Monday, 29 January 2007

Three words


I can still remember those words. Those three words.

She is sitting by the table, finishing a big puzzle, lying on the sofa, maybe sleeping, dozing in the armchair looking at TV, holding a book in her hand, standing in the kitchen, her hands in soapy clouds, fingers lazily swimming in the lukewarm water. Or maybe she is ironing something and the scent of hot, clean clothes lingers in the hallway.

Those words, those three words have burned black holes in my mind, holes filled with pitch dark memories, scents that still make breathing impossible.

Leave me alone.

10 comments:

Salka said...

Nuo sanat kuultuaan ei jää ihmisestä paljoakaan jäljelle. Miksi se sanoi noin...

SusuPetal said...

En minä tiedä, miksi ne sanovat noin. Jotkut vaan ovat sitä mieltä, että toinen(lapsi) on koko ajan tiellä, on syntynyt vanhempien kiusaksi, häiritsee tahallaan.
Kai siksi.
Olisivathan ne kolme sanaa voineet olla "minä rakastan sinua".
Ei tässä tarinassa.

hpy said...

"Leave me alone" can mean "Please help me, I'm so unhappy".

SusuPetal said...

Yes, HPY, it can mean that, or it could have meant that a long time ago, but at that moment, when a child hears it, it means "go away, I don't love you".

It's sad, for both of them, for the child and for the mother.

The mother needs help, but maybe it's not a job for a child.

hpy said...

Those are among the worst words you can say to a child.
Said between adults they should make us think.
Why does (s)he say so? Can I help?

SusuPetal said...

Yes, alarm bells should ring if we hear such words and it's time to help. But... a family is a holy institution, its boundaries do not allow easily outsiders entrance and there's the difficulty -how to offer your help, how to tell that you are worried without accusation.

It requires skill. And courage, too. But it can be done.

Cinnamonbed said...

Umm, and I was so sure it was the mother who was talking about her child... Weird me. :)

SusuPetal said...

Well, nothing weird about that, Cinnamonbed. These are just words, spoken by anybody and the reader interprets the story as she does. There's no right or wrong, everything is possible.

I like to write stories that open up in different ways to different readers. There are thousands of angles to look at things.
Luckily.

Anonymous said...

"Leave me alone" can also mean "I love you, but just now, in this moment please leave me alone..",>

SusuPetal said...

Yes, it can mean also that, Polgara, but if you can't remember any other words from your childhood... or from any relationship.