It was indeed a surprise alright, It wasn't one she would foresee or hope for. As she stood there and watched this frail frame standing before her, hair crumpled and twisted into a mouldmold, eyes that had no colourscolors in them, the clothes on her having become a new layer of skin, Karen couldn't make out what she was feeling. Karen tried to read her eyes as she stared at her blankly.
After the funeral of her dad, Karen decided to spend some time in the house before returning to the city. She didn't quite understand why, and not for a lack of retrospection, but it was what it was. As she drove into the driveway, she couldn't help reminiscing on those not-so-long days before she decided to leave everything behind; those days when she would run across the lawn and driveway playing catch with Mum.
Making her way into the house, she noticed that the arrangement of the photos on the wall hadn't changed in all those years she was away. For a moment, she couldn't help the guilt that fell on her for leaving her father behind. The rocking chair by the fireplace reminded her of all those times he would sit rocking and staring into the fireplace for hours on end.
She went to the kitchen to make herself an omeletteomelet, having not had anything the whole day. As she opened the top locker, she couldn't believe her favouritefavorite teenage pot was still there. She would always have all of her meals made in that pink pot. How the colourscolors never burnt off remained a mystery to her. As she sat at the table to have her omeletteomelet, she was disturbed by a nudge to go to her father's room.
The room remained much the same from what she remembered. In the initial years after her mum had to go away, her father had kept much of their bedroom the same, but over the years, he had made several fruitless attempts at removing what little of Mum was left in it. Seems like he never quite got around to completing that task.
She sat on the bed and rummaged through the several lockers on the lamp stand. There laid a plain white sealed envelope. She knew better than to open it, but curiosity always gets its due. She gently broke the seal like a teenager doing a naughty thing, hoping to leave no trace afterward.
"Bunnybear, If you are reading this, I must have passed away by now. I hope my passing will not cause you too much pain. You have had to deal with enough pain in your life, even from a very young age and I am truly sorry for that. For failing you, for not being there for you. Even in death, I am sure I will continually regret it. Losing your mum was a lot, even though I'm sure you didn't understand the whole of it at the time, but losing me even when I was right there was worse. It took me a few years after you left to realiserealize that.
I don't know how much of it you remember, but I have had a secret that I have kept from you all these years. I wish I could have told you, I always wanted to, and why I am not making excuses, not being able to be part of what broke me then. You and your mum used to have this park at West and Allen that you frequented on weekends. You would come back glowing, joyful and hyperactive. You were always such a joy as a child.
During one of those visits, your mum stumbled on a crystal. I don't know what it was about that crystal that made her pick it. She would later turn it into a pendant for her necklace. Originally, it was just another piece of beautiful jewelleryjewelry, but eventually, I realisedrealized she never took it off. She even wore it to bed. We had several conversations about it, but every time she would flare up and just deflect. I decided to leave her be.
She had been using the crystal pendant for two months when the first incident happened. I walked in on her to find her biting your little pinky finger to the point of bleeding. When I snatched a crying you from her hands, she seemed to wake up from a trance state. The second time, she ate your pinky. That's when we started looking for help.
Over time, she started attacking people and nothing worked, not the hospitals, mental institutions, or churches. I was left with only one choice, keep her locked away, because I couldn't bear you seeing her like that. Over the years, I have tried different means to help her, but nothing worked. When you finally left, I resorted to extreme and illogical solutions.
Last year, I met a shaman who gave me a solution that will cost a life. I thought long and hard about it. I eventually decided to do it, because you have lived too long without your mum. As I do this, I hope it works and she gets well. You have always asked what was in the basement; that's where I have kept your mum all these years. I am sorry Bunnybear. I love you."
I couldn't believe what I was reading, but something pulled me to the basement, as I opened the door, there she was; the mum I lost all those years ago. What a surprise!