Chapter 32
Splattered carelessly on my bed was pictorial evidence that my mother was still alive and breathing. It showed her transfer to a mental institution on the outskirts of Rubenn and records of the deal between my shady stepmother and the doctor. Whoever this informant was, they were close enough to get all these facts from my overly diplomatic stepmother and have them dated.
I couldn't wrap my head around the discovery nor could I stop staring at the pictures and caressing the face in the photos. How could this be possible? How could I get myself to believe in this reality? Is this real? Who's this anonymous person who knows a lot about me? The questions tumbled around in my mind as I scrolled through memories in my head.
“What's happening? Are you alright?” I heard Damien say as he joined me on the bed. His face held a lot of concern and that sweetened my insides. “You look stressed. '' He continued softly after which he reached out and put a loose strand of my hair behind my ear.
I sighed deeply, making my shoulders heave. “I can't say. I really don't know how to feel yet.” I shook my head in a worried manner and Damien's eyes widened in response. He drew closer and cupped my cheeks in his palm.
“You don't say!” He spoke, disapprovingly. “I'm here to support you. I'm your husband… Well, in a contract but still, the responsibility of your care and comfort lies on my shoulders until our contract expires.”
I pulled my cheeks out of his palms and focused my eyes on my trembling fingers. “You are just used to being there for everyone but this is something I don't understand enough to explain.” I pointed out, fumbling with the tip of my dress to ease out some nerves.
“Well, that's simple. Very simple. You tell me what happened to get you mushy and your eyes watery then, we proceed together to sort it out. I guess in the process, you'll get to understand it and know how you really feel.” Our eyes locked, “You don't have to figure it out all alone. Of course, I know you're used to it but a little unwinding will help for the duration of our contract.” He explained while popping his eyes out to show the degree of his seriousness. I chuckled and shoved him softly on the shoulder.
“You really enjoy this contract arrangement, don't you? The fact that you can't get through a sentence without mentioning it says it all. But I appreciate your concern and availability, it's new but not needless.” I affirmed with a smile.
“So? Let's get right into it.” He giggled excitedly, rubbing his both hands together as if expecting a hasty dig into a sumptuous meal and that cracked me up. “No no no! No laughing yet! What's up with the pictures? And receipts? And is that a package? Hmm, let me see…” Trailing off, he checked the torn open brown leather wrap that the pictures were brought in. After some minutes of careful scrutiny, he lifted his head while holding up the brown leather wrapper loosely. “What's this too? Come on, get to talking… I'm starved already.” He leaned in, curiosity oozing all over him but I gently took the wrapper from him and placed it back where he'd taken it.
“I don't understand these or the source but I'm aware that my mother is dead. I held her hand until she gave up. I was a little over 11 then and I can still remember how alone and devastated I felt.” I gulped, forcing down the tears building up at the back of my throat.
“But according to these pictures, she's been alive all alone and terribly sick. Mentally sick. This report shows she's been been drugged over and over to enable frequent psychotic episodes. I don't understand even a little bit of what's going on here but do you know what I want to do so badly?” I paused to let him answer my question but he wouldn't speak therefore, I talked further.
“I want to cry as loud as I have ever done and scream and groan and knock down tables and chairs in rage. I want to grab my stepmother and tear her into seven thousand pieces then feed those pieces to stray dogs.” My furious speaking and demonstrations caused me to choke on spittle. I began to cough loudly and ferociously and that made him move his body swiftly to the refrigerator in the room and back. I didn't offer thanks before and after gulping down the whole bottle of water like I'd not eaten for days.
“There. I can return to talking.” I intoned after my respiration had returned to normal and I didn't need to cough again. I glanced at him with displeasure, noticing that he was still interested even though his body had returned to temporary stiffness.
“I served that malicious motherfucker and this is what she repays me with? She takes away the only human who values my opinion no matter how irrational, insensitive or hurried it came out to be. The only human who has listened, understood, cared for and sought to help me.” My chest was rising higher and so was my tone. “I did everything she required of me including worshipping the ground that her self-absorbed, loathful and entitled daughter walked on.” My lips quivered and my body racked as spasms of sob escaped from the depth of my belly.
A strong arm wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me onto another squared one. I didn't let my tears stop me though and with every year I missed and every memory that filtered into my mind and every one that my mind depicted to have never happened in the years of my ignorance, my heart twisted with hate and malice.
“Some people deserve death and no other reality. How can she be this evil? Plotting and skimming and covering up her tracks. What kind of a woman knowing the effects of an unavailability of motherly love on a girl child will do this to someone they claim to love?”
I jerked my head up almost hitting his chin. “Sometimes, I think about how brainwashed I was to believe that such a woman loved me and had only tried to make me a better person. She's not just some bad person that was colored by life, she deliberately decides to frustrate and blot out success from the minds and lives of people around her.” My mouth was beginning to have a bitter taste due to the fully formed bile of hate rooted in my heart for my stepmother and sister. Accomplices for disaster!
They make my skin crawl
He cleared his throat and I instinctively fell silent. “I support you greatly in this. You should hate such an evil being but that doesn't rule out the fact that you have no plans whatsoever to bring her down. You just need that plan to bring her to her end…”
An idea dropped into my mind and I screamed it out interrupting him, “Get more evidence on her.” He shot me a confused glance and I took it as a cue to proceed. “The only way to bring her down is to reveal her dirty acts and I know how to do that. I'll validate this claim by visiting the address stated on one of the pictures, then propose a deal with this anonymous informant.” I stopped, excitement still bubbling through my shiny eyes.
“Do you think that's feasible? What if this informant wants to expose you instead? Why will they know this much about your life? Have you thought of that?” He proved in concern but I have gone past the caution mark. If this anonymous being was right and my mother was really alive in some mental hospital outside this city then I would need his or her or their support to get more dirt on this vile woman and her daughter because I am sure that with her evil deeds, she has lots of secrets already stinking due to age.