PART 1: TOMATO SUE
PART 1: TOMATO SUE
Sally lived alone in a high-story complex building. It was unusual to see colors like red there. Neighbors were of a variety, some too busy in their own work to come out, some were too talkative and nosy, some were normal. Her apartment was a modern and chic space that she called her home.
She didn't have office friends nor a social circle. She wasn't interested to have social interactions, so much that she didn't contact her mother. She wasn't even aware if her mother was dead or alive. She had blocked her number. She hated mother.
She would occasionally avoid to even look at the shades of red. She ate while sitting on her ash-gray couch or a comfortable space. She had memorized the vegetable aisle of her local convenience store to avoid looking at tomatoes. She hated soups, specifically tomato soups. They were too acidic, too tangy, and the texture felt weird.
It all goes back to the days when she was little, lived with her mother and had a best friend, Sue.
Sue was a nice person. She liked her. Sue would always laugh at Sally's silly stories or jokes. Sue loved talking. She would befriend anyone by merely finding similarities between their favorite color or food. She once had a tantrum in the middle of the road near an ice cream shop because she wanted a chocolate-pistachio cone with rainbow sprinkles.
It was around summer break. The bright golden rays of sun landed on the bright candy-red poppies that Sally's mother had planted in the backyard. Laughing sounds, chirp-chirp from the exotic dark-blue birds sitting on the mango tree, bright green grass, home to the lazy crickets and worker ants. Sally's mother had once narrated a story about it, 'The Grasshopper and The Ant'. Sue and Sally were playing in the garden.
"Sue, do you want to play on the seesaw?"
"Hmm, okay, but only for a while."
"Yay!"
Sue didn't liked Sally's house. It felt uneasy and caging, like someone was watching your every move. But she liked Sally, so she came over anyways. Despite that, she found Sally's house to be beautiful, it was rectangular shaped, a crimson red, brick-made large central chimney was located in the middle of its lavender colored ridge, birch wooden floors and a backyard with a mango tree that had many of its fruit hanging on its walnut brown branches, a metallic see-saw colored in blue and red and a slide.
She found Sally's mother to be unusual. Mrs. Silva has beautiful hazel eyes and a smile that never reaches her eyes. She remembers one time when she went to call Sally to play outside. She rang the bell and ringing sound could be heard all the way from the inside to the outside, as if there was no one living in the house. Suddenly, the door opened and Sally's mother emerged out and looked at Sue for a while, before flashing a smile.
"Hi there. how are you, Sue?"
"I am good Mrs. Silva. Where's Sally?"
"Oh, she's sleeping. She won't be coming for a while."
"Um...okay...but why?"(peeps inside)
"Because I said so. Sue. You should also go back home for now, won't your mother be worried?...Right?"(blocks her view)
"Oh, actually...I-"
Slam.
Just as Sue was recalling this memory, Sally's mother came with a metallic tray of freshly baked...buttery, rich light brown chocolate cookies that smelled heavenly sweet. Sue's mouth watered but Sally gently picked a cookie up without looking at her mother.
"Sue, would you like to stay over for dinner?"
"Um...no thank you. Mrs. Silva" She gave a polite smile. After all, it was Sally's mother who made Sue feel uneasy in this beautiful house.
The next day, Sally woke up at early dawn to her mother consoling someone in hushed mutters while hunched over the charcoal black telephone. Sue's mother...Mrs. Martha?
"It's alright Mrs. Martha. Yes, I had dropped her off yesterday. You're acting exactly like how I did when Sally's father went missing five years ago. You'll find her...Calm down."
She was curious about the eavesdropped conversation...but she knew that curiosity kills the cat. Like mother had once told her. So instead of thinking about it, she decided to do what her mother had trained her to do. Her Daily Tasks.
She bathed, brushed her teeth, got ready for the day and then with the remaining time left, she started studying to get the perfect A. That's the least she could do for Mother.
Precisely at 8:30 a.m.
She went downstairs her fluffy scarlet red slippers softly tapped against the brick red carpet on the birch wooden floor. She sat on the wooden chair customized especially for her, to maintain her perfect posture.
"Sally...I made soup. It's your favorite one. You'll eat it for mommy, right?" Her mother asked, her deep set eyes staring at Sally's expression. The type of gaze that made it hard to gauge her mother's true intentions, the type which made her afraid not because mother's displeasure was terrifying but because she couldn't make out what mother was thinking.
Sally lowered her head to avoid mother's gaze.
"Yes, mommy." She stared at her reflection through the soup. It was blood red in color and had tomato pulp as its base and had some fragments of cut violet colored onion skin. It smelled pungent, warm and odd...spices used to mask an unusual smell. Bright green cilantro and cut spring onions floating on top.
It was different yet, there was something familiar about it. The type of familiarity that she had drowned in her sea of thoughts but it had surfaced back up, all because of the soup.
Five years ago, her father had a fight with her mother. The next day he went missing and she had tomato soup that week.
Now she has to eat it again because of Sue.
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Chop, Chop, Chop
(Sigh) "Oh Sue dear...you were too much of a rebellious influence for my Sally."
(Puts the cut vegetables in the pot) "Now Sally will have to eat tomato soup for this week too...just hoping she doesn't remember it from the last time...I'll add some cloves too...I've read they can over power smells."
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Author,
Ari.Cal
Serial Uploads will be coming. Stay tuned.
