The Scar

She lay on her bed, stared up at the ceiling and counted thnumber of patterns she could find, a habit of hers when the world seemed like it was caving in on her. Though she was all too familiar with the patterns, it just seemed like the breath of fresh air she was gasping for, her perfect getaway. It wasn’t as if she was facing major problems, just one that was perpetually there- she felt small, and she despised it. She wasn’t small in the physically challenged sense- in fact she was quite the opposite- but rather unappreciated, insignificant and taken for granted. She closed her eyes and heaved a long sigh, hoping that her problems would just dissipate into thin air. At the thought of it, her lips curled up into a weak smile and then almost immediately, it vanished. Funny how the word ‘air’ seemed so light, she thought, and she knew exactly why. “Because problems just don’t simply disappear into thin air,” she said with an air of sadness. “Unlike me. To them, I just disappear without a trace and they don’t care, they never do. I guess they only have eyes for pretty girls.” A few wisps of suppressed envy were beginning to escape; to circle her mind looking for a place to lodge. -AW

   

    She got up from her bed and paced towards the mirror that stood on her dressing table. She looked into those hazel eyes, brimmed with sympathy that penetrated into the darkest corners of her life. The sorrow, pain, anger, hurt, frustration, jealousy, she could see it all. She was like a dying star, the weight of all her emotions engulfing the little dim light that had once been able to illuminate a room full of people. The incandescent glow from the warmth of her heart had reduced to a charred shell, black and cold. No one would’ve thought that a jaunty young lady like her would ever become so diffident. “That’s life. Expect the unexpected,” she said with a forced laugh as she held a pen in her hand. She inhaled deeply and with every ounce of strength, hauled the pen towards the mirror. She watched it shatter into pieces, just like her life. She bit her lip and broke into soft sobs. I’m going to end this once and for all, she thought. Her eyes darted from a shard of the mirror to her wrist. She picked up the shard, shut her eyes and…

***

    “I guess some days we die a little,” she said with a cackle as she sat on her rocking chair. Her grandchildren that gathered around her watched her, their eyes wide with shock, incredulous that their wise, old, wrinkly grandmother would have attempted suicide. “And then what happened next, gammy?” asked young Suzie earnestly. “Ahh, that’s for me to know, and you to find out,” she tapped Suzie’s nose and winked. “Who’s hungry? I made some scones!” called out a voice from the kitchen. “Ma, do you want some? I made extras.”

“No, no dear, you go ahead. I’m not very hungry,” she replied with a smile.

As the children scrambled to the dining table for the scones, she stared up at the ceiling once again. This time however, not because the world was enclosing on her, but as a sign of gratitude towards the Maker of heaven and earth because the world had seemed to open up as the years went by. She turned her gaze towards her left wrist. The scar from the slit brought taught her many valuable lessons that will always linger in her mind till the day she returns home. The scar reminded her of her foolish actions, her naïve thoughts, but most importantly, the love of her friends and family. While she conjured up all the times spent together with them, her lips slid up into a wide smile. She let out a wheezy laugh and fell into a deep, deep sleep.  

-AW

This isn't the story I promised, but I really hope you enjoy it. It's by AW :D that's definitely got to be a good thing. So give me your feedback and I'll pass it on to AW :) My story will be posted up by next week, I assure you... I think :P GBU readers!