Shadows Sing Side-Story Ch.1 Part 1

Madeline’s Late-Night Visit

 

“Madeline, are you going to stay up late again tonight?” Ernest Smith asked me. 

“You know it’s not good for your health. And you will have Roxanne worried when she gets back.”

For a man who lost a niece eight nights ago, I marvel at his strength to sound so optimistic and calm. That was probably what I loved the most about this man. I, on the other hand, can't think that way. At least not anymore. It’s not for lack of trying to press on when life is unfair. Heaven knows I tried to be more like my husband. Especially the day when I got the dreaded phone call that my younger sister was found dead, and her only child needed us. 

That child looked very much like my younger sister, Aria Rosewell. Except for that pure red hair. Not a carrot red or a strawberry blond. Red hair is as red as a rose or blood. I did not believe it at first that she was my niece. Not even seeing her birth certificate convinced me that she was my sister's child. Only after I asked to have her hair covered did I believe. The social worker acknowledged it was an odd request but was kind enough to oblige. She really was my little sister’s child. 

Press on, look forward, and keep to the practical and hopeful days ahead had been our way of doing things since we took my niece in to live with us. Of course, there were days when Roxanne would ask about her parents like any child would in her situation. We dealt with those days one day at a time. We answered the questions we could without fixating on the past. The only questions we couldn't answer were those involving her father. Not even the birth certificate had a name for the man. We simply told her the truth that we didn't know and reminded her that she was her own person. Her parents did not make her any more or any less special than she was to us. That was what I thought a childlike Roxanne would need and deserve by having a family life focused on moving forward. Yet now I can’t just press on. 

“I will be going to bed here shortly, my dear. I just need a moment to process my day,” I replied. 

It’s a shame how easy it is for me to lie as of late. I know he is not fooled. He can see the dark circles forming around my eyes. He has been waking me up in place of my alarm clock these last four mornings. He has seen the boxes of ready-made dinners in the fridge I bought three days ago. He also knows I hate that type of food more than anything, but I just don't have it in me to cook these days. For fourteen years since we brought Roxanne home, she has always been by my side. She would help me with our meals, and now she is gone. He knows that Roxanne’s sudden disappearance is taking so much from me. Even more, than I ever thought I could lose. 

I hear my husband sigh and walk out of our dining room. I listened to some light switches flipped to turn off the lights as he moved from room to room. I hear his footsteps on the squeaky floors Roxanne used to enjoy as a child. As she became a teen, she was angry about how she could not go anywhere without the house tattling on her. That girl is so much like you, Aria. 

I sigh and say to myself, “I need help.”