Tuesday 15 January 2008

Cherry Blossom


She didn’t know when she had become this bitter and ugly woman, who stood there staring in the mirror. She bent and washed her face, splashed heavily cold water on her face and tried to make the blood run and bring some colour to her shrunken cheekbones.

She stood up, dried her skin with a hard towel, and rubbed her eyes a while, but nothing helped: she stared at her mother in the mirror, and she realized that everything had been in vain: her vicious rebelling and finally running away from home, years of silence, living in distance places, trying to escape from what now seemed evident.

All in vain. Her whole life had led her to the dead end she had tried to break away from, and though she knew that inside, she wasn’t her mother, she couldn’t be absolutely sure.

Life had an odd sense of humour, she realized, and she didn’t smile. All in vain, she murmured to herself, grabbed her lipstick, and started to fill her thin lips with Cherry Blossom, the same shade her mother had used years, years ago.



15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Olet muuten tavoittanut elämänkierron perustotuuksia. Itse olen muutamasta valokuvasta ollut havaitsevinani itsessäni samoja piirteitä kuin isässäni. Isä oli minun ollessani 10-vuotias samanikäinen kuin minä nyt. Ja nuorena inhosin muutamia piirteitä, kuten ivallinen rehvakkuus ja elämänkatkeruus, jotka nousivat esiin hänen ollessaan sopivassa nousuhumalassa. Nykyisin inhoan samassa tilanteessa samoja piirteitä itsessäni.

Ps. Pakko kommentoida suomeksi. En nyt ehdi keskittyä ajatusten muotoiluun englanniksi.

hpy said...

If I could look like my mother I would be very happy, the problem is that I start to look like my grandmother.

SusuPetal said...

Ehkä vielä jotenkin kestäisi ulkonäön samankaltaisuutta, mutta tuo mainitsemasi luonteenkin yhtäläisyys on välillä aika tuskallista huomata, Kari.
Mutta ehkä, kun sen huomaa ja on tietoinen, ja jos ei pidä siitä, pystyy tekemään jotain? En tiedä.

Oh dear, HPY, that is true also! The next level...

Peter said...

Fortunately that I already shaved this morning. I don't have to go back and look in the mirror immeidately. This text is wonderfully, just wonderfully, written and illustrated, but of course a bit (understatement) depressing.

SusuPetal said...

Well, realizations can be a bit depressing, Peter, but life still goes on. And hopefully a little happier and wiser.

Mick said...

As always, Susu, you seem to give us these haunting truths that, with pause for thought, can be hopeful stepping stones to wiser choices.

SusuPetal said...

You said it, Mick! Haunting truths and you can't get away from your own private ghosts!

Trijnie said...

I realy love the image you made, the text is facing the reality.
My 2 grandmothers both died when they were 95 years old. Both were always happy with how they looked.
One of them always used lipstick.
They both gave me beautiful memories for the rest of my life.
I like the way to become old as they did. Hope I will ;)

SusuPetal said...

Your grandmothers had both a long life, Trijnie! Maybe the positive attitude was the reason to such a long life? And if that is so, I'm certain that your life will be as long and good, too.

GMG said...

Well, if at the age of 90 I would look like my father now looks, I would be very, very happy!!!
Gil

SusuPetal said...

Hope you will, Gil!

Liisa said...

My problem is that they say I start resemble my father and sound like my mother. This is how we are genetically connected with the generations to have passed and with the ones to come. Wouldn´t it be a bit dubious if there weren´t any similarities?

SusuPetal said...

Yes, it would be strange not to have any similarity to elder generations, Liisa, but maybe the similatities in one's nature is the weirdest thing.

Elegia said...

This is great, Susu! I love this little story. I look like my mother, but (happily) that's all. :)

Your awesome picture remind me of the jigsaw. I must post few links:

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/061024/142224__saw_2_l.jpg

http://www.best-horror-movies.com/images/saw-2-jigsaw.jpg


Thank you for this story!!!

SusuPetal said...

I believe the person in this pic and the skull in your blog just recently is just the same person, Elina!