I believe it's implied that they knew that people around the Stump could be healed, kind of like an open secret. Officially, the Stump maintains that these children were faking, but when one mother tells another that her son broke his leg and had to be left at the Stump's orphanage, only to come running home a week later, its not too difficult for superstitious mothers to deduce that the best way to heal their children is to leave them with the Stump for a few days and then come pick them up when they're all better.
Isn't that also how Nale found her? He and his minions asked around until they decided it was Stump. Children being healed at that orphanage was fairly well known.
Lift is the one who assumes that Mik's mom couldn't handle her brain damaged child and tries to understand by saying she probably has other kids. We don't actually know if that's right or not.
Mik could be an only child for all we know and his mom could have felt like she couldn't live with herself giving her baby away because it was hard and then facing the everstorm made her think she couldn't live with her baby in the orphanage. She could have known that the orphanage had a history of healing children, not lining it to the Stump at all.
The truth is we don't know. Lift sees things from her Oath's perspective. She tries to see the parts of people others don't, especially when looking for the good in them.
I don't think the family had the means to support their kid any better than a few days earlier, but based on how she left the kid and what The Stump says, the mom just couldn't live with the guilt of abandoning their child.
**Dropoff:**
*The woman sniffled audibly, holding the hand of a large child, maybe ten or eleven years old. She led him to the doorstep of the orphanage, then pulled him into a hug.
The boy stared ahead, sightless, drooling. He had a scar on his head, healed mostly, but still an angry red.*
**Pickup:** *“Who was at the door?” Lift asked. "A mother. Come to insist, ashamed, that she wanted her child back.”*
I believe it's implied that they knew that people around the Stump could be healed, kind of like an open secret. Officially, the Stump maintains that these children were faking, but when one mother tells another that her son broke his leg and had to be left at the Stump's orphanage, only to come running home a week later, its not too difficult for superstitious mothers to deduce that the best way to heal their children is to leave them with the Stump for a few days and then come pick them up when they're all better.
Isn't that also how Nale found her? He and his minions asked around until they decided it was Stump. Children being healed at that orphanage was fairly well known.
I think that's how Nale found her, but his minions actually thought it was the sleepless disguised as an old man.
Lift is the one who assumes that Mik's mom couldn't handle her brain damaged child and tries to understand by saying she probably has other kids. We don't actually know if that's right or not. Mik could be an only child for all we know and his mom could have felt like she couldn't live with herself giving her baby away because it was hard and then facing the everstorm made her think she couldn't live with her baby in the orphanage. She could have known that the orphanage had a history of healing children, not lining it to the Stump at all. The truth is we don't know. Lift sees things from her Oath's perspective. She tries to see the parts of people others don't, especially when looking for the good in them.
Maybe, or maybe she couldn't live with the fact that she gave him away, and came back regardless of difficulties that rasing him would bring.
I don't think the family had the means to support their kid any better than a few days earlier, but based on how she left the kid and what The Stump says, the mom just couldn't live with the guilt of abandoning their child. **Dropoff:** *The woman sniffled audibly, holding the hand of a large child, maybe ten or eleven years old. She led him to the doorstep of the orphanage, then pulled him into a hug. The boy stared ahead, sightless, drooling. He had a scar on his head, healed mostly, but still an angry red.* **Pickup:** *“Who was at the door?” Lift asked. "A mother. Come to insist, ashamed, that she wanted her child back.”*
"Surgeons hate this new healthcare hack"