The Perfect She |Completed|

87. The Thematic Revelation | scene 90

posted September 5th, 2020

IT WAS A NORMAL day at the house.

Sitting at the kitchen table, I was eating slowly from my dinner plate, deep into thought. My mother noticed my wandering gaze. She met my eyes with a curious loving one of hers.

It was seven pm, on a weekday. The slow sunlight coming through the big windows looking over the pool was immersing the room in that very faint yellow afternoon glow. We were eating chicken and vegetables again. My eyes were looking anywhere but at her.

This time, unlike about eight months ago on the night that started it all, I wasn't angry.

Just thoughtful.

"why are you so silent, birdie?" mother asked, setting her fork and knife to focus all her attention on me.

Again, one of those lines that was said the night we fought. But this time, there was no resentment, or anger. When I looked at her, I didn't see the woman who abandoned me years ago. Not just that. I also saw the great woman who came back, the one who fought for me for years, and the one who made mistakes but learned from them.

If I condemned her for her mistakes, then the who nation should do the same for me. And if I refused to give her a second chance, like I thought a few weeks ago, then had I really forgiven her?

Forgiving isn't about forgetting the wrong and pain they caused you. But maybe it's about remembering and being able to welcome them back, if their actions prove so.

Cherry was still searching for an answer in my eyes, and body language. I set my ustensils, just like her beside my plate, and crossed my hands under chin. This time, I didn't snap at her angrily, or try to hurt her feelings to make her leave the house.

I shared my thoughts calmly with her.

"isn't it weird to think that we could have had such a good time together?" my voice was low, and full of meaning. There was also a bit of nostalgia, too, lacing my words.

She titled her head, and her eyes started shining under the faint sunlight. "yes." She said hoarsely. "isn't it pretty to think so, Autumn?"

It was. The frames in the living room had been changed. Me and Daniel agreed that it didn't represent us to do so. We replaced the frame with one big frame, with two black outlines of birds with crowns. This time, they didn't look away from each other. They looked at each other, proudly.

I could almost catch the hint of a smile.

"I love you." Mother whispered, extending her hands.

I looked at her, and extended my arm to meet her. I wasn't mad, or asked her to shut up. How times had changed.

I compared myself a lot to a heartless raven in the past. But every animal is capable of empathy. and a raven isn't all bad too. It can also be good. I wanted to acknowledge my empathetic side.

We had made a few modifications to the birds in the living rooms. The extended wings of the framed birds made it seem like they were holding hands, looking proudly in each other's eyes, instead of away. The birds weren't specifically me and Daniel. It represented anyone who had been separated from their family in the past. Me and my mother looked like them, at the table.

The birds seemed way happier than before. Content, too.

My mother gently rubbed my hand with her thumb.

I said three words. Words that I used to hate. This time, I didn't shy away.

I looked into her eyes full of tears. I could also barely see her through my own too.

Eight letters. They had broken a lot of people in the past. This time, I decided to use them to repair.

"I love you." I croaked.

THE END