A World Unknown

1. Something In The Air

8:00 AM. Tiara lies in bed staring up at the ceiling. The heart wrenching sound of continuous coughing has kept her up all night and frozen in bed. Everything Tiara had tried to do to help her mom didn’t work and the ineffectiveness of the help she could provide was paralyzing. She was only 12 years old and didn’t know what to do.

It was just her and her mom, living in an old two-bedroom house in a wooded rural area. A city that had a population less than 1,000 people where your nearest neighbor could be 5 miles away. Most people didn’t have cars and depended on the local vendors for basic needs. The local doctor was really an older woman that claimed to have been a shaman in her native land of Haiti. She had done a lot for the locals, curing various ailments and prescribing different recipes to ward off spirits that may be the cause of perceived misfortunes or attacks. Tiara had never needed to see the old woman. She was always healthy. Even bumps, scrapes and bruises would seem to heal faster than other children her mother came across. Her mother was always amazed. For some reason, her mother never wanted to see the old woman. In fact, the old woman would often stare at Tiara and her mother from her little shop with a look on her face that didn’t seem pleasant to either of them. Tiara would often ask why the woman looked like she was mad at them. Her mother always brushed off the question, simply saying some people have a problem with other’s lifestyle and there wasn’t much she could do about that. Tiara never understood what lifestyle she meant, but always thought it was because her father wasn’t in the house all the time.

Footsteps on the creaky wooden floorboards made Tiara turn her attention to her bedroom door. She waited patiently for her mother to open the door and check on her. Even in her sickness, she was trying her best to comfort her daughter. The metal doorknob squeaked as it turned and snapped as the door slowly and noisily opened. Their eyes met and Tiara looked at her mother, with dark circles under her eyes and a paleness to her skin. She had lost so much weight in such a short time, she was hardly recognizable.

“Good morning, baby, are you hungry?” her mother asked.

“Yes, Mommy”, Tiara replied softly. Tiara had a big appetite and enjoyed her mother’s cooking. Even in her illness, her mother did her best to care for her. Lately, her mother would make large batches of Tiara’s favorite dishes so she could eat even when her mother wasn’t feeling well. Although it didn’t seem like her mother would have the energy to cook after not getting much sleep the night before, Tiara was looking forward to a fresh meal.

“Ok, get yourself cleaned up. I’m making your favorite,” her mother said with a wink. Tiara knew it could only be French toast and beamed with excitement. The last time they went to town they picked up a loaf of brioche bread from the local baker and she knew this special morning had to be coming soon. Tiara’s mother gave her a weak smile and disappeared into the kitchen, stifling her cough as best she could.

Tiara peeled herself out of bed and stepped onto the bare wooden floor. The house was old, and creaked a lot, but it was home. Tiara had various drawings she had made over the years posted all over the walls of her tiny room. She loved to draw and would often go into the woods and sit for hours making portraits of all the animals she came across. A simple collection of toys rested in a wooden chest at the foot of her bed containing handmade dolls and modest toys she had accumulated over the years. She and her father had painted her room purple, her favorite color. It brought life to the otherwise unaesthetically pleasing home. Tiara pushed the curtains open to the only window in her room. It was another gloomy day outside. The chill of the morning was apparent, but Tiara slept hot. She never really minded the colder weather. Her mother was quite the opposite. Before long, her mother had the house warmed up and kitchen in full swing. Tiara stretched in front of the window, silently praying today would be a good day. With her mother being so ill, at times she would just stay in bed all day. Her eyes would be so red and puffy, but Tiara never saw any tears fall. Her mother hid her emotions well. She hid everything well. It crossed Tiara’s mind that coincidentally she had not seen her father in several weeks leading up to her mother mysteriously falling ill. Every time Tiara asked her mother where her father was, she didn’t get much of an answer other than she really didn’t know.

Tiara went to the bathroom to wash up. She got dressed for the day in a pair of jeans and her favorite shirt that her dad gave her for her last birthday. It was a T-shirt with a majestic looking blue-eyed wolf with white fur. She loved the animal and she loved that it was from her dad. In her mind, wearing it would make her feel closer to him even though she had no idea when she would see him again. She exited the bedroom and walked down the small hallway to the kitchen. Her mother was busy putting their meal together. Brioche French toast dusted with powdered sugar and syrup and homemade fruit cocktail with strawberries, blueberries, honeydew melon, and grapes. They also had eggs and sausage to make the meal complete. Tiara’s mother fixed a heaping plate with 3 slices of French toast, 3 sausages, and 3 eggs over easy, just the way Tiara liked them. She fixed a smaller plate for herself with just a half slice of French toast and some fruit.

“It smells delicious in here!” Tiara exclaimed.

“I made it special just for you, baby. I gotta make sure my baby eats.” her mother smiled.

Tiara sat at the table with her plate and a tall glass of fresh pressed apple juice and waited for her mother to join. Her mother hesitated to come to the table as she didn’t want to make Tiara worry about the lack of food she was consuming lately. She walked to the table and sat down with her plate. The little table rocked slightly on the uneven floorboards. There were three chairs, but the obvious absence of Tiara’s father left one seat unoccupied. Her mother glanced at the chair and quickly looked to her daughter.

“How is it?” she asked eagerly.

Tiara replied with a mouthful of food, “It’s so good, Mommy! Thank you!”

Her response made her mother smile brighter than she had in days, and it made Tiara feel some relief to see her mother smile about something. They ate in silence, her mother pacing herself and doing her best to keep the food down. Tiara was happily distracted with her meal, sopping up the syrup on her plate with the French toast and doing a little happy dance with every bite. When she and her mother finished eating, Tiara quickly got up to take care of the dishes.

“Don’t worry about cleaning. I can do it. Do you need me to go to town for anything today?” Tiara asked her mother.

“Thank you, sweetheart, that is so kind of you. You’ve always been my sweet girl. I’m so lucky to be your mom.”

Tiara’s mother stroked her daughter’s cheek with her fingers and quickly put her other hand to her mouth as another coughing fit was starting. Tiara took the dishes from the table and put them all into the sink.

“I’ll make a list for you, and you can come get it when you’re done. I’ll be in my room,” her mother said between coughs. She got out of her chair and her legs buckled, causing her to fall to the ground. Tiara dropped everything and ran to her mother, panic coursing through her. She didn’t know what she would do if something serious were to happen and was praying her mother was alright.

“Mommy are you ok?!” she yelled.

“Oh dear, I don’t know what happened. My legs felt weak, and I just couldn’t catch my balance. I think I better lie down for a bit,” she said weakly. Tiara helped her mother up and to her bedroom where she carefully assisted her in getting into bed. The room was drafty, so Tiara turned on the heater in the bedroom.

“I suppose I may need some more oil for the heaters and a few herbs to make more tea. It’s been helping my cough,” her mother said. From the way she had been sounding, it didn’t appear anything was working, but Tiara was willing to do anything to help her mother get better. After all, they only had each other.

“Sure, Mommy. I can go to town and get those things for you.”