Upside Down

Pultchritude

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Years had gone by so fast, I had grown into a young beautiful woman. My hips were like those of a gazel in the African Savanna, I had grown my hair and had a big bushy afro, I was now taller and my chest was flat no more. I was the captain of the basketball team in my school and my studies were going great. All through middle school and high school I wasn't alone, I had my squad with me. Abigail was the shortest with big blue eyes and red fiery hair but still the crazy one, my brother or should I say foster brother Jordan was the nice one he was tall and had broad shoulders and a muscular frame then there was Maleh also known as Male, the super talented one, she participated in everything but was still loyal, I saw her as my sister not just a foster sister who happens to be my friend, then there was me the tall black one in the group. I was proud of that and I loved it, around my squad I didn't feel black, I felt blessed.
My other foster sibling Marc, was seldom around us, as if we were an embarrassment. He was in his first senior year and normally hang around the popular crew with the bratty kids like Amy. But I seldom  thought of his existence not until we got in the car.
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I woke up  at 6:00am, a bit too early , I couldn't stand another nightmare. I still got them, constant reminders of my past. I stood there looking at the jar of my father's ashes that I held onto all this while. As I replaced the scene of the night he was burned I  my sight. I hardly noticed the time that had past but my alarm rang, bring me back to the present. I grew to ignore the he pain but I reached a point where I couldn't that day.

At 7:00 am, I walked to the bathroom and left the tap running. I dipped my long legs into the water and enjoyed the way the hot water stung. It reminded me that there's someone about here suffering more than me. I took I short shower and dried my hair. I put on a white tank top and high waisted jeans paired with blue tommies . Jordan, Male and Marc were in the kitchen hurriedly my child no on cereal, I grabbed an apple and sat besides Marc our skin almost touching I could feel the heat from his body.
"Morning, "
" Hey", they replied in  unison. Then there was silence, but a healthy silence which was later on broken by a loud scream. My eyes shot up to Jordan but when I heard a loud thump on the floor I averted my gaze to the bottom of the stairs. Mrs Magdalene was on her  knees crying and screaming curses, her luggage was on the floor packed well as if she was going for a year- long trip.
" I AM TIRED OF YOU! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, NOW! " Mr Brown was at the top of the stairs case his face red and he was fuming with rage.
I had never seen him like that, he was ever calm and kind even though he was angry but considering his wife I didn't blame him. As he walked down the stairs Mrs Magdalene hurriedly got up and ran to the door and stopped as if to take one last glance at her home. I was in tears and I didn't know why. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I was in Jordans embrace as we all stood there frightened. I couldn't let this happen, even to cruel Magdalene.
"Mr Brown, stop, please let her stay", I said.
Everyone looked at me like I had grown a second head including Mrs Brown. I knew I would regret this but I had a gut feeling I had done the right thing.
"You", Mr Brown pointed at his wife at the door " have one last chance, don't screw it", his voice was fine and stern. I looked at my siblings and walked out the back door with my back pack.

The rest followed and and Marc drove us to school and the car was silent.
"Thank you", Male said abruptly,

"Thank you for saving our mom, I know she hasn't treated you well but thank you for being courageous and kind". I hugged her and gave her a reassuring smile. I looked at Jordan and squeezed him lightly at the front Marc remained silent but I looked into his eyes and saw tears. I hopped out of the car and met Abbs and Lucy in the hallway. We headed to class which was rather quiet, everyone was looking up at the board where the teacher wrote down the lab partners for the term. I was with Abbs and Jordan which wasn't a surprise. Half way through the lesson I felt my phone buzz, it was a text from Marc.
"That's a first", I thought to myself, it read;

Max: Thank you

Me: For?

He didn't write back but I knew he read it. I put my phone away and the day went on as usual. At basketball practise both the boys and girls teams had to share the court which was perhaps the worst decision Coach Wills had ever made. We practically argued the whole time.
I remained I'm the gym practicing my shots, I really didn't need practice a d I was honestly just stalling. I knew that I had to return home to a lot of pressure and fighting. I was scared, a few more lay-ups I noticed I wasn't alone. I saw Marc at the  corner of the gym, I wondered how long he had been there.
"Hey Bro", I said.
" Hey, good flow through you got there", he gestured to the basketball in my hand. I simply smiled.
"Care for a one on one, or are you too scared", I said giving him  a tap on the back. He just looked at me.
He  suddenly grabbed the ball from me, ran onto the court and made a lay-up.
"Beginners luck", I said.
He didn't reply and the was a healthy silence as we played, we lost track of time but I think we both did so I intentionally, afraid of what waited at home.

We later on decided decided o go home and walked I  silence. The ambiance at home was normal and yet it still felt abnormal. I hope that makes sense.
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Ate the dinner table we ate in silence which was broken at several intervals by the clattering of forks on plates and Mr Brown's hoarse cough.
At the end of dinner,I cleared the table and washed the dishes. As I dried them I caught Mrs Magdalene's gaze, she must have been there for a while.
"Thank you for dinner", I said.

"Why are you so kind to me after all I have put you through?"
I took a while to answer, the answer I had, but the question lingered I  my head. Any other person  in my position would hate this woman  but I actually loved her. How?

"Be kind and courageous, my mother used to tell me, " I was surprised by my own words I never discussed my old life with Mrs Brown. Well she never seemed to care.
I heard someone sniffing and I was back to earth, back to reality. I noticed she was crying but I stayed rooted to the ground, frozen in time. I could feel her pain and soon my eyes pierced with tears and I closed them shut. I managed to speak,

"I forgive you, and I love you like a mother, you might have ruined your past but there's still the future, there's still Mr Brown and there's still your children", she pulled me into her tight embrace and I jagged back her small frame. We stood there in silence, silence that spoke volumes.

"I love you too", she whispered in my ear and I looked into her eyes and she turned and went away.
I went to bed rather early and as I meditated on my day I felt my shoulders relax. I was no longer tense as I was for the past years. Reconciling with Mrs Brown had lifted a heavy burden off my shoulders.
I hope the same would soon be for the rest of the house. But the beauty of the matter, the pulchritude of the story was,  love is way stronger than hate or evil.
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I know this is some long chapter but but I hope you guys enjoy it
69 reads 9 votes, come on guys
;_;