Maggie's hard life

When my sister Dee, Mama, and I lived together, I always felt ashamed that Dee saw me. My body was covered with burn scars on my arms and feet since the day that our old house burned. Dee always hated that house, she was standing under a tree seeing how the flames crumble our old house while I was sticking at mama with painful scars in my body and my dress breaking up little by little.

I have noticed that Mama always paid more attention to dee than me. I was like the black sheep of the family. Dee always gets what she wants and never accepts a no as an answer. It’s like if people have never been able to say that word to her. Mama often sees those tv shows that is about a famous comedian interviewing a child that had “made it” with their parents feeling proud of him. Mama’s wish has always been to be on that type of program with dee. Mama start to acquire money to send Dee to school. She could never be educated given her situation. She has worked very hard throughout her life to raise us. Dee often read to us what she learned in school in a strict and controlling way. After finishing high school, Dee keeps studying and surpassing herself away from Mama and me.

Time passed and Mama received a letter from dee basically saying that it does not matter in where are we living, she will come to visit us but she wasn’t going to bring any of her friends. On a normal day, me and Mama saw a car approaching our house. Since I saw her getting off of the car, I immediately know it was her. Dee finally came back to visit us. She was walking toward us dressing a long orange dress and a bunch of jewelry all around his neck and arms.

“Don’t get up,” says Dee, she goes back to the car and goes out holding a camera and took us some pictures of us. I was behind of mama considering that I never liked being photographed. She was quickly showing us many photos of us but those who show surroundings of the house and the animals quickly she broke them because she never liked to show her friends where she grew up. She out the camera back in the car and then kiss mama in the forehead. She didn’t even bother to greet me, as if I wasn’t there. A simple “hello sister” would have been enough.

Anyways, we were having dinner like the old times. After that, I was alone in the kitchen and Dee was in Mama’s room with her, they were talking about something but I didn’t pay much attention but then I heard something that really mattered to me. “Mama, can I have these old quilts?”, without realizing it, I dropped what I was carrying and then I slammed the kitchen door. I was feeling irate, bitter, fatigated and more feelings of sadness. Mama offers me those quilts because she knows that i will appreciate those quilts that mama and my aunt made from some tops that grandma pierced before she died. Knowing Mama, in the end she will give to her because Dee will continue insisting until she get what she wants. She always get what she wants.

I left the kitchen without any hope of keeping the quilts that Mama offers me and I stood in from of them. “She can have them Mama”, I said very discouraged, “I can remember Grandma Dee without the quilts”. After I said that, something unexpected happened. Mama was hoggin me. Then she grab my arm and placed me in the bed. She grabs the quilt from Dee’s hands and put it in mi lap. I was very surprised with my mouth open. “Take one or two of the others” Mama said to dee. But she turned without saying anything and went out to her car. We follow her and when she was near to the car she says “You just don’t understand”. “What don’t I understand?” Mama says to her.

“Your heritage” Dee said to mama, the she look at me and kiss my cheek, “You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you’d never know it.” She said to me. Dee put her sun glasses and left in her car. I smiled. But this time I didn’t have a mock laugh and not scared, it was a real smile. Mom and I watched as the car disappeared from our sight and watched the rest of the sunset until it was time to go to bed.

DMU Timestamp: November 27, 2019 01:26