Hairy Fairy.

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I woke the next day. I felt loads better already. Zirah had been right. But although he tried to delay the effect of his efforts to my recovery I could see from the shocked faces of my doctors that his idea of a delay was not in line with the hospitals expectations. I looked to Gabe for guidance but he only shook his head helplessly. I was pronounced fit enough to go home. That my broken bones were healing at a rapid rate. But the same was not true for Billy. Upon my enquiry, Doctor Holdman told me that he is doing surprisingly well for the trauma his body suffered and that he would be discharged by the end of the week. So maybe, Zirah simply forgot to put on the slow down on my healing. I was not complaining. I really wanted to go home. I didn’t like the hospital either.

I sat in the taxi and listened to mum’s grumbling all the way.

“Do you know how you made me look in there? Like I was some uncaring parent. It was clear on their faces when I came to fetch you. They all had that look that said I was responsible. As if I had pushed you off that stupid little cliff. Haven’t I been feeding you and clothing you all these years. Is this the thanks I get?.....”  I listened with half an ear to mum’s ranting knowing I had to pay some attention in case I was meant to respond at some point.

I was thinking over about my meeting those other worlders. I had no better name to call them. They so obviously were not from here. Zirah had call me a princess but I had dismissed this then as pure silliness, a term of endearment, for I knew Stacy’s dad called her my princess, my pumkin and any number of equally horrid sugary names. But on thinking back he had referred to my aunt as Queen. But that is also a term of endearment that some used as well. I was sure. Either way, I intend to seek an explanation from Gabe when I can.

But Gabe was avoiding me. He was zoned out all the way back and even when we were both seconded in my room he refused to respond to me. Then he was pretending to be zoned out. I knew. I went back to school the very next day. Mum decided if I was well enough to go home from hospital, then I was also well enough to go to school the next day. So off to school I went.

“A ‘D’?” I looked up at Ms Freeman in shock. This was the second underserved ‘D’ I had gotten. Ms Lee had literally accused me of getting my older siblings to do my homeworks for me. She said the choice of subject  matter and the language used was a dead giveaway.

“You shouldn’t get others to do your assignments for you. You are relatively good at maths all on your own, there is no need to have someone else do your homework for you. That is just plain laziness. You should be thankful there was no tests this round but you won’t be so lucky next round,” said Ms. Freeman in a huff.

I held back all the nasty comments that rushed to my mind and quietly accepted the D I got. I would add this to my list of daily grumbles to Gabe. It was not a new one. Gabe had heard me vent over this many times before but his response was always the same. “What does it matter what your teachers think anyways, you know you got your answers right … you know you did your assignment yourself…”

It felt really odd not having Billy around. I could not even go visit him in the hospital for no one would take me. I couldn’t even ask Billy’s mum cause I think she thinks I was to blame. For Billy was usually a very good boy. He would not normally do something that stupid. I was still shaking inside from the shock of what he did.

So I spent the rest of that week both lonely and hungry.

Then something else that was horrid happened. My dad died.

I was at home with mum and dad that day. Aimee was having a sleep over at her friend Josephine’s house. Ray was of course MIA. He had visited me after at school on Tuesday and walked me home. He refused to go in the house. I guess he was still angry over something. But he came to see me and that was what mattered most.

It was Thursday, the day before Billy was to return home from the hospital. I was upstairs in my room doing my homework. Even though I knew I would only get a D for it again. I would do it regardless. I had nothing much else to do anyway. I looked toward the Theories of Mathematics that lay on my bed. I was eager to get back to it. I had been keeping it hushed from Ray and Aimee for I did not want to freak them out more than necessary. As it were Aimee had some suspicion already. But she never talked about it. I think she knew.

A loud frantic cry had me out my room door and down to the living room in a flash. The need to move at a human pace flew out of my mind. I had never heard such raw agony in my mum’s voice. I stared down at what lay before me. My feet had unerringly taken me to where my mum was sprawled on the floor as she lay across my dad’s prone body. Mum gave out a keening wail and then I realised that Dad was dead.

For the second time that week, I found myself dialling the emergency number.

I looked to Gabe who was hovering by Dad. He only shook his head confirming what I already knew so I spoke into the phone and told the listener on the other side. My Dad just died.

The funeral was long and boring. I knew I should have felt more but I never really knew Dad. I didn’t even know mum. Ray was there. He was silent and unmoving as he stared at Dad’s casket. Aimee was crying as hysterically as mum. I knew I should shed a tear. But I just couldn’t. I couldn’t even fake a tear. I just felt nothing. I felt bad for Aimee and Ray for losing their dad. Seeing them so sad did hurt me but it did not for some reason move me to tears.

I looked to Gabe helplessly but he only shrugged his shoulders indifferently. He was as bad as I.

The family returned home together, I was brought back by a kindly neighbour. I walked in the front door to an onslaught of accusations.

“It was you!. You killed him. Ever since you came into our lives, we have had nothing but heartbreak eversince you came. Now…now John is dead…how will we survive? I have nothing. Not even this house……”

On and on my mum wailed. Heaping insults and blame on my thin shoulders. But I simply sat there before her unmoving. My mum was beyond consolation she ignored the kind neighbours and distant family that tried to comfort her and she continued her vitriol at me. I let her. I did not move from my perch and even after all the people had left and she was exhausted from tears, still I listened to her murmured words. Finally, I rose from my perch and went to her side where she lay on the couch. There was only sobbing Aimee and silent Ray left. They were each used to Mum and her hatred of me so they did not question it.

I sat down beside mum and wrapped my arms around her. She unknowingly moved into my embrace returning my hug. It was the first I had received from her for as long as I could remember and suddenly I felt it. I felt her goodness. It was in there deep inside. But it was pure. It was untarnished. She was only mean to me. So I turned to her and I said, “ If there was one thing you could wish for mum, what would it be?”

She raised her tired eyes and stared into mine in wonder, then she said it, “ Peace. I wish for peace.”

“Granted!”

The word was wrenched out from within my core. I shuddered in reaction so that I missed the strange glow that appeared around me but Ray noticed. He looked at me in awe and when I later enquire why he said, I had for some strange reason glittered like diamonds.

We moved into our Que mansion the week after. Seemed money and lots of it was the key to great happiness and hence peace. I was not about to question the judgement of the higher power.