Chapter Two: Daddy
I slowly move away from the elevator, and begin to walk down the fairly long hallway. On the right of me, is a brick wall, painted a milk color with a blue sign saying 'Women's Ward C' in black bold ink. I grab onto my coat, pulling it tighter around my body. I continue to slowly walk down the long hallway, my heels clacking quietly against the white tiles.
It looks like a freaking hospital.
I walk past empty walls, and start seeing big metal doors on each wall, screaming coming down from the end of this long hallway, moaning, and a few groans coming out of someone’s mouth behind a few of these doors. I jump at an ear piercing scream, and Goosebumps’s slowly form on my arms as a cool chill runs through the area, making my spin shiver. I stay in the middle of the hallway, as I see hands sticking out of the bars on the doors. This place looks like a hospital/prison.
I look at the numbers on the doors as I walk past, seeing I'm only up to room 200. Fourteen more rooms down, and I'll be standing in front of the door my mother has been living in for the past eleven years. I can already imagine what she'd look like too, her beautiful soft curls being a shade lighter, grey hairs running through her chocolate hair, her skin pale, and dry, and her brown eyes, still the same, the same twinkle in it. I imagine she'd maybe have a few wrinkles here and there seeing that she'll be in her early fifties, she might. I also imagine, purple bags under her eyes, I'm sure she wouldn't be able to get much sleep here.
I walk past room thirteen, and turn around, to look at the opposite door. I look through the small square with bars, I begin to walk forward, my hand pressing against the cold door. The lady at the reception desk said she might be an activity, but my mother is right here. She's sitting on the edge of her bed, her legs pressed to her chest, and she's rocking back and forth. I hear her humming a song, an Italian song, and the same one she'd sing to me as a child, when I couldn't sleep. I'm surprised my mother is still able to sing as beautiful as what she use to. This song reminds me of all those nights, when I'd keep begging my mother to sing to me, and she sung that. It’s a shame I never actually found the name of it.
"Un gatto bianco con gli occhi blu, Un vecchio vaso sulla TV, Nell'aria il fumo delle candele Due guance rosse, rosse come mele." She sung.
I don't know what it's saying exactly but I do remember how the word 'Mamma' was used in it. That's probably the only thing it says in that song that I actually know the meaning of. Mamma is not Mum, it's Mother. Just pointing that out. A small smile forms on my lips, I close my eyes, and imagine myself being nine years old again, standing in my room with my eyes shut, listening to her beautiful singing voice.
"Ma ma ma mother Maria ma." She sung.
I hear footsteps coming down the hall, getting closer and closer to me. I open up my eyes, to find a man dressed in white polo and white trousers, with shiny bold head, looking at me.
"You have a visitor badge, yes?" He asked, his voice is very deep, and he has a thick british accent. I nod my head. I grab the side of my coat, with the visitor badge pinned on it. I show the man, and he smiles. "Is this the patient you wanted to see? Mrs. Cathy Cassidy?"
"Yes." I said, my voice sounding dry.
The man grabs the keys from around his neck, and searches for a particular one out of the hundred that are on the key ring. He inserts a key into the door, twisting it open. The man gives me a smile, and tells me to lock it when I get out. I smile back at him, and take a step into the room, seeing my Mother still singing the song, when I walk in.
I close the metal door behind me, and take a step forward. She doesn't look quite as I imagined, but very close. Her skin is still it's beautiful olive color, and looks as healthy as it did when I was younger, she doesn't look like she's aged much, except for her grey hairs.
"La mia bambina!" She said. Her rocking stops, and she jumps off of the bed. She jumps toward me, placing her soft hands onto my cheeks, and pulls me into a hug. I wrap my arms around my skinny mother, she's lost a ton of weight, she's skinnier than me, and her face as slimed down a lot. I remember her having a nice heart shaped face, much like my own, now it's so slim, and you can see her cheek bones very clearly.
"Hi, Mum." I said. I then realize, that my own mother is taller than me, by only a few inches. But honestly, everyone’s taller then me.
"Tesoro, it's so good to see you! You've become so beautiful, I always made you out to be a beautiful woman one day, and here you are looking more beautiful than ever!" She said, pulling away from our hug, and throws her hands into the air and begins to talk with her hands as well. That's a thing a lot of Italians do, I guess. All my Aunties and Uncles that live here in England speak with their hands also. My mother was born Italy as well as my Uncles and Aunties, and a few of my cousins. As for me, I was born here in England, as well as my older brother Andy who now lives in Italy with a girlfriend, my Mother moved to England with her parents and siblings at the age of sixteen, she had later on met my father, who's a born Brit, when she was eighteen.
She does seem crazy, or anything at all. Maybe the drugs they've been giving her have finally been working, or Mum is actually becoming….Mum again. I don't remember much of the night she was taken here by my Father, I don't know why she came either. All I remember was my Dad telling us get ready to go to La Porchetta, an Italian restaurant that reminds my Mother of the pasta she had eaten as a child that her Mother use to cook. My Dad wasn't actually taking us to La Porchetta, he was saying that so he could get my Mother into the car, to take her down to this place. I remember when Dad parked the car into the car park of this Asylum, and then my Mother began to scream, saying she wasn't crazy, and then began to yell in Italian at my Dad, who's trying to drag her out of the car. A man in uniform, had helped my Dad with my Mother. I remember her blowing me a kiss right before screaming her head off again, and then I watched her walk through the gates of this place, and I hadn't seen her again, until today.
"Thanks, Mum. You still look as beautiful." I said.
"Why did it take you this long to come visit me, tesoro?" She said, sitting herself down on her bed, crossing over her legs. I shrug my shoulders. "Well, I'm glad you finally did. Now, tell me everything that's been happening in your life! Are you married? Do you have kids? I would love to know, tesoro." Mum said, talking with her hands again. Tesoro means 'darling' in Italian, one word I always remembered the meaning of, since Mum used to call me that every single day.
I updated my Mum on my life, and she began updating me on her's. She calls says her life is shit, and that she's getting better and can soon get out of this place. I actually thought she'd be crazy or something, that's why I was so nervous, but she's the same Mum I remember talking to when I was little, she isn't crazy. Well, from what I can see she isn't but she could be maybe, but I reckon she's changed. Unfortunately, my taxi is going to arrive soon, so I need to hurry up and tell my Mum the news.
"Mum, I need to tell you something. It's the whole reason as to why I came here in the first place." I said, twiddling with my thumbs, trying to find the right words to say. She looks into my eyes; her brown eyes twinkle as they've always had. She nods her head, telling me to carry on. "Um, D-Dad passed away. He died a week ago, the funeral was held two days ago, and the worst thing in the world. Mum, Andy didn't even come, he's too busy with his girlfriend."
Mum wraps her arms around me, as a tear falls down my cheek. My mother is locked up in here, but brother is stuck over in Italy, and my Dad is buried eight feet in dirt. I'm officially alone, yeah, I have my cousins, my uncles and my aunties but they live on the other side of England, and I haven't seen them in ages, plus Dad doesn't have any brothers or sisters. Mum pulls away from me, and tears roll down her rosy cheeks.
"Well." She said, sniffling. "He's in a better place now."
"He is."
"Tesoro, I think you should go now." She said, kissing my cheek.
"Why?"
"I'm going to break down, and I don't want you seeing it now. Visit me again soon, this was incredible, seeing you so grown up and beautiful." She says, her words soft. I understand, Mum doesn't want me to see her break down. But I have a feeling Mum just wants to bury her head in that pillow, but all I know is that…she's taken this very well, I expected something else to happen, maybe her freaking out a bit, not being calm about it all. But I'm glad she is calm.
"Okay, Mum." I said, standing up. "I'll visit you soon." I bend over, giving my Mother one last, tight hug, before letting her go. "Bye, Mum."
"Bye, tesoro."
I then turn around, pushing the strap of my bag up onto my shoulder. I blow Mum a kiss, just like what she had done to me the day she was put in this place, she blows one back as I exit the room. I grab onto the handle of the large metal door, and close, making sure to flick the lock. I hear another lock flick behind me. I turn around, and begin walking back down the hallway, when a hand sits on my shoulder.
"Hi, elevator buddy." said Harry, I recognize his deep, raspy voice.
I chuckle at his greeting. I turn my head to see the curly haired boy standing next to me, his hands jammed into the pockets of his brown coat, his hair looks as if he's ran his hands through one too many times. I say hi back to him, and we both walk together to the elevator, the sound of our feet tapping on the tiles, is the only noise filling the silence, making this not so awkward.
"So, who were you talking too? Family member? A friend?" He asked, turning his head over to look at me, a smile appears on his lips.
"My Mum, you?" I said, my voice soft, and quiet.
"Same. I hate that she's here, I'm a-I'm a Mummy's boy, my Dad's a freaking asshole."
It's odd how so many people that live around here, their mother is in this Asylum. Does this mean that everyone's mother is freaking crazy? Or is just a major coincidence. I think it's just a coincidence. I run my hand through my hair, finding a few knots in my curls, and groan. Freaking hair. Freaking wind.
"How long she been here for?" I asked, unsurely, trying not to get into anything that's personal of his. I hate being nosy, and I hope I'm not actually being it right now. Nosy people get themselves into trouble. I'm just curious.
"Fou-Three years now, I think. What about your Mum?" He asked, running his hand through his thick curls once again, biting his pink, chapped lips.
"Eleven. I'm not very close to her or anything, it was the first time I'd seen her today, in eleven years. I'm more of a Daddy's girl." I said, I try my best not to shed a single tear, like I said, I'm a Daddy's girl, my Dad and I did everything together, from washing the car to shopping. He didn't mind carrying my bags full of new clothes, in fact he insisted, he used to play dolls with me, he used to braid my hair, we'd go to the cinemas together to watch some Barbie film I loved, my Dad would go every where with me, and we use to do so many things together, the fact that he's gone, it's just so- so hard to believe that he is no longer among the living. But all I know is that.
Heaven has a new angel.
He was the most loving, caring man, with a heart of gold. He was a big softie, but that's was just him, he hated when people had fights back when he was a school, he cries in Finding Nemo, but that's just my Dad. In Finding Nemo, I remember him saying, "No one deserves to lose his or her child." and then cried a bit. You may think he's a bit of a pussy, but I promise, he isn't one- wasn't one, he just cared about everything and everyone. He hated watching people get hurt.
That's one thing I loved about my father, he even cared about the person he despised.
Luckily, a tear isn't shed, and I mentally give myself a pat on the back, that's a start, not shedding one single droplet.
"Wow, that's a long time." He said, widening his green- his now, black eyes. That's odd, his eyes were green about four seconds ago, and now they are as black as the darkness in my room at night time, as black as the black ink of a pen, and black as wet tar.
And for some reason, the blackness in his eyes scare the shit out of me.
He coughs. He furrows his eyebrows, before running his hand through his hair, tugging on his curls. I watch as he bites his lip, his mouth opens, and I see that he's whispering really quietly too himself, so quietly that even though I'm so close to him, I can't hear, but I think it was a cuss.
"Look, it was nice meeting you, Misty. But, I really need to go." He said, I watch as his body get's tense, and his nice posture, dies down, and doesn't look as nice anymore, he's slightly hunched, and even the way he walks, it changes. Before I even get the chance to maybe exchange numbers with him or something, he storms off, biting his lip and a small throaty grunt escaping his lips.
That was a weird encounter, from the elevator, and even to him storming off. The whole thing was so…abnormal.
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I hope that was okay, this is a whole new world for me, writing a book so...dark. But I'm trying to find different story plots, ones different to every one elses, it's hard, but I try. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you enjoy the ones in the future.
Kissmebiteme
Stay lovely!!!! :p