The Hanging Noose

One

The two siblings sit upon the cobbled streets. Dottie leans her head back against the wall, smoke dancing from her mouth as a cigarette lays between her fingers, whilst her younger brother, Henry, or Micheal, kicks away at the cobbles.

"Mam would kill you if she saw you smoking," he says, staring at his older sister, noticing the darkening and sagging bags under her eyes.

Dottie raises an eyebrow, "she tries to kill me several times each day," she responds, "everything I do, she hates."

Micheal frowns, "that's not true."

Humming in response, Dottie places the cigarette between her lips, "sure," she says dismissively, breathing in the cigarette.

Micheal continues to kick the stoned cobbles, he looks back at Dottie. "She may call you Dorothea."

"She may call you a fucking nuisance," Dottie responds back, raising an eyebrow at Micheal, "the cobbles aren't going to move."

Micheal grunts in response, kicking a stone in to the middle of the road before Dottie huffs.

"Stand still, man," Dottie says grumpily, "you're doing my head in."

Micheal grunts again, his legs fall straight, listening to his older sister. He looks down at the cobbles then up at the stacked bricked houses. He opens his mouth to say something, but decided not to.

"Go on," Dottie urges, flicking the ash from the cigarette.

Micheal hesitates before his attention falls to a woman walking down the street, her hair dishevelled, and makeup smudging her eyes and her lips. Her eyes are casted downwards, her fingertips fiddling with her coat pockets.

Micheal clears his throat, catching the woman's attention. "Excuse me? I'm looking for someone called Elizabeth Gray. We were told she lived here at number 17."

The woman doesn't respond.

Micheal continues, "we came last night but there was nobody here. So we waited."

"What do you want with Elizabeth Gray?" The woman speaks, her voice raspy.

"I think she might be our mother."

The woman drops her keys instantly. Micheal eyes the woman before he bends down to pick them up. He walks to the front door, eyeing Dottie, who flicks away her cigarette and stands up. He pushes the keys in to the door, and turns them, opening the door.

The woman clears her throat, stepping towards the door, "come in, both of you."

                                    —

Polly, Elizabeth Gray as she had been introduced to both Dottie and Micheal, sits at the dining table with half a cup of boiling tea. She had offered both her children a cup of tea as well as a sandwich, to which both had accepted. Micheal had scoffed his deon, as well as half of Dottie's.

Polly chuckles, "he use to always eat half of your food," she says, looking at Dottie, her eyes dancing across every feature and crevice. "Had to at one point stop you eating together."

"I use to give him my food," Dottie responds, frowning slightly.

"You've always been the sweetest girl," Polly hums in response, "you were a gift from God, that's why we called you Dorothea... did they keep your name?"

Dottie nods, "yes... they always called me Dorothea, use to have a go at him for calling me Thea."

Polly leans back in her chair, a small smile on her lips. "You've always had a bond greater than life itself. I'm glad they kept you together, even if they didn't keep the three of you together."