And I was scared too.”

“Scared of what?”

“That you wouldn’t love me.  That you would think I was lying.”  Emma sighed at this.  “It’s all right if you feel that way.  I’ll wait however long it takes.  Even if you never do believe me, I’ll feel happy that you’re alive.”

.  That was all Emma could get out, her throat becoming choked with sobs.  Louise threw herself against Emma’s chest, mumbling, “Don’t cry, Mommy.”

“I won’t, baby,” Emma whispered, wiping at her eyes with one hand.  “Everything’s going to be all right now.”

Then she heard the sound of helicopters approaching.