by Marie Delta
As it Seems…
Short Stories
By Marie Delta
Table of Contents
Thought You Were Safe
Once Inside
The Organist
Thought You Were Safe
It started when she was a toddler, and it went on, invisible to those around her. The girl was small and average looking. She had long dark brown hair and brown eyes, and the averageness of her appearance made it easy for adults and other children to look past her. However, there were instances where she thought, they may see. They may know what she was.
Like the time she was taken to the doctor for a fever that wouldn’t break. Her usual doctor was celebrating the birth of his new child in the hospital next door. The jolly man with the crooked teeth and the endless supply of candy. The man who let her listen to her own heart, then his, with the stethoscope. He wouldn’t be at the clinic that day. The only grown man she knew, other than her principle.
The nurse informed her mother of her regular practitioner’s absence after asking a few questions, “Doctor Kovack will be seeing you today. He is very good with children.” The little girl sat on her mother’s lap quietly. Not listening, but watching. So she was not ready when the strange man came in and greeted her.
“Hello there, little girl!” He bent down close to her and smiled. Instead of smiling back, the child flinched back with a mean pout. “Aww, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” He straightened a bit, knowing that some kids just aren’t friendly. “What’s your name?” He asked as he read it from her chart. As he expected, she didn’t answer. She simply curled tighter into a ball and hid her face in her mother’s sleeve. Her mother just shook her head. “Regina, right? Nurse Anne told me all about you and how you’re not feeling too well today. Do you mind if I take a look?” At that, he dropped her chart onto the examination table and began to approach her again. He was ready for a kick, maybe a little crying, but he was not ready for her to kick, scream, and run across the room and out the door.
It took them fifteen minutes to catch her and keep her still, but no matter what the nurses or her mother did; Gina was not going back into that room with that doctor. And she told them so, over and over again, until her mother finally gave up and drove her across town to urgent care.
Gina is ten now, and her birthday is steadily approaching. The school year will be over in a month, and her birthday falls only two days after. “Hey, Ginabug!” As she lay her homework out on the kitchen table, her mother entered quietly and surprised her from behind with a hug. “Hi, Mommy,” she replied solemnly and plopped herself into a chair once she was released.
“Why so sad?” Her mother placed herself in the chair across from her.
“I’m not.” She began to work.
“You look sad. And with summer coming. And your birthday!”
That was just what Gina had been waiting for. The dreaded mention of her birthday. Every year was the same; she would receive one gift from her mother, a card from her brother, and a special birthday dinner. But this year was different and she knew it. She just didn’t know why.
She looked across the table into her mother’s eyes and peeled information from her thoughts, as she had learned to do years ago, and she almost jumped up from her chair with excitement. But she kept her cool, only showing a slight twitch at the edge of her mouth. Her mother could never know what she could do. She didn’t know why, but she knew her mind-reading skills should remain a secret. So she dipped her head again, and continued her work.
“C’mon, Gee. A whole eleven years old. Aren’t you excited? Even a little?” She pulled the paper Gina was working on across the table and sighed. “Alright, I didn’t want to ruin the surprise but…” she waited, and so did Gina. “Well,” seeing that she was getting no reaction she continued, “your brother made the suggestion, and I agreed that for your big day this year we should have a party.” She grinned widely.
“A party?”
“Yes, a party.”
“A birthday party? For me?”
“Yes you, Ginaboo. A big party, wherever you want. You can invite all of your friends.” Gina dropped her head back to her homework, furrowing her eyebrows with intense concentration. But she did not fool her mother, “There’s got to be someone you’d like to come.”
“No. I don’t have any friends, Mommy. Just forget it.”
Gina did forget it. But of course, her mother didn’t, and behind her back she called and invited all the mothers she knew, no matter the age of their children. She bought balloons and streamers, and a big banner that read, “Gina’s Eleven!” And when the big day came, Gina was, in fact, eleven. She was also hiding behind the tree in her backyard, while all the other children played, her mother enraptured by the crowd, and so neglecting to watch her own child. Sitting alone at her own party wasn’t so bad, though. She bet she got great gifts from all of those cackling mothers, and anytime you get chocolate cake is a good time.
As she thought of cake, she poked her head out from around the tree; searching her crowded yard for her mother. Instead, she was startled to find two little brown eyes just like hers staring back at her.
“What ya jumpin’ for? I scare ya?” The eyes and the voice belonged to a boy, a small boy in dirty khakis, who looked to be about her age. He sized her up slowly and spoke again, “This your party?” Gina nodded. She did not want to talk to this boy. She had jumped, not because of his proximity, but because of what his eyes had told her. They glinted in the sunlight and gave off an air of charm, but he was not a nice little boy.
The boy cocked his head, “Huh, well it sucks. There’s no games, no toys. Just our parents drinking while we all have to sit here and stare at your ugly face.” He laughed then, cocking his head back as if it were the funniest thing he had ever heard. Gina just smiled and took a cautious step back. She kept constant eye contact with him; therefore had constant knowledge of his intentions. Right now, he was bored. She took another step back, this one acknowledging her caution. “Where ya goin’? I’m talkin’ ta you!” He reached for her arm, and she sped off, running straight through him. Caught off guard, the boy was still leaning towards her when she went his way and her shoulder caught him in the chin. He bit his tongue twice; once when she hit him, and again when he hit the ground. And when he saw the blood drowning the front of his shirt, a brown-red bib, he screamed. And he screamed. And he cried. And he screamed some more.
Parents flooded the area in two seconds flat, trying to calm the child and find out what happened. But he would not be calmed and he would not stop bleeding. So eventually, the boy’s father stuffed a cold rag in his mouth, and carried him off to his car. The rest of the parents were a bit shook up, but all wanted to continue their half of the party, so the suggestion went out, “Cake! It must be time for cake!” All the kids cheered. All of them, of course, besides Gina, who sat in her room crying. Crying for the accidental injury. Crying for the boy’s father who knew not what the boy was. Crying for her mother, who had to be embarrassed. And she had to be looking for her daughter, too. And that’s why Gina stopped crying, and wandered over to the window to look out. She thought she would see the top of her mother’s head, scanning the yard in search of her. But she was disappointed again. Because down in the backyard, all the kids were enjoying her rich chocolate cake, and her mother was on the porch watching, and talking on the cordless house phone. For a moment, she thought about descending the stairs and enjoying her cake along with everyone else. Then she saw her mother hang up the phone and wander into the house, calling out, “Gina! Ginabug! Cake!” And she decided that today, she did not have to be nice, and lie to her mother about how much fun she was having, and how sorry she was about the bo
y who bit his tongue open. She was going to let them have their party. So, she ran to her dresser, changed into her pajamas, and jumped into her bed right before her mother entered her room.
Gina didn’t realize that her mother had heard her run from one end of the room to the other and back again. And when she only poked her head in, and left again, Gina was hurt. Hurt so badly that she slunk out of bed and changed all over again, returning to the party, to her mother’s delight, with a permanent frown.
A couple of weeks had passed since the party, and things had gone back to normal between Gina and her mother. In fact, the two of them went on as if there had never been a party. Until the day Gina’s mother returned home early from work. She rushed this way and that way, pulling things from cabinets in the kitchen, then streaking off to the bathroom to start bath water, and charging up to her room to toss dress after dress out onto her bed.
Gina, as always, quiet and reserved, approached her cautiously in the kitchen. Dodging her every now and then, as she began to prepare a meal. “What’s going on, Mommy?” She gave her a little tap on the arm.
“Oh! Gina, baby, uh…Mommy forgot to tell you. We’re having a guest over tonight.”
“Who?”
“Umm…do you remember Jakob from the party?” He had never told her his name, but Gina knew immediately whom she meant, so she nodded. Unable to look her mother in the eye, she had to wait for her to finish her explanation. The suspense was killing her. “Well, I thought it was a pretty unfortunate accident he had here. So when I apologized to his father for the mishap, I invited them both over for dinner. So maybe you should go get washed up so I can finish cooking.”
“Mom, you don’t even know what happened! What did you have to apologize for?”
“And you do know what happened?” That stopped Gina’s next argument from passing her lips. Instead, she huffed quietly and went up to her room to change, and wait for dinner.
Gina listened to her mother greet Jakob and his father from the top of the stairs. Her sundress was itchy, but she remained perfectly still, so that she wouldn’t miss anything.
“It’s so nice to see you again, Harold! And you, Jakob! Come on in, dinner should be ready any minute.” Then she listened to three pairs of feet walk into the kitchen with purpose. Sliding down a few stairs, Gina strained to hear.
“Well, it’s nice of you to have us. Jake here’s a little rambunctious. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing were his fault.”
“It was not! I told you that stupid girl knocked me over!”
“Jake, watch your mouth. Anyway, where is the birthday girl?”
“Regina…”
“Ah yes, Regina. Beautiful name.”
“Why thank you. Well she’ll be down in just a minute.” Her voice raised a decibel when she said, “she’ll be down…” and Gina took that to mean her mother knew exactly where she was sitting, and it was time for her to join them.
Gina got up and slapped each foot annoyingly on each step as she descended and the small group turned to greet her, but her mother spoke first with a faint hint of irritability, “So nice of you to join us, Gina. Say hello to Jakob, and his father Harold.” Gina kept her eyes on her feet, “Hey.” Her mother sighed with exasperation, but left her alone after pushing her a bit forcefully into a chair.
Jakob sat down on Gina’s right and Harold to her left, so she continued to look straight down in silence. “So, Regina,” Harold began, “I heard you’re quite a reader.” Gina looked up at him, thinking he was quite dull, but answered, “Yes, I do enjoy reading. Can he?” She pointed to Jakob and began to snicker, and to her surprise, Harold joined in.
“Won’t be so funny when I…” The rest was incomprehensible.
“C’mon Jake. It was a joke!” However, Jakob knew otherwise, and crossed his arms in protest.
Suddenly, large serving dishes appeared on the table, and Gina looked across at her mother, wondering if she had heard any of the exchange. Her mother’s attention, however, was on Harold. She let her eyes drift from the top of his head to his large meaty hands, ladling mashed potatoes onto Gina’s plate, then his. Then she said something that Gina wasn’t ready for, “Harold, I thought I told you to go easy on the starch!”
To most children, it would sound like a simple scolding, from one adult to another. But to Gina, it sounded like the chastisement of a happy wife to her husband. And from what Gina understood, these two had just met at her party; introduced by mutual friends. She tried to catch her mother’s eye but failed repeatedly, for her mother was intent on flirting. So she turned to her left to see Jakob’s reaction, which was none. He sat stuffing his mouth with chicken and potatoes and seemed oblivious to all going on around him. Gina huffed. Something was going on here. But, what? And how in the world was she going to find out? Her mind reading skills were limited. She could read her mother’s mind, and not her brother’s. She could read the on-call doctor, but not her own. Jakob was no help. She knew from her birthday that his head was full of dead animals and toys he planned to steal. The boy was uncomplicated and juvenile, and wouldn’t have a clue of what was going on.
Reading her mother was like reading a book through a shower curtain. Sometimes she could see clearly, and get what she needed, other times it was like trying to decipher a pixelated image. Her last bet was Harold. And he seemed to never look directly at her. Which she found odd, but not odd enough to cause concern.
Dinner went by slowly for Gina, who did not eat much, and preferred not to engage in small talk. She spent the time trying to get Harold to look at her; using tactics like spilling her iced water in her lap, and sighing loudly. But he seemed to be incredibly apt at simply not looking at someone, for his eyes never met hers.
Jakob left without a word to Gina, or her mother, and waited for his father in the car, missing the longest goodnight kiss Gina had ever seen. Then Harold turned to her, nodded, and finally met her eyes, giving her a little wink before he turned to go. The wink, though, had been overkill. Gina had found out all she needed to know in just one look, and knew exactly why the man wouldn’t look at her before that moment. Gina shivered a bit, watching her mother watch him drive off. But when her mother turned, Gina was already up in her bed, shaking, and plotting.
“Damien, please come home, please.” Gina whispered hurriedly into the phone, knowing her mother would be home from work soon.
“Regina, I can’t just leave school ‘cause mom has a new boyfriend.”
“Please. It’s more than that. He’s not a good man.”
“Ah, so you don’t like him much, huh? Is he a corny jokes kind of guy?”
“Damien!” It was the first time her voice had risen above a whisper, and Damien was sure that what he had heard was fear. Though he still had no thoughts of returning home; his sister finally had his attention. “Damien, I have to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about me…”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, just, promise me you won’t laugh.” Damien relaxed and assured her he would do no such thing. “Well, sometimes, I can look at people, and I see things.” The other line became silent, but anxiety pushed Gina on, “Things about them, that I shouldn’t know.”
“Gina, look…”
“And I can’t do it to everyone, just Mommy and bad people. I can tell they’re bad, Damien. I know all the bad stuff they think and the things they wanna do.”
“Gina…”
“And this guys a bad man, and he was thinking about stuff he could use me for, ‘cause he knows. I don’t know how he knows but he does and he wants to take me away and Mommy doesn’t know. I know because I checked.”
“I’ll be home this weekend. Don’t tell Mom.” Gina huffed, hanging up the phone feeling lighter than she had when she picked it up. She wasn’t sure if her brother believed her, but he was at least worried about her. He’d be here to save her again, like he used to before he left for graduate school. She never under
stood why he couldn’t stay here, at the college he already attended, but not once had she begun to think her brother had forgotten about her.
The week passed by at a snail’s pace, Gina passing the time reading or riding her bike up and down the street. And every night at dinner, there he was, leering at her over bowls of mashed potatoes and corn. But Gina would simply ignore Harold, as if he weren’t sitting at the table. Except for the nights Jakob was absent. Those nights Gina would spend pestering Harold about where his “devil child” was. Was he out smashing pumpkins? Sacrificing lambs? Her mother seemed to take it all as a joke and never once scolded her daughter for being so malicious.
Finally, the weekend came, and before her mother arrived home, Gina cleaned the kitchen top to bottom. She had pulled out ground beef and set it in the sink to thaw, thinking she’d make meatloaf as a surprise for everyone. She spent the entire day in the kitchen, singing and humming to herself with excitement. She had just finished setting the table, when she heard her mother honk her car horn outside. Gina leapt up on the kitchen sink and peered through the curtains at her mother, who seemed to have arrived not two seconds after Damien had pulled up next to the curb. Gina watched in delight as they both got out of their cars and hugged and loved on each other the way only a mother and son can. There was no way big brother couldn’t fix all this. Gina might be the baby, but her mother always had a big old soft spot for Damien.
The front door opened and laughter spilled into the house. Gina wasn’t sure if she should let them wander into the kitchen their selves or if she should go get them. But even as she was thinking this she heard, “Wow, something smells good,” and the kitchen door swung open.
“Hey there little sis! I missed you! Who taught you how to cook?” He wrapped his arms around her and spun her in a tight circle, careful not to ruin her perfectly set table.
“I learned it from a book. I wanted to surprise…” Damien squinted at her, “Mommy! I wanted to cook for her, since she always cooks for me.”