Escape To Oblivion

Manda tries to escape the reality of her mother's cancer.

The day her mother got the cancer diagnosis was the day that Manda's life turned into a year long prison sentence of having to play nurse maid to her mother while taking care of the house and the dog not that she didn't already take care of the house and the dog but this time, it's different; Manda hating seeing her mother in pain knowing that nothing could be done. At the same time, she resented her mother for being a burden because all her mother can do is lay in bed.

All Manda can do is watch her active mother's life deteriorate and use alcohol and drugs as an escape to oblivion; it only helps for a little while until the depression sets in but she is relieved when she has the house to herself when her mother has to be hospitalized due to an allergic reaction to the chemo. The relief is only temporary because she has to go back to playing nurse maid once her mother is released from the hospital.

Of course, Manda blames her mother for the depression by screaming, "It's all your fault, you just had to get cancer and now I can't have the house to myself or eat by myself either." Manda tries to leave but she can't because she has no where to go-she feels overwhelmed and underappreciated. She goes to her bedroom crying and wondering why she was even born. She thinks that she is a disppointment to her parents because she hasn't done anything with her life.

She contemplates suicide thinking that she wouldn't be missed and it would be so easy for her to give up. She feels like hasn't contributed anything to the world; she has no driver's license, no college degree, no job, and she has to depend on her parents for everything. She could just take her own life so she would have to see her mother suffer and resent her at the same time.

Something snaps Manda back to reality and she thinks about all of the people that would miss her if she committed suicide especially her mother who needs her. She comes to the realization that she needs help with her addictions and the depression if she is to help her mother get well. She says to her mother crying, "I'm sorry that I blamed you for my depression, I just snapped and I couldn't take it anymore and I was worried about what would happen to me if something happened to you and daddy."

Manda's mother replies with, " It's okay, I didn't know how overwhelmed and underappreciated you felt and I promise to always let you know how much you are appreciated and do not think that for one second that you have been a disappointment to us." In the end, they get good news from the doctor that the chemo worked and that the cancer is in remission but they will have to stay on top of it from now on with tests.

The End

Author's Note

what did you think of the dialogue?

Reviews

[V. Lucien Maier]

Well there is not much dialogue. But the story is a nice way to show the other side of the coin, many concentrate on the person who is sick, and forget about the care takers. Nice to put forth a noble thing like this.
I would suggest to get the reader to attach more to the characters you give them some more back ground.