As a child, I vividly remember toddling along the fence that marked the woods. I saw something glistening and bent down and touched it. Suddenly, the ground moved. I fell back and snakes crawled all over me. I was in a snake pit.
For years I believed it. I used to tease my sister about it because being ten years older, she was my babysitter. At first, she said she didn't remember, but after years of my asking her, she finally said, "it was familiar."
In my middle age to senior years, I googled the snakes. Guess what. They aren't in this area. Also, I remember my fat little legs and dimpled knees. I was never a fat kid. I was skinny. Did I dream the incident? I think I did. And I even convinced my sister that it happened. If you tell a lie often enough people will believe you.
This child certainty came to mind when I read Atonement, by Ian McEwan. A preteen found a note her older sister's lover wrote and in her childish mind she was shocked! He described something he wanted to do to her sexually. They were lovers.
But the tween had never heard, never mind read the words in the letter before. All she could envision was her sweet, innocent sister was in danger of being raped. Well, someone is raped and the tween shows the adults and the police the letter. Worse, she says she saw her sister's lover running away from the crime.
All lies.
Yet, everyone believed the child.
The wrong man was convicted and sent to prison.
Decades later, the girl realizes her mistake--her lie. She wants to apologize to her sister and her now husband and tell her parents the truth.
Apologizing is not atonement. The novel is mistitled, but it is still a riveting story.
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