Wishful Thinking

A fictional short story. That contains mystery, drama, secrets and a bit of my own personal experiences as well...

The wind suddenly brought a chill down her spine as she lie there on the bitter floor of her neighborhood park. Teresa Davis, only 15 years old was trying to retain information from her memory of the events that took place only hours prior to her awakening in the park. She remembered watching the megastar Jennie Jacobs on the TV set and gazing at the talented star’s mesmerizing performance, when her state of reverie was abruptly interrupted by her mother’s vicious yelling.
“Didn’t I tell you to wash these damn dishes?” Her mother shouted from the top of her lungs.
“Yeah, but y-you...” She started to explain, but was violently struck by her mother.
She had little time to explain to her mother that there were absolutely no dishes in the sink and that the accusation of her previously demanding Teresa to wash the dishes was incorrect. Since her mother was a heavy drinker it was logical for her to forget things. She had no idea that she told her daughter to wash the dishes the previous day; in fact she hadn’t spoken a single word to her daughter since.
Teresa would repeatedly weep in the silence of the attic, where she would make an effort to paint images of her father in her imagination. She never had the honor of meeting him and never had an accurate account of why he left. When she asked her mother about him she get a different story each time. Refusing to be discouraged, she would create a fictional description of what her father must be like. She imagined him as a tall, brown skinned man, with a scruffy beard but maintained a young boy’s handsome charm. Still, no imaginary father or made-up story of him could fill the empty place in her heart that yearned for a man’s love.
Teresa returned to the real world and realized that she couldn’t continue hiding in her imagination- where every aspect of her life was perfect-and that she would soon have to face her mother. In an effort to reconcile with her mother she decided she was going to go into her room and address their problems. When she entered the room she was quickly met by a cloud of smoke coming from a burning cigar in the ash tray. She knew her mother didn’t smoke so this truly confused the young girl. She presumptuously came to the conclusion that it was her father who had come to make things right with her mother. But when the smoke cleared and she was able to get a clear glimpse of this mystery man, all her hopes vanished. She soon found herself staring in the eyes of Pastor Bob, the man who attempted to molest her in bible study when she was just eight years of age.
“It couldn’t be, it couldn’t be.” She repeated over in her mind, hoping it was just her mind playing tricks on her.
“Come over here and say hi to yo’ new daddy” Her mother said foolishly.
Teresa, staggered by what she was hearing, stood there using all her strength to prevent tears from rolling down.
“Yea girl come ova’ here and show me sum love” He said, in the most ignorant manner ever muttered by man.
Teresa paused for a few moments then made up her mind that she’d run away as soon as this antic was over. She would just act in accordance with her mother’s demands, pack her things, and leave unannounced. The mood in the room was phony. The laughter was the laughter of someone politely giggling to a joke that wasn’t funny.
Pastor Bob continued to give Teresa intimidating looks that indicated he remembered his sin and was arrogant about it. For him to be so deeply in the church he was the most hypocritical, deceitful person Teresa had ever seen. He threatened her to make sure no one would find out about his shameful secret.
Teresa was finally able to elude the joyful, yet awkward atmosphere. She franticly ran to her room and gathered her every belonging. By this time it was nighttime so she used the bright-yellow beam from the neighbor’s security light as her way to see. She feared that turning on her room light would signal her mother that something was going on because she would normally be sleep. But her mother was so preoccupied by the pastor she most likely wouldn’t have even noticed. Teresa took no chances in getting caught. She took every precaution in planning her unexpected escape.
She couldn’t believe what she was doing. She knew it was long overdue but had no idea it would come so soon. Just the initiative of this action made her smile and feel dominant of her own self, something she had never felt. But there was no time for celebration just yet. She would have to fully carry out this plan in order to feel accomplished.
With all of her things packed she was finally ready to leave. She hurried down the stairs and dropped her bags at the door. She looked up and saw the silhouette of her mother standing in the kitchen door. Her heart pierced through her chest.
“Where the hell do you think you going’?”
“Umm…I…I was going for a walk.” She said the first thing that entered her mind
“Not with all them bags you ain’t”
“I don’t like it here anymore, we don’t get along, and your not much of a mother”
This was the very first time Teresa had expressed her true feelings toward her mother. It was also the first time her mother was left in silence by a remark her daughter had made.
“Who in the world do you think you are talking to little girl?”
This time she raised her fist anticipating a smart comment from Teresa. There was nothing. Nothing but the blank stare of a girl who is crying inside, wishing her mother would finally see her mistakes and accept her as her child and love her. Her mother grew angry by the second and made up her mind that if Teresa wanted to leave, she would let her go. Not because she felt bad about the way she had been treating her daughter, but because she never really cared at all. Teresa was born when her mother was 25 years old. And even then she looked at her daughter as a burden she wouldn’t be able to get rid of like she did all the rest. The only thing Teresa possessed her father’s was his last name. Teresa had always been oblivious to this fact up until this moment. Her mother threw hateful words at her and attempted in every way to break her down. Bringing up her father sparked an emotion inside of Teresa that she had only brought out when she was alone.
“I hate you!” She yelled to her mother without regard of what would come soon after. “I hate you!” She said again, but in a louder voice.
“You hate me? Well I hate you too” She said in response. “As a matter of fact get the hell out of my house!”
She pointed to the door with a sinister look on her face, which could only be described as pure evil.
Teresa grabbed her bags and exited the house never to look back. She walked for a few blocks then decided to rest at the park. This place was particularly special to her because it was where she would imagine her and her father spending quality time. But only this time the sight of the park made her depressed. She always thought she would enjoy a beautiful night in the park, but never in these circumstances. Forced to sleep in the park because there was no way she could return home and face her mother, nor did she have the desire to do so.
She laid there trying to make sense of what had previously occurred. Many thoughts ran through her mind and she grew tired of trying to piece together a puzzle, aware that there were key pieces missing. Not long after she cried, she stopped crying, and cried some more.
Almost immediately after her last tear fell, she was sound asleep. She packed a heavy quilt so she slept like a baby even through the strong wind that frequently passed over her small body. Finally she was awakened by a cold breeze. She thought only for a moment of the events that took place that previous night, by then the sun came up and to her surprise there was a strange woman standing over her. She wondered if it was her mother coming to apologize. She whipped the crust from her eyes and saw the amazing beauty of a woman with long black hair.
“Why are you sleeping on the cold ground little?” The woman asked.
“Huh…that’s such a long story.” She said
“Well I have time to spare. Are you hungry?”
“Yes, actually I am” Teresa replied eagerly
“Okay we can talk over a nice breakfast.”
The woman was very polite and seemed to be extremely generous, something Teresa hadn’t witnessed before, genuine kindness.
“My name is Mrs. Davis by the way” She went on to further introduce herself. “I am married to a wonderful man and I don’t have any kids.” “What about you.” She asked.
“Wow my last name is Davis too!”
“Really?” Mrs. Davis asked enthusiastically
Before Teresa could say another word she was impaled by an adrenalin rush that was completely indescribable.
“What’s wrong, what do you see?” She looked up as well to discover what it was that held Teresa’s attention so tightly.
“Oh that’s my husband, the man I was telling you about. “But why are you so astounded by his presence, have you seen him before?”
Teresa remained silent. Unable to move or talk, she couldn’t fully comprehend what stood before her. She blinked a few times to see if her eyes were working correctly. Indeed they were. The man that stood before her was amazingly identical to the man in her imagination who she envisioned to be her father. She remained physically and mentally paralyzed for an immense period of time. Then she uttered, “Daddy?”

Reviews

[aaaa]

Loved it, can't wait to read more by you.

[Jhalia Monae]

Please Comment...your opinions will be sincerely appreciated!