Enigmatic

August 19th 1982

The chilled air blew through the tree-lined path, crispy leaves snuck through gaps in the branches and silently dropped onto the dirt path. Yvette tugged on her jacket; pulling it closer to her neck,

The Autumn air is coming, she thought. Her boots crunched the sulking greenery as she made her way to the street corner. The silent road loomed ahead of her, no one stays out this late, especially on this side of town.

“This is the small isolated town of Hunters Lake…”

Yvette suddenly remembered the solid description that the realtor made to swindle her mother into purchasing a home here, and somehow it worked. Yvette chuckled lightly at her sporadic recollection that her five year old self was able to remember.

“Full of mountainous cedar and spruce trees, crystal rivers, exotic mushrooms and bioluminescent insects that litter the rocky landscape. It is a calm place to live, everyone knows each other, everyone trusts each other; there is a peacefulness in the protection of the community!”

“There are two sides of town, “the ducks” and “the hawks”; the Ducks being the poor side of town” The man mumbled faintly, “and the Hawks being the rich half. The Hawks house Hunters Lake Academy, which is a well known school throughout the country! And well… the duck’s side has a nice drugstore.”

Yvette recalled that her mother got a kick out of that one, it was one of the first memories that they made here. A sweet honey-like sensation flowed throughout her body, it was warm and inviting. I wish it were still like that… She sighed as the fuzzy memory spilled out her body, leaving her stiff once more.

Walking slowly, one foot in front of the other she reached the other side of the street, she passed hazy streetlights and her long curly hair bounced up and down causing shadows to cascade across the crippled pavement. Hopping over a five year old pothole (that no one ever had any intention of fixing) she reached the glowing sign of ‘Gam Gam’s Minimart’.

As Yvette walked through the door, the broken bell signaled her arrival. She heard a crash followed by high pitched yell,

“Fucking fiddlesticks!”

The owner of the yell popped her head out from behind the wall, near the counter. Her small oval glasses lay crooked on the bridge of her nose,

“Yvette! It’s so nice to see you, sweetie.” She smiled warmly, as she started to make her way to the front.

Unfortunately for her, she tripped on a piece of cracked tile that jutted out of the floor.

“Waaa!” She squealed.

She fell face first into the baby blue and white checkered tiles. Yvette rushed to rescue her, but Mary was never one to accept help from others; rather she did things on her own. She stopped Yvette before she could take another step.

“I’m fine!”

Mary put her wrinkled hand up in defense, her brow creased. She managed to get up off the floor, knowing all too well that she was far too old to be falling. But, she doesn’t take orders from anyone, not even her ex husband before she filed for her divorce.

She looked into Yvette’s eyes, “How are you my dear?”

Mary grabbed onto the side of the counter for balance.

“I’m doing well, thanks. Are you o-”

“Tch-I said I’m fine! You young-ins worry too much!”

She snorted in defiance, turning up her nose.

As the duck-taped clock ticked by, Mary followed Yvette around the small store like a lost puppy, asking questions about anything and everything. Yvette grabbed a tuna sandwich from the fridge, and lightly tucked it in under her arm.

“How’s your mother?”

She stopped, she knew she was going to ask. “She’s doing better.” She responded, dryly.

Mary leaned into the shelf, blocking her way. Her almond eyes squinted in the faded light.

“Is she really?”

Yvette froze for a moment, pushing a tuft of black hair behind her ear nervously.

She inhaled, “Yeah Mary, she’s fine” her breath was caught in her throat and with a sharp exhale she stuttered “…we are fine.”

Yvette looked at the floor, watching an ant crawl from one side of tile to the other sprawling out its thin legs, carrying a bread crumb over its head. She shifted her gaze, her eyes landing on the “Employees Only” sign directly above Mary’s right shoulder. Her eyes narrowed,

“Dr. Lionel was able to get her on better medication for half the cost as the last one.” Yvette balled up the sleeve of her thin navy jacket tightly, her knuckles whitening. “She’s adjusting to it well, but…I’m just worried about her is all.”

Mary crossed the small space between them.

“It’s okay hun, she’s gonna get better, Just give her time she’ll come around.”

She placed her hand comfortingly on Yvette’s shoulder, flashing her a soft smile.

“Yeah…I’m sure you’re right.” She said, acquiescently.

~

As Yvette opened the front door of her home, chilled air was her only greeting. Mom left the window open again, she thought.

Walking in she hung her jacket up onto one of the brass hooks along the wall. The house was dark and quiet, but this was often what Yvette would come home to; her mother forgetting to do things, She would forget to close doors, windows, and feed herself. She wiggled her feet out of her worn boots, and neatly placed them against the wall. With the drugstore bag in one hand, she slowly made her way through the dandelion hallway.

“Mama! I’m home!”

Silence.

When Yvette reached the small kitchen, she gently placed the bag down on the counter.

“Mama?”

A chilled breeze blew through the house, making the floorboards groan and creak. She pulled her sleeves down farther over her hands, stretching the fabric. Shivering, Yvette made her way into the living room. She hesitated before turning the knob on the lamp. The room lit up, chasing the shadows away. Yvette made her way over to the window, the curtains flowing in the wind. She closed it shut and pivoted around, facing the rest of the living room. To Yvette’s right was a picture of her and her mother hung up on the wall, their smiling faces filled the open room with sweet childhood memories, the fireplace was next to the picture; the crisp aroma of cedar clung to the air. Across from the soot-caked fireplace sat a rough dark green couch, its torn plush cushions enticing Yvette to rest her groggy body. Under the couch was a velvet circular rug, with colorful stripes and triangles etched into the soft exterior. The back of the couch was facing the worn wooden stairs, that when stepped on sound like a cat during bath time.

Yvette slowly made her way to the base of the stairs, eyes narrowing in the low light. Hand on the railing she quietly ascended the steps, one by one her feet breached the step ahead. The darkness of the second floor engulfed her, like the inside of a vipers mouth as she tiptoed towards her mothers room. The light’s on, she thought. She crept closer to the adjacent door, her steps light and silent.

“Mama?”

Yvette pushed the door open with the palm of her hand, a soft warm light engulfed her stature.

“Oh-hey honey.”