Hiraeth |✔

Jammed door

She was panting, gripping the rope that has never known its end, hooked somewhere high up in heaven, at least that is what she believes. When she looks down it's deeper than Abyss. 'Click' 'Crunch'! Boom! She tripped, not the mountain rocks but the bed she was sleeping in.

Yes, this is Scarlett Halle. It's been months since she started climbing that infinite mountain in her chained dreams. She never died, just like the oxygen cylinder she carried.

Now, she is up. A drop of sweat trickling down her spine.
It's cold outside. The alluring scent of the poppies that were on her night table fused with the morning orange gloss, formulating glitters of pleasant ambience in her room.

Scarlett never had to keep an alarm, for it was that big avalanche or that second she loses her rope grip that would wake her little body up. She strode towards the door. Her tall figure swaying the air behind.

"Damn! What a start!" Screamed Scarlett when her doorknob got jammed. She clenched her fist, banging it harshly against the fine oak timber. The particles vibrated through the air inside the house. Her momma rushed to her upstairs.

"Scarlett! Open the door!" Her heart was pounding against the woollen sweater she was wearing. This wasn't the first time.

"That's what I'm trying to do!" another explosion landed on the door, "the doorknob is jammed!"

"Oh, Arle! Can you calm down! I am too old to bear these high pitched sounds. Smacking the door this loud makes no sense. Try looking for the holes under the knob, honey."

Scarlett bailed her hand under the knob to slowly find two holes. She sat on the floor, eyeing the knob from a low perspective and saw the screws that contained the entire mechanism.

"What next, mamma?"

"See if you find a screwdriver from the shelf where the first aid kit is kept."

She was quick to find one. She carefully rolled the screws out which disassembled the entire shaft. Scarlett was no new to basic mechanics like this. She would often go on road trips with her boyfriend Ayden and almost every time Scarlett was the one who changed the damaged tyres.
But now, anger clouded her brain. Lately, she saw no good in life.
The door opened after her successful mini operation. She gave a gentle smile at her mom and walked down the hall, however, her tone amplified bitterness with her always turn down lips.

Additional thought: how do mothers know everything? Even the hidden holes.

***

"Again Arle? Second time in a week! Are you out of your mind?" yelled her mother over the loud music that was playing in Scarlett's room.

"Yeah! What do you want me to do? Go to a place where they breed bullies. Insert so much information into your brain until all your nerves twist and turn and burst!" Of course, she wasn't going crazy. It was all in her; the hatred to go to school.

Scarlett stormed out, the wind hit her melancholic face.
She started running.