Friday, October 5, 2007

Nursery Rhyme

This Week’s Theme: Use the first line of a nursery rhyme (your choice) to start your own story.

Ring a ring o'roses,
A pocketful of posies.
ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.
We all fall down.


It was Jake's favorite song for that week. He learned it just a few days back and was proudly singing it to everyone who will listen. His incessant high-pitched voice was a good company for her as she tries to put some semblance of order inside her house. Having her sister's family's visit with her 3 small kids running around with Jake is like having a tornado sweeping across her room.

Ring a ring o'roses,
A pocketful of posies.
ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.
We all fall down.


Assured that Jake is keeping himself busy, she went about her work and suddenly met her husband's sad face.

"Honey, are you coping well?"

"Huh? I am okay. Don't worry about me."

"You know it is okay to feel sad and lost but you should know that I am here and we can go through this together." Roger's voice was filled with emotion and she was a bit dumbfounded by this.

"Roger. Is everything okay? You seem a bit sad."

Roger gave him a look of surprise, a look of sudden alarm passed through his face.

"Honey. Do you know what day it is? And what has happened a few days back?"

She stopped at her tracks as she tries to recall what Roger is trying to allude to. And then she remembers. The pain and sudden ache in her heart was so strong that it had her slumping down from where she stands. Heart-wrenching sobs escaped and although she wants to stop, she has no power to halt the emotions that threatens to overwhelm her.

Her son, her only son, has been missing for a month now. Today marks the first month of his disappearance. And although they cling on to the hope that he will be found, in her heart she fears for what the Police will find.

She was with him a month ago. They were in that department store they frequently go to. He always separates from her whenever she's browsing around. He's just so used to her taking too long a time to pick a new dress. She looked across the lobby and saw Jake playing at his usual place, happily enjoying the freedom he has. She only went inside the dressing room to try on a new dress. It was but a few minutes when he was out of her sight. But when she stepped out again, her son is nowhere to be found. The security guard and the police looked and looked but they were unable to find him. Her heart broke into a million pieces when the police decided it was time to stop the search.

Ring a ring o'roses,
A pocketful of posies.
ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.
We all fall down.


She keeps on hearing his incessant singing like he is just beside her. She feels in her heart that her son is gone but she still refused to believe it. And so until she sees any evidence to indicate otherwise, she will assume that her son is somewhere out there, alive and well.

Ring a ring o'roses,
A pocketful of posies.
ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.
We all fall down.


As she starts to calm down after her sudden breakdown, she hears his voice like he's just beside her. His high-pitched voice lulls her to sleep as he sings her his favorite nursery rhyme.

4 comments:

Jo said...

This is scary.......but a good take.

paisley said...

that place in the middle of my chest,, where mourning seems to radiate from ... i feel it now,, as i read your words and think of their exasperated heartbreak... very well written...

~willow~ said...

oh, how sad! I can just imagine her clinging on to the memory of Jake singing the nursery rhyme - but is that memory keeping her going, or turning her mad? ;-)

Anonymous said...

Chilling tale! Written so very well!

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