House of Straw and Sticks

Alice

Mummy

She knows that mummy and daddy are not coming back anymore. Uncle Oswald told her that many times. It just that the concept of death that she couldn't comprehend. Sometimes she wondered if the reason why she can't see her daddy and mummy anymore were because they were buried under the ground. She put up a fussed when she saw they lowered down the two boxes that contain mummy and daddy. Uncle Oswald said that the boxes are where mummy and daddy going to sleep in but why they put mummy and daddy in a different box?

Mummy always sleeps with daddy.

She miss mummy so much and she knows Alyss will miss mummy much worst. Mummy always be Alyss's favorite person as daddy to hers. Even so, she really wants to hug mummy again. She tried to hug Uncle Oswald to replace mummy but she can't. Uncle Oswald is not mummy and he smells different than mummy.

So, sometimes when she miss mummy so bad, she will play the piano as she sing the song that mummy used to sing. Daddy taught them how to play the piano. She can't read the notes, she never tried to but she always remembered the placing of each fingers. Her tempo always slower than when daddy played it but mummy said she loved it.

Alyss sometimes try to show her mummy's and daddy's photo that she found from the photo albums but she refused to even spare it a glance. Seeing mummy's and daddy's smiling faces made her mad. Mummy and daddy lied! They said they were coming back, but when they did, they won't even answer her when she called for them. They just lay in that boxes looking pretty as they sleep and they felt so cold when she touched them.

She knows she's not the only one who miss mummy, so she always tried her best not to cry. The face that Uncle Oswald shows her when she cried for mummy and daddy always a sad one. Few days after mummy's and daddy's funeral as Uncle Oswald told her, she found Uncle Oswald looking at Mummy's picture. The stillness that Uncle Oswald portrayed as he stared at mummy's picture scared her. So, she rushed to his side quickly enveloping him with a hug. As she pressed her face at the base of Uncle Oswald's face, she felt the dampness there. Of course Uncle Oswald will cry too. Mummy is his little sister.

She knows she will cry too if Alyss is not coming back.

She tried her best to preoccupy herself with their tutor that Uncle Oswald hired for them. She study, practice her piano and play with Alyss every day. Alyss is struggling too after mummy's and daddy's death but Alyss always say that she's alright. Alyss always like to put up a strong face since she's the older one but she knows that Alyss miss mummy too.

They took up a ballet class when they were six after learning from Uncle Oswald that mummy always wanted to learn ballet but she never had the chance to. Perhaps they can learn ballet in mummy place. After all mummy still live in her and Alyss.

Jumping up and down in her ballet attire that Uncle Oswald bought for her not long ago, she took a peak from behind the curtain of the stage trying to ease the anxiety from performing for the first time in ballet. Alyss was getting ready doing a simple warming up. Sighing, she laced up her shoes all the while singing the mummy's song. Mummy's song never failed to ease her.

She put up a smiling face as the curtains were raised. She did her best, she dance just as she practiced in fact she think that she did even better than the usual. As the final was coming nearer, she saw a woman stood from her seat. A woman with long black hair wearing a red dress. She can't see the face but somehow, she could hear the words that woman said to her loud and clear.

'I'm so proud of you Alice. Please be a good girl to your uncle for me and daddy ok?'

Her steps flattered.

Mummy?

A lone tear dripped from her eye as she bowed to the audience as the staging reached it end. She tried to find the woman after that but from what her ballet teacher told her, there was no woman with long black haired wearing a red dress that came to see the performance.

When Uncle Oswald came to see them at the back stage, she hugged him, crying.

"Mummy is really not coming back huh?" she asked, sobbing.

Uncle Oswald patted her back as he nodded his head, conforming her fear.

So that's the meaning of death.

To not being able to see someone that you miss so badly no matter how hard you wished for it.

And she really miss her mummy too.