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Twenty Four hours before the big day.
As the first rays of dawn gently kissed her face, she stirred in her cozy cocoon of blankets, slowly rousing from the embrace of sleep.
Orla's eyelids fluttered open, revealing the soft, dreamy gaze of someone who had just returned from the realms of dreams.
With a languid stretch, she extended her arms above her head, reveling in the sensation of her muscles awakening from their slumber.
Her feet, nestled in the warmth of her soft, worn-in slippers, cautiously met the cool touch of the hardwood floor as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.
She turned her head, reaching for her phone, to check on the time.
When she realised she slightly overslept than usual, she jolted herself up.
She wandered why she had slept this long, until she remembered that she had been up all night, trying to get a hold of Evan.
And yet, there was no answer from him.
With a sigh, she left her phone to the side, as she got herself out of bed.
After freshening up, making her way out of the bathroom, she stepped onto the polished landing of the staircase, greeted by the soft caress of morning light seeping through lace curtains.
The murmurs being heard, had her slightly curious, as she wandered who would be here when it was only 10:00am.
She slowly took a couple of steps down, until she reached the bottom, curiously tilting her head as she continued to walk, trying to figure out what was being said.
But the murmurs were so hushed, that she could barely manage to figure out a single word being said.
Orla rested her ear against the kitchen door, until she finally heard a clear voice.
"What kind of mother throws their child away for a man and some drugs? As hard as your life may be, you have no right to put Orla through that. You threw her here and left, like she meant nothing to you" she hears Aneysa's voice.
She took a step back, realising who was behind that door.
"I am not here to judge you. I have no right to, but Orla is a child. She didn't ask for this. If you knew, that it would come to this, you should have let her father have full custody of her, until you got yourself better."
Aneysa's voice was heard again.
Orla took another step back, her eyes laid to the ground as she looked from side to side.
She felt herself breathe quite heavily.
The door creaked opened, causing Orla to look back up, her face now met with Aneysa's.
"Orla?" Aneysa calls out, "H-how long have you been here?"
Neteyam looks towards the door, after hearing her name being called out, the worry of her knowing her mother was here, now increasing rapidly.
"Is she here?" Orla whispers, "my.. my mother?"
Aneysa nods, moving to the side to let Orla walk in.
She wished to walk away, not wanting to see Orla's mother no longer. But now that Orla was in that room, face to face with her mother, she took a deep breath, composing herself, as she turned back around.
"Mam?" Orla called out, her mouth still agape, as she looked at her mother in shock.
Stuttering on words, that she couldn't manage to get out.
"Orla, dear" her mother stood up.
Her weathered face, etched with lines.
Strands of once-vibrant hair, now tangled and matted, framed her face, their color dulled by sun and rain.
Draped in layers of tattered clothing, each garment worn thin by time and the relentless march of life, she moved with a quiet resilience. Her hands, calloused and dirt-stained.
Her mother was almost unrecognisable, from the last time that she had seen her.
"Mam, what have you done to yourself?" Orla whispers, walking forward.
Orla's mother shrugged, as she looked at her helpless, "I'm not sure. I just wanted to see you again."
"You wanted to see me?" Orla felt slightly hopeful, as her eyes lit up.
Her mother nodded, with a smile, "I need your help, dear."
"Help? Do you need a doctor?" Orla asks.
Orla's mother shook her head no.
"Food? Water?" Orla asks.
Neteyam glances towards the plate of food and glass of water on the table beside them.
Knowing she was not here for any of that.
"I need money" Her mother tells her.
Her hopeful smile suddenly drops, as Orla takes a step back to look at her mother, "what for?"
"Dear, you know I can't live without it. Please, be a dear and help me out" Her mother whispers as she pleads.
Orla scoffs, as she moves her mothers hands away from hers, "this is what you have come for? To get money off me, only to buy yourself more drugs? To make yourself worse?"
"I can't live without it-"
"But you can live without me?" Orla asks.
As Neteyam goes to reach for her, Aneysa stops him.
He turns to face her but she only shook her head no, knowing that Orla wants to speak to her mother.
She knew that Orla wanted to let her feelings out to her mother, and it would be better for Neteyam to stay back and let her say what she had to say.
"Orla, that is not what I meant" her mother let out a nervous laugh.
"You can live without me, and yet you choose the one thing that could kill you one day?" Orla responds, "Why?"
Her mother had no words as she took a step back, wondering how Orla had changed towards her.
"You left me here, to go be with Kavin, Mam. The man who turned you into an addict, even after I begged you to stop" Orla spoke, "you told me you were leaving me here to get yourself some help. That you and Kavin were going to get some help. Together. Do you even know what he did to me?"
The pain in her voice, caused Aneysa to look away, knowing that Kavin was her brother.
"The second he did what he did, to me, I knew from then, that he did not get any help. But I sure was hoping you were. And now, you've come back to ask me for money, just so you can buy yourself more drugs? Why are you trying to make life worse for yourself, Mam? I don't understand" Orla cried out.
"You won't understand. You're a child, Orla" her mother responded, "I have tried to be there for you-!"
"Oh bollocks!" Orla shouts back, "you took custody over me, bought me here. I stayed a month, and already, your booted me out, whilst you were getting high elsewhere. You took all my money Mam. All the money Father gave me, you took it."
Neteyam sighs, realising that the tension was getting quite high.
"Maybe you should both sit down and talk about this" he walks forward, holding Orla back.
"I have no money of my own. I have no family anymore. Not biologically" Orla made herself clear in what she meant, not wishing to offend Neteyam or Aneysa, "If it was not for these two, I'd have nowhere to go, because you dropped me on that sidewalk and went away. And now, you have the audacity to ask me to lend you money?"
Her mother looked down at herself, almost as though, she had a realisation.
A realisation of what she had become, to her daughter. To herself.
Orla scoffs, before turning away to walk out.
"Orla" Her mother calls out, reaching her hand out to her.
Neteyam looks to her mother, "I will check on her. She just needs some time, before she can speak to you again."
He took a deep breath and walked out.
Leaving Aneysa and Orla's mother in the same room as one another.
"I am not a bad mother" Orla's mother spoke.
"You're not" Aneysa responds, "the way that Orla looked at you when she walked in, shows me that you are not a bad mother. But you are not giving yourself or her a reason to believe that you can be a good one, either."
"I have lived, a terrible life" Orla's mother defends herself.
"I know, what that feeling is like" Aneysa responds, "I know that, the feeling of becoming numb, you feel, is the only way to make yourself feel better. But it's not. I lost my mother, before realising that."
Orla's mother looks down at herself once again.
"It'll be fine for a while. Until it begins to suffocate you. So much so, that you begin to hurt those around you. The problem is, none of us know, how long we are going to live for. This life is not made, for keeping our loved ones away, but in fact, keeping them closer to us. Your addiction is pushing Orla away, and it is not worth it. She is your daughter, and she deserves to feel loved. There's only so much love I can give to her, but I can't give her the love that she needs from you."
Aneysa's words were cut short, when Neteyam walks back into the room.
"She won't let me in" he sighs.
Aneysa nods, and gives him a calm smile, "I will talk to her.
She then looks back at Orla's mother, "Just think about what I said. Not for my sake, but hers."
Aneysa then makes her way out, the support of her crutches causing her to walk slower than the average person.
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"Orla" Aneysa calls out.
"Leave me alone" Orla responds.
"You're going to keep a woman with a broken leg stood outside your door all day?" Aneysa responds.
Aneysa waited a couple more seconds, before hearing the door handle turn, Orla then opening the door, yet she walked away the second she did.
Aneysa walked in slowly, seeing Orla sat on the edge of her bed, as she looked outside the window.
"Orla.."
"I don't understand" Orla responds, "Why can't she see what it's doing to her? The state it's put her in."
Aneysa comes towards her, sitting beside her.
"No one will know why. No one will understand, why. No one, but herself, Orla" Aneysa whispers, before placing her hand above hers, "you can't put the responsibility of something like this, on yourself."
"But she my Mam" Orla responds.
"I know" Aneysa sighs, "but right now, for her, she is not doing this as your mom. She is doing this as someone who is... suffering. We won't know how she feels, unless we are in her shoes. But, speaking from experience, I know that she believes it's too late for her, to become her old self again."
"From experience?" Orla asks, looking up at Aneysa.
"You fall into this hole, where, you feel as though once you do it, you can never go back to having a normal life. You've done so many things, and once you're sober, you think about it. So much, that it eats you inside, to the point where, you make yourself believe that the bad you have done, you can not overcome it. And no doubt, the people that she is surrounded with, most definitely encourage these thoughts."
"Which is why, I gave her the money to pay for a therapist. To get some help" Orla's frustration causes her to curl her hands into a fist.
"I know" Aneysa responds, "but it's not easy."
"If it is not easy, then why did you say that to her?" Orla asks, "why did you say that she should have not taken custody of me, until she was better?"
"Because" Aneysa sighed, "sometimes the person that is causing themselves harm, need to hear the harsh truth, to get some sense into them. I never said it was easy. But even if it took time, she could have given you and herself a better life. And as a mother, she needs to hear that, in order to get herself to become better."
She turns to look at Orla, noticing how she sat quietly, looking down at her lap.
"It'll be okay Orla" Aneysa whispers.
"How?" Orla asks.
"Because I know, that you both love each other. You have said what you needed to say to her. Now that she knows, I am sure she will do better. For you."
Orla gives Aneysa a weak smile, "you'd be a great mother."
"Of course" Aneysa chuckles, "I'm a great mother to you and Efe."
Orla smiles, herself being touched by Aneysa's words.
Their words had woven an intricate tapestry of emotions, weaving together threads of understanding, forgiveness, and love. With tears glistening in their eyes, they clung to each other, finding solace in the simple act of holding tight.
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This chapter doesn't include anyone else because I wasn't sure what to put. Everyone is pretty much getting ready for Kiri's proposal party so, yeah. There's that 🤓