“I don’t understand,” the older brother stood over her bed,” it’s one o’clock in the morning. I don’t want Mom to come home and see you like this.” She sat up, “You think I want her to see me like this?” Her eyes were black underneath. Her hair was messy and unwashed. “I’m tired,” she stated. “You are always tired,” he replied. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, “I will get up. For Mom.” “Good,” he said, “I’m about to go to work. I will get you some food. Please go get a shower.”
She showered and put on fresh sweats and a t-shirt. She headed to the kitchen. There was a bowl of hot potato soup and a mug of boiling, black tea waiting on the counter. “I made you some food. Now I’m going to work. Mom will be home in a few hours,” he hugged her, “I love you. Remember that.” She hugged him back, “I love you too.”
She curled up on the couch with her soup and set her tea on the coffee table. The steam danced above the mug. She turned on the TV and watched a documentary on owls. The soup was good, but her appetite was gone. She had to make herself eat, but slowly. After the documentary ended, she was still eating. She had to warm it up twice before she could finish. She had no idea what was on the TV next. The noise was starting to grate her nerves so she turned it off. She killed off the tea and took her dishes to the kitchen sink. She dropped back onto the couch already exhausted. She closed her eyes.
Her grandparent’s house was full of people visiting. She couldn’t recognize many of them. Some she didn’t want to talk to. They were always asking questions she didn’t want to answer, and they passed judgment unjustly. The one person she wanted to find, was nowhere to be seen. She stopped to ask where her boyfriend was, but the answer was always no. Figures, she thought, I find a boyfriend and he leaves like everyone else.
She did find her brother and her mother sitting on the couch. They were happy and smiling. She approached them. Their faces changed to frowns. Her brother began to lecture her, and her mom just shook her head. That’s when she could see the door was open. Who left the door open?
She sauntered in. The relatives screamed and backed away. A lion, a female, growled and snarled. She made her way to the couch. Mother and Brother were frozen from fear.
“No! No!” She leaped between her family and the lioness. She faced her. The lioness roared. She stood taller and roared back. The lioness rose on her back legs, head over the woman in her way, and roared. She put herself on her tiptoes with outspread arms and roared back.
She woke up with her heart pounding in her chest. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand. I need another shower, she told herself. Her second shower was quick. She stepped out and draped herself in a towel that was still damp from earlier. She wiped the steam from the mirror. Her eyes were still dark underneath, and the whites were reddened, from either no sleep or tears. Or both. Her face was deathly pale. She was the poster child of weariness. She had to fight to sleep. She had to fight to get up. She had to fight to eat. She had to fight to live. And she was so tired of it. Then she saw in the deep center of her eyes; the lioness. The animal licked her lips. “No,” she screamed, ” You can’t have me! Do you hear me?!” She gripped the bathroom sink and roared at her reflection.
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