Half life

A steep

If anyone would have told me my life would turn out to be something else. Something I have never deciphered, I would have doubted it. Few hours ago when mum came to pick me from school she was all smiles. Not even her looks nor her behavior could suggest the faintest of things as to what was to happen shortly there after. Perhaps, mothothers were imbedded with the ability to tuck away their emotions and feelings from outsiders. As we pulled out of the school compound into the major road, I noticed she was acting too cold and kept on throttling with power poles flashing past us as the tires sang and the car engine hummed in accompaniment. When she was sad, on such days she do even be more nice and friendly to me but today she was acting totally weird as she kept peering into the rear mirror and sighing loudly. On reaching home, she did walk me in and left minutes later even without a kiss. I was perturbed as this sudden change and made up my mind to ask her about it when she came back that evening only for her to come home two hours later to inform me that she was leaving. I woke up later at night with hot torrents of grief coursed to my cheeks as I felt layers of unsettling emotions grip my heart. Sitting unsteadily on the sofa, I swallowed hard and blinked a few times feeling dried tears cringed to my pupil. I stood up, rubbing my swollen and red face as I quickly scanned through the spacious sitting room looking for nothing in particular. Everywhere was now lit up with light rays emanating from the chandelier hanging up in the ceiling. I remember seeing the lights turned off when I came back from school earlier today. ‘Who then turned it on?’ I asked rhetorically. I was now perplexed as to when dad came in without my notice.The sitting room, very wide and well furnished with grey colored furniture was carpeted and outlined by giant pillars, painted in creamy color and positioned at close range. The ceiling hung out high in space, arched at the sides to form an inverted letter ‘E’. It walls painted blue, ran sporadically curving but only, slightly at both ends. A quick glance at the left side of the wall brought to ones consciousness, the presence of family portraits of various sizes, shapes and designs overlapping each other. Whereas, on the opposite side hanging on the wall were dad’s numerous awards. He was indeed a professional in his field and I was very proud of him. I also wished he also a good father too. In the day time, the sitting was always very dark as the French windows, chopped into small parts permitted only fragments of light to enter inside. The curtains, partitioned into regular patterns hanged out more loosely on each part of the window casting a larky shadow on the walls beside it. On the far right of the sitting room, was a spiral staircase made from steel with finely polished wooden railings and treads. I made to walk off to my bedroom but stopped when I heard someone’s footsteps. The footstep sounded as if someone was either going or coming from the kitchen. I tilted my head towards the kitchen, with my eyes darting back and forth in attempt to see who it was, walking in that direction. Of course, it was dad but I still wanted to be sure. After standing motionless for some seconds, I ambled but slowly towards the spiral staircase as I ascended it less agilely holding onto the railings for support. I wish mum was here, I soliloquized. She would have carried me from the sofa and tuck me into my bed. Mother had always done this whenever I was too tired and slept off in the sitting room. In those days, she wouldn’t sleep unless I have eaten and gone to bed. But today, she is no more and I have to go to bed all by myself. Tears made to fall from my eyes as I contorted my face struggling not cry but they began to trickle down my cheeks as memories of mum kept lingering in my head. I was too weak to weep as my voice now thickened with tears. Without realizing I was now in front of the doorway, I looked up in space with teary eyes scanning through the doorway floored with polish and lustrous marble in search of my room. The doorway houses five rooms in total. All the doors in this doorway have identical door. Taking a deep breath, I sighed as I motioned miserably, towards my room at the far left precisely the second room. Lying on the bed, I winced in pains as my stomach kept growling. I was indeed very famished. If only mum was around she would have made sure I was ok unlike this selfish and self centered man of a father who doesn’t care if I existed at all. All he cares and thinks of is money and work!! I hate you dad!!!For all the pains you have caused me I pray you will pay so dearly! I kept cursing as streams of tears ran freely down my cheeks. I didn’t care anymore I just wished he could go to hell and never come back. The migraine throbbing at the back of my head increased rapidly as I felt pains travel at supersonic speed around the base of my brain.