I Fell In Love With A Lion Intro
“Madeline…” a voice called out early in the morning. “Madeline, wake up.”
“I’m sleeping…” Madeline moaned, rolling over.
“Madeline, your daughter is dead!” the voice called out.
“W-what?! My Jane?!” asked Madeline.
“I’m sorry…we tried to save her-” the doctor said.
“MY BABY! NOOOOO!” wailed Madeline, sobbing heavily. “HOW DARE YOU TAKE MY BABY?!”
The woman, Madeline Smith, was a 27 year old single mother. Her newborn daughter, Jane, had died while she slept. She would never be the same from that point on. One thing remained; she NEEDED her Jane.
In a house in a little neighborhood there lived a mother and her daughter. They were rather poor, but, luckily for them, they received a small amount of cash from the government each month. The mother is a 45 year old white woman with a leg brace for her injured leg. The daughter, however, is an 18 year old black woman who is just about to graduate from high-school.
“Mom, mom, have you seen my hairbrush anywhere?” the daughter asked, frantically looking around for her missing hair brush.
“Ummmm, no? Why did you go and lose it?” the mother asked with a little chuckle. “I told you to keep it where you can always find it.”
“I thought I did!” the daughter exclaimed. “It’s not on my nightstand!”
“Well, why would it be in the living room if you left it on your nightstand? Did you ever stop to think about that?” the mother asked, smugly.
“Well, it isn’t in my room,” the daughter said.
This is not the first time that items have mysteriously disappeared. Usually, they turn up in unexpected locations. You would think if you left an item somewhere it would still be there. The daughter is feeling a bit frustrated.
“Go check again. I would help, but, you know, my leg is in terrible shape! I can barely move!” the mother moaned, holding her injured right leg.
“Mother? Which leg is injured?” the daughter asked, curiously.
“My left leg, duh!” the mother, whose name is Madeline, yelled.
“Really? Because that cast is on your right leg,” the daughter pointed out.
“No! I mean right!” Madeline shrieked. “I was being sarcastic!”
“Okay, but your left leg was the one that was injured yesterday,” the daughter pointed out.
“No, it wasn’t! Shut up!” Madeline yelled, throwing the missing hairbrush at her daughter.
“Ow… Wait, is that my hairbrush?” the daughter asked, picking up the hairbrush.
“Is it? I found it wedged in the couch cushion,” Madeline commented.
The daughter took the hairbrush and ran back to her room. She shut the door and just curled up crying. Her mother treated her this way very frequently. Still, somehow, she felt she had to stay there.
The daughter was always the one to do all the household chores. The mother, of course, couldn’t move around much with her one injured leg. Madeline would always guilt her daughter into doing good deed after good deed.
After a few minutes, the mother slowly made her way to her daughter’s room. Madeline knocked on the door and the daughter reluctantly answered. She slowly entered the room and shut the door behind herself. Then, Madeline sat down in her daughter’s bed next to her.
“Jane… I have come to apologize…” Madeline said. “…I realize it may not have been right for me to throw a hairbrush at you…or to tell you to shut up.”
“Mom…it’s…it’s fine,” the daughter said, sniffling.
“I love you, Jane. I always will,” Madeline said. “I just- I get so frustrated sometimes.”
“You’re only human, mother.” Jane said. “I get frustrated sometimes, too.”
“Hey, I’m glad you got your hairbrush back, though. You might not have found it if I hadn’t thrown it at you,” Madeline said with a grin.
“Maybe not,” Jane said.
“Why did you need your hairbrush so desperately anyhow?” asked Madeline. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Well, I just thought I’d make myself look pretty…just in case,” Jane said with a shrug.
“Oh, that’s not necessary!” Madeline said with a laugh. “You’re already as pretty as you can get! Brushing your hair won’t do anything to help that!”
“Oh? Thanks,” Jane said. “But it isn’t proper to leave my hair unbrushed, anyhow.”
“Hmmm, I suppose,” Madeline said.
“While you’re here…can you- Can you tell me again about my father?” Jane asked, quietly and nervously.
“Oh, Jane… Do you really, really want to hear that story again?” Madeline asked. “It makes me sad thinking about it.”
“I just want to hear about him again. I imagine things would be much different if he were here,” Jane said.
“Well, my darling… Your father was a young man when I met him. We were both deeply in love. I had thought my life was complete, but then I got pregnant with you. I realized then that you were what I really needed in life,” Madeline said. “But before you were born, he went off to war. I didn’t realize that when I kissed him goodbye at the airport that it was the last kiss I’d ever have with him. He died serving his country…my one and only true love.”
“And you’ll never fall in love again?” Jane asked.
