The Secret World of Maya Alexander

Chapter 34

Stephen was surprised to see his wife's figure through the lounge window as he pulled his car into the driveway from work and noted the time on the dashboard clock. Greeted by the pleasantly rounded figure of 17.45. 17.45. 17.45, he pulled the handbrake three times in succession with a sense of satisfaction.

Usually Maya would have managed to disappear into the guest room before he arrived home. He had tried hard to pretend as though nothing had happened and that her tendency to always be in a different room to him was just a matter of her daily routines. He would call her for dinner, and she would respond that she had already eaten. He would shout that he had made her tea and toast for breakfast. But she would still be in the shower as he left for work. He considered adjusting his own routines. Perhaps leaving later for work or finishing earlier. One day he tried to sit in the kitchen waiting to hear the shower stop its endless hum. He had been unable to manage more than an extra five minutes before his foot began tapping relentlessly with every tick of the kitchen clock. That day he threw the cold toast and tea away before slamming the door three times in his wake. Maya had managed to hardly ever even pass her husband in their hallway, and so his anger could only be expressed towards himself or the structure and contents of their home.

As he walked through the door that evening, he was struck by the unfamiliar sound of his wife's laughter. Stephen listened closer and heard the giggles of a child. He suddenly remembered the conversation his mother had been trying to have with him all week to remind him that Maya was collecting their niece on Fridays.

He peered into the lounge and neither Maya nor Jessica noticed his presence as he watched them building some pink structure from card and lollipop sticks,completely enraptured by each other's company.

'What shall we call the unicorn's secret palace Queen Maya?' The little girl's blonde curls fell over her face as she looked up at her favourite auntie.

'Oh, I don't know, what do you think the invisible unicorn's would like to call it?' Maya moved her hands as though she was holding something precious inside them, which only her and Jess could see. Her voice was animated and full of warmth.

'Well I like the word sparklemagicing,' the little girl whispered the word as though it was a secret code.

'Sparklemagicing!' Maya's face lit up and her eyes widened as she repeated her niece's chosen word.

Stephen felt as though it would be wrong to interrupt their moment, so stood observing from the door. He felt that even by standing in the doorway, he was trespassing in a secret land. An unexpected ache rose in his chest as he realised for the first time what he and Maya may have lost earlier that year. A loss which, until now, had never seemed real. A loss he had never been able to understand. A tear formed in his eye. Its heat rolled down his cheek. He needed to compose himself before the magic passed and the two playmates turned to discover that an intruder had entered their sacred lands. Checking his watch three times 18.01. 18.01. 18.01, he tapped his foot as gently as he could against the laminate floor of the hallway.

The little playmate was the first to hear the invader's footsteps, she turned her head before screeching a playful scream. 'Aarghhhh! Queen Maya! A unicorn enemy has found us! Quick the invisible cloak!' She grabbed a blanket from the sofa beside them, and pulled it over the palace.

Maya looked up at her husband in the doorway. She felt an uncertain feeling displace the unconscious joy that had filled the room as she and her niece had indulged in boundless imaginings.

'Oh no! Dear Queen and Princess. I am friend of the unicorns!' Stephen surprised himself as he felt his body relax and was able to seek to join their fantasy land. He fingered inside his pocket and found the three 50 pence pieces he always kept to jangle together in a soothing way when he needed fortune on his side. He jangled the coins quickly, before taking them from his pocket. 'I have brought you this magic silver. It will give the unicorns power to create a rainbow in every town across the land!'

Maya did not know who was more surprised by Stephen's ability to understand the world of unicorns.

'Thank you kind Sir,' Jess interrupted Maya's thoughts. 'Now we must make you King of the land!'

Stephen looked over at his Queen. Maya looked away.

She felt a huge relief when the doorbell rang bringing the fantasy world to an abrupt end.

It was the first time that Anna had ever visited their home. She looked tired and as though she did not have the time for Jessica's protestations that she wanted to stay with her Auntie Maya a little longer. Stephen offered his sister a cup of tea. Anna thought this was unusual for a brother who had always avoided small talk and refused any offering of a hot drink when he visited her own house. It had been an entirely selfish offer of course,which had arisen from the part of him which hoped that that moment of seeing his wife relaxed and happy in their front living room, could linger a little longer.

Anna politely declined the cup of tea, much to Jess's distress. 'You are a mean mummy!' Her daughter yelled at her.

Maya noticed that Anna seemed a little hurt by her daughter's rejection. She could understand that feeling. Anna had been everything to that little girl, until she returned to work a few weeks ago. Was it wrong for her to want her daughter to be delighted to see her?

No one had shared with Maya how delighted Jess had been every night that week, as she had counted down the sleeps until Auntie Maya would get her from school. Or how Anna, tired from work and wanting to be the source of her daughter's delights had scalded her daughter, telling her that Auntie Maya was neither princesse nor Santa Claus and that going to Auntie Maya's was not some great adventure. She would just be doing the same things she always did after school but in a different house.

Maya interjected the little girl's protests. 'The unicorn palace will still be here next week!' She offered reassurance with a warm smile for both Anna and Jess.

Anna felt her eyes roll. 'Yes, don't worry Auntie Maya will be here next week for fun. But this cruel mummy needs to get you bathed and into bed so you can have a good night's sleep! Being a mummy means you have to do the mean things, as well as having fun.' The words were intended more for Maya than for her daughter. Anna was tired and hurt and they had fallen from her lips without even thinking. Her eyes immediately said sorry. She knew saying more words would only make things worse.

Maya pretended she had not noticed. Anna was right anyway, she did not know what it was like to be a mum. 'Yes, off you go sweetheart! Remember how you told me your mummy reads the best bedtime stories?' Maya smiled but could feel the tears building in her glazed eyes.

Stephen knew that look, and that the magic spell that had briefly enchanted his home, had now been broken. He looked at the clock in the hallway, as he opened the door for his sister's departure. 18.17. 18.17. 18. 17. He blinked his eyes three times instead of tapping his foot, because he remembered all the times as a teenager when his sister had always wanted to draw everyone's attention to the tapping of his feet. An uneasiness grew inside him at the incompleteness of his routine. As he slammed the door, he quickly checked the clock again. 18.18. 18.18. 18.18. This time he tapped both feet in quick succession, before entering the lounge and discovering that his wife had already vanished.