When Mama Veronica finished, she turned Samantha over. Her voice returned to normal as she said, "I hope you learned your lesson, sweetie. When you disobey me, you have to be punished, understood?"
Samantha nodded, her throat too choked with sobs to form any words. Mama Veronica pressed Samantha into Molly's arms. "Find her some new pajamas and make sure you put a diaper on her this time. I'll be back in the morning."
After the door slammed shut, Molly set Samantha down on the table. "Why?" Samantha asked. "Why…she?"
"She was only trying to teach you a lesson. You have to behave yourself and do what you're told. Your mama has to work very hard now and she needs all of us to be good for her."
Molly applied a drop of glowing water to Samantha's bottom, the physical pain receding, but she still felt the blows in her mind. Mama Veronica had turned into a monster. After this most wonderful day, how could this happen? She didn't understand.
So wrapped up in her thoughts, Samantha didn't put up any resistance as Molly put a cloth diaper on her, followed by light blue pajamas exactly like the other ones. Samantha was still trying to unravel the mystery as Molly set her down in the crib and kissed her on the forehead. She fell asleep crying.