Post by The Jenn on Jun 28, 2009 22:59:09 GMT -5
Title: Baby
Characters: Femi, mentions of Kazifel, Rosemary, Sage, Parsley, Thyme, Alphonse
Word Count: 805
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Some days it seemed that Femi couldn't get from morning to night without hearing the word 'baby'. Mothers said it. Grandparents said it. Acquaintances said it. Random people seeing one said it. And heaven forbid she actually see a child under the age of two or three. She just couldn't take it. She burst into tears every time, at the sight, the word, everything.
Her baby had been taken away.
She still had her other children, her other babies. They would never be anything else to her. Sage was her perfect little doll, Rosemary her trouble child with the big heart, Thyme her snobby angel, and Parsley her greasy little genius. But Alphonse, he had been her baby. He had always needed her, even when he argued. He had never stopped calling her 'Mommy', never left the nest, never made her stop having a part in her children's lives. Kazifel may have complained sometimes that he was still at home, but she secretly loved it, even if they couldn't run around the house in the spring like frisky wildlife.
Someone had stolen that from her, and that was where the cracks began. She had never been the most stable individual. To put it mildly, her mind was a deck of cards with the aces missing. Probably the twos as well. She hadn't had any King, but then she'd found a King of Clubs and it had propped up the whole shoddy deck. After someone stole the Five of Clubs, though, it started to wobble. A strong breeze would make it tremble in ways that her Kazifel didn't like. She knew he was worried. She just couldn't seem to do anything about it.
It started small, little things acting as the trigger. A bat, the actual animal, would fly near the house and the sound of the wingbeats would make her drop whatever she was doing and run to the window. She spent more time in her doll room, brushing their hair and tending to their clothes and just generally keeping the place spotless, which wasn't easy to do in a dusty house. She stopped talking about things like how Parsley was faring in the big old house in Corvistowne and started asking more after ribbons, and pancakes, and soap bubbles.
Her children were gone for such long stretches of time that none of them noticed. She hadn't seen Parsley since that frightening trip to the Capital, and Thyme had only visited once since then. Sage was busy at her school. Rosemary dropped in more often than the others combined, but even she wasn't around often enough to think of it as anything more than another one of her mother's odd days.
She just started having more and more odd days. Certain things seemed to matter a lot less the more time passed. Making sure the pantry was stocked wasn't nearly as important as making sure her Jenopy-doll's hair tie matched her coat for that season. It hurt, seeing the worry in her husband's eyes when he watched her act silly, so she just stopped seeing it and everything suddenly seemed a lot easier. She could cuddle and snuggle and kiss all over him and everything was alright.
Except that she still missed her baby. Nothing she did could make that hurt go away. The deck just kept getting shakier as more and more cards slipped off the pile. Eventually, it was all bound to come tumbling down.
She didn't want to think about that, though. She just wanted her dolls, and her husband, and her house. And her baby.
Babies. Baby. Babies?
She did have more than one. There was Rosemary, who she'd seen only two months ago and who had smelled of roses. She liked roses. They didn't grow anywhere close to the house. And then there was...
Her dolls. She loved her dolls. And... her doll! Her perfect little doll. Yes, she loved her Sage. Such a sweet girl, and so very pretty. She looked so much like her sister.
And then, then there was...
Was...
Kazifel. She loved her Kazifel, of course she did. But he wasn't one of her babies. Dolls? Yes... well, no. Well, sort of. Not quite. Anymore? Wasn't he? No...?
Babies?
Weren't there more?
Sometimes... she wasn't sure... she hadn't seen them in so long.
Let's see. There was... there were...
Roses. She was sure that there were roses. She rather liked them. They smelled good, even if she didn't see them very often. That had to be what she meant.
And there were always her dolls, of course, her precious dolls. She did so love her dolls. Where would she be without her dolls?
Her Kazifel wasn't quite in that category. He was her husband and her King. He was his own category.
So there were... roses... and dolls... and Kazifel.
Baby. And her baby. Yes. She breathed a small sigh of relief. Roses, dolls, Kazifel, baby. There it was.
Characters: Femi, mentions of Kazifel, Rosemary, Sage, Parsley, Thyme, Alphonse
Word Count: 805
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some days it seemed that Femi couldn't get from morning to night without hearing the word 'baby'. Mothers said it. Grandparents said it. Acquaintances said it. Random people seeing one said it. And heaven forbid she actually see a child under the age of two or three. She just couldn't take it. She burst into tears every time, at the sight, the word, everything.
Her baby had been taken away.
She still had her other children, her other babies. They would never be anything else to her. Sage was her perfect little doll, Rosemary her trouble child with the big heart, Thyme her snobby angel, and Parsley her greasy little genius. But Alphonse, he had been her baby. He had always needed her, even when he argued. He had never stopped calling her 'Mommy', never left the nest, never made her stop having a part in her children's lives. Kazifel may have complained sometimes that he was still at home, but she secretly loved it, even if they couldn't run around the house in the spring like frisky wildlife.
Someone had stolen that from her, and that was where the cracks began. She had never been the most stable individual. To put it mildly, her mind was a deck of cards with the aces missing. Probably the twos as well. She hadn't had any King, but then she'd found a King of Clubs and it had propped up the whole shoddy deck. After someone stole the Five of Clubs, though, it started to wobble. A strong breeze would make it tremble in ways that her Kazifel didn't like. She knew he was worried. She just couldn't seem to do anything about it.
It started small, little things acting as the trigger. A bat, the actual animal, would fly near the house and the sound of the wingbeats would make her drop whatever she was doing and run to the window. She spent more time in her doll room, brushing their hair and tending to their clothes and just generally keeping the place spotless, which wasn't easy to do in a dusty house. She stopped talking about things like how Parsley was faring in the big old house in Corvistowne and started asking more after ribbons, and pancakes, and soap bubbles.
Her children were gone for such long stretches of time that none of them noticed. She hadn't seen Parsley since that frightening trip to the Capital, and Thyme had only visited once since then. Sage was busy at her school. Rosemary dropped in more often than the others combined, but even she wasn't around often enough to think of it as anything more than another one of her mother's odd days.
She just started having more and more odd days. Certain things seemed to matter a lot less the more time passed. Making sure the pantry was stocked wasn't nearly as important as making sure her Jenopy-doll's hair tie matched her coat for that season. It hurt, seeing the worry in her husband's eyes when he watched her act silly, so she just stopped seeing it and everything suddenly seemed a lot easier. She could cuddle and snuggle and kiss all over him and everything was alright.
Except that she still missed her baby. Nothing she did could make that hurt go away. The deck just kept getting shakier as more and more cards slipped off the pile. Eventually, it was all bound to come tumbling down.
She didn't want to think about that, though. She just wanted her dolls, and her husband, and her house. And her baby.
Babies. Baby. Babies?
She did have more than one. There was Rosemary, who she'd seen only two months ago and who had smelled of roses. She liked roses. They didn't grow anywhere close to the house. And then there was...
Her dolls. She loved her dolls. And... her doll! Her perfect little doll. Yes, she loved her Sage. Such a sweet girl, and so very pretty. She looked so much like her sister.
And then, then there was...
Was...
Kazifel. She loved her Kazifel, of course she did. But he wasn't one of her babies. Dolls? Yes... well, no. Well, sort of. Not quite. Anymore? Wasn't he? No...?
Babies?
Weren't there more?
Sometimes... she wasn't sure... she hadn't seen them in so long.
Let's see. There was... there were...
Roses. She was sure that there were roses. She rather liked them. They smelled good, even if she didn't see them very often. That had to be what she meant.
And there were always her dolls, of course, her precious dolls. She did so love her dolls. Where would she be without her dolls?
Her Kazifel wasn't quite in that category. He was her husband and her King. He was his own category.
So there were... roses... and dolls... and Kazifel.
Baby. And her baby. Yes. She breathed a small sigh of relief. Roses, dolls, Kazifel, baby. There it was.
Oh dear. It...kind of aches, to see her sliding off-balance like that, falling apart bit by bit. ;-;
