I was so surprised my mother agreed to curl my hair. Usually I ran out the house, like a gypsy, skirts flowing, with whatever I could grab. Usually my mane was an unruly mess, as I had never received instructions on how to take care of my hair. In fact, I was pretty much left to fend for myself with interesting consequences at times. My mother didn't seem to have any idea or instinct on how to care for a daughter.
My mother sang. She adored Mario Lanza and her face was full of smiles as his voice echoed out of the record player and filled our home.
I grabbed my mother's happiness whilst it lasted and wrapped it around my body; tightly I held onto it whilst it glowed bright. I felt the warmth from it and didn't want to let it go.
These moments, were almost normality. For a short time, I had a mother like other people did. My mother treated me like a customer as she curled my hair and put it into rollers and dried it. All the time her voice was soft. I felt like a princess.
The next day I went to school. Everyone made a fuss of my beautiful curls. I felt tall. I felt proud. For once I wasn't ridiculed.
As I skipped all the way home, I felt happy. Excitement filled me. Today I felt special.
Even before I opened the door, I noticed number 5 was the only house in the street in shadow. I turned the key, almost not wanting to go in.
The house was in total darkness. Nothing had moved since I left that morning. My mother was still sitting in the arm chair where I left her, staring into space.
I slowly closed the front room door and tiptoed out the house, closing the main door behind me softly. The darkness had overtaken her.
My mother never curled my hair again.
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Many thanks, Kimberley S B Lieb
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Just an Ordinary Girl
General FictionWattNaNo Drama Pick Winner 2018. This book has slices of my life, a memoir, covering my difficult childhood coping with my mother's severe mental heath issues and my journey today. This is a collection of short stories that can be independently re...
