Monday, March 30, 2009

The Innocent Can Never Last


standing in the light of your halo
Originally uploaded by HardCandii[CB]

***fiction with bits of reality***

I remember when Mommy and Daddy fought. I hid in the bathroom until they were done, and Mommy left, and Daddy was sitting on the stairs, head in hands, crying. I remember that's when Chris started going out with his friends, leaving me in the unloving house. I remember when Mommy came home, but left again, for good. I remember Daddy going to court. They gave Daddy full custody of us. I remember Chris saying that nobody had custody of him. I remember Mommy preaching to me. I remember crying to Daddy about it. I remember Daddy telling me to try to understand. Try to understand what she'd been through, how she'd sunk to the lowest of lows. I remember telling him I didn't care, that she should get lost and that everything was her fault. I remember waiting on the corner for Chris to pick me up. I remember him not coming, but I remember you waiting with me until 2 in the morning. I remember you yelling at him for showing up then, drunk and stoned. I remember him yelling at you for getting involved. I remember letting him. I remember the week Daddy went on a business trip. I remember that it rained and rained. I remember leaving the house full of stoners and drunks in the rain. I remember lying on the grass in the park. I remember falling asleep in the rain. I remember the way your hands gently brushed my face to wake me up and take me to your house. I remember the sweet scent in your room, and the smooth cotton on the bed. I remember how Chris didn't even notice. I remember when Daddy came home. I remember standing on the street, the wet street, waiting for him to take me home.

=====================================================

~molly<3

4 comments:

Don said...

Nicely done. You created quite a bit of tension for the main character, but things didn't go horrific. (I was relieved.) Amazing how many times you used "I remember" but it didn't get old. You captured much of the pathos of a family spiraling into dysfunction, and the effects on one family member. Nicely done. And open-ended, much like life.

musingwoman said...

Memory, both friend and foe all at the same time.

_we_the_pieces_ said...

Don, thanks. I don't think I could have handled things going horrific, as I've seen it happen too much in real life. I didn't think I could use I remember that many times! My teacher last year made us right a poem called I remember and each line had to start with I remember. I though about using the line "I remember when I liked English" but decided it was not in my best interests to do so...
(:

_we_the_pieces_ said...

musing,
good point! I've never really thought about it like that before, but you are very right!