Mother and Child

Mother and Child

  Sarah Haliem

  Copyright 2014 Sarah Haliem

  This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Hope you enjoy this book and encourage others to download their own personal copy. Thank you for your support.

  In memory of the family chicken who brought much joy. She was one of a kind and will be missed.

  ‘I hate you, I hate you!’ Maddie cried. She was having one of those nightmares again. As soon as she could talk, Maddie always felt that something was missing in her life, but she just didn’t know what it was. Her room, crowded with all the toys her parents bought for her, didn’t provide much comfort. The last time I saw her happy was when her dad bought her a doll’s set for her sixth birthday last year. Her once favourite doll had long brown hair, with brown eyes and dimples on her cheeks. Her doll, which she named Lucy, likened to the resemblance of her mum. In the end, she abandoned her because she felt betrayed. Many times they would sleep together and she would wake up to find her dropped onto the floor. Maddie thought she was trying to run away and since then, she’s been having those dreams.

  Maddie’s nose began to twitch at the smell of hot pancakes and muffins filling the air and jumped out of bed. She quickly changed out of her pyjamas and rushed into the kitchen to find the table covered with food. Her mum was at the bench and appeared to be mixing something. Her hands were smudged with the colours of red, yellow and blue. ‘Mum, what are you making?’ she said. Her mum didn’t face her and was busy looking at the bowl. ‘Just getting some food dye ready for Easter, dear. It’s a beautiful day today, why don’t you play outside?’ Maddie, kicking her feet underneath the table, was out into the yard as soon as she finished her last bit of pancake.

  She didn’t like it inside. She found it difficult to be around her mum who hardly gave her any attention, and her dad worked most of the day. Maddie slid into her boots, with a basket in one hand, carrying a bag of chook feed in the other. As she walked through the wet grass and muddy puddles, she noticed the ducks splashing their wings about in the nearby lake, the pigs rolling in the mud and could hear the sounds of birds. To hear the birds, she had to listen carefully, since Ditzy, the baby goat, would “Maa” most of the day. Maddie only walked past the other animals. Her favourite place was the chook pen and this is where she spent most of her time in since giving up on her dolls.

  There were just over twenty chooks, including an unusual one named Whitepecker, and no roosters. Maddie felt that she could relate to this chook because she realised Whitepecker was also alone. Instead of being with the other chooks, she always caught Whitepecker sitting inside her nesting box. Maddie had a hard time collecting any eggs because the chook, Whitepecker, would always end up defending herself.

  The chooks gathered around her as Maddie pushed open the wooden gate. She threw in some cups of chook feed into the tray and they attacked at it. She giggled. She watched as the spotted-brown chook tried to squash its way through and as the black one fought off the other chickens. Maddie counted the chooks and realised one was missing. She wondered whether Whitepecker was ever hungry. Feeling sorry for her, she went inside the chook pen to where the nesting boxes were placed.

  ‘Hello, it’s me again,’ she said. She also realised there were fresh eggs to collect and filled up her basket. Soon, she reached Whitepecker’s nesting box. Whitepecker, who stood firm in place, followed Maddie’s every move with her orange eyes. ‘How are you feeling today?’ Maddie said, as she played with the dried hay surrounding the nesting box. ‘Mum’s telling me Easter’s coming up soon, though I don’t care. I need you to be happy first.’ She lowered her voice this time, trying to sound as friendly as she could. ‘I am your friend and it’s not fair. Are you going to let me or not?’ Whitepecker tilted her head slightly to the left and Maddie thought it was a “yes”. On the count of three, Maddie was determined to grab those eggs as quickly as she could. One, two, three... ‘Aaaah!’ Maddie screamed. She felt as though the sharp end of a pencil had ripped through her skin, followed by a warm rush of heat. Her finger was bleeding! She could not help it and burst into tears. She picked up the basket of eggs, slamming the wooden gate behind her, and ran towards her house.

  Along the way, she slipped on the muddy puddles and the eggs came crashing down. Her tears came rolling down even heavier. There wasn’t much distance left before she would reach the house and eventually, she was brave enough to pick herself up and walk inside. ‘Mum, mum,’ Maddie sobbed. ‘Honey, what happened?!’ ‘Whitepecker, pecked me,’ said Maddie. ‘I told you she hates me.’ Mum frowned. ‘Didn’t I tell you to leave it to Dad?’ She wrapped a white bandage around her finger. ‘There, now go to your room.’ She was just about to continue on with her daily chores until she froze. ‘Oh, and don’t forget to change out of your clothes first.’ Maddie Shrugged. She was left alone again.

  For the rest of the day, she didn’t feel like doing anything else but sleep. Not being able to sleep well, she woke up again that late afternoon feeling hungry. In the lounge room, she noticed her parents watching TV. ‘Mum,’ said Maddie. ‘Yes, Maddie, I’ve left dinner on the kitchen bench. Go straight to sleep after you’re done.’ she said. Her parents appeared to be sitting as still as statues on the couch. This was unusual. Tonight’s Discovery Channel episode, the Easter special, must have been a very interesting one indeed. Maddie went straight to bed. That night, however, she woke up again to the sounds of her parents arguing.

  ‘We need to get rid of this chook,’ said Mum. ‘If we do that, things would only get worse. It can destroy Maddie inside,’ said Dad. Mum sighed. ‘If only she had friends, human friends. It’s a shame she’s the only child.’ ‘You know, maybe Maddie was right after all,’ said Dad. ‘That’s crazy.’ ‘You never know. Animals have feelings just like us and it’s worth a try.’ Maddie, breathing heavily, panicked at hearing her mum’s footsteps and rushed into bed.

  The next day, Maddie’s dad came home earlier, carrying a funny-looking basket into the kitchen. He placed it onto the bench, where Maddie was eating lunch, and sat beside her. ‘Maddie, you need to promise me something. For the next week or two, I need you to stay away from Whitepecker until it’s time,’ he said. ‘Can you do that?’ She nodded. ‘But time for what, Dad?’ ‘Oh you’ll see,’ he said and grinned. Dad took off with the basket and went straight into the yard. Maddie, through the doors of glass, could see Dad walking towards the chook pen and then disappear.

  Being both unable to find the courage and not being allowed to come close to the chook pen, Maddie looked for other ways to keep her busy. She was eager to finish the last few puzzle pieces, until she became bored, and went into the kitchen to help her mum with dying the eggs. There were three different dyes to choose from and Maddie chose the red one. Red was a colour she preferred to use on eggs. As she waited for the dye to soak into the egg, a thought crossed her mind: She was always going to be surrounded by eggs, whether she liked it or not.

  Saturday mornings were Dad’s day off work. He suddenly came running into the kitchen. He was huffing and puffing, causing Maddie to spill her glass of milk. ‘Maddie, it’s time,’ said Dad, and he held her hand. Maddie struggled to keep up with his large footsteps; luckily the grass wasn’t slippery. She also noticed an unusual change of behaviour in the animals: the ducks appeared to be fast asleep, gently bobbing up and down the water; the pigs deep in conversation, and for once, she could hear the birds singing clearly—Ditzy was quiet. Maddie soon realised that they were heading towards the chook pen and flinched.

  With her heart pounding violently, she watched, as Dad unlocked the gate, at the many chooks scratching, flapping and running about. Moments later, her
dad came out holding a small, yellow, and feathery creature. ‘It’s okay, look,’ he said. ‘Whitepecker didn’t even attack’. This was the first time Maddie had come across chicks, since her dad would normally buy full grown chooks from a nearby farm. Her fears were gone at the sight of seeing Whitepecker finally at rest. Curious to touch one of the babies snuggled underneath Whitepecker, Maddie drew her hand closer towards her, while her dad kept a close eye. She felt safer this way. Whitepecker did not raise her feathers time and Maddie happily took her time in stroking the soft feathers. ‘Happy Easter,’ said Dad. Maddie smiled. Whitepecker was finally happy, she thought. Sadly, this happiness was short-lived.

  She enjoyed letting out Whitepecker, and the chicks, out for a stroll around the farm. As her dad warned her, she had to make sure to put them back inside the coop at the end of the day. Not a day would pass without Maddie spending some time with them.

  On a stormy morning, Maddie could not sit still at the kitchen bench. She wondered when the rain would end and kept kicking underneath the table. ‘Maddie, will you stop!’ said Mum and she slammed the table. Maddie, sulking, opened the glass doors and ran outside into the yard. ‘Where do you think you’re going in this rain?’ said Mum. She dropped everything in her hands and was after her. ‘Whitepecker?!’ Maddie cried. Luckily, the noise of the storm drowned her painful cries and the view that stood before the mother and child: feathers scattered underneath the garden shed, bits and pieces of the torn body with the guts pouring out. As for the chicks, they were nowhere to be found. Maddie, struggling to stand on her own two legs, dropped onto her knees. Her mum soon crept up behind and rested her hands upon her shoulders. ‘Mum!’ Maddie hugged her arms around her mum’s legs tightly. ‘Don’t leave, don’t ever let me go.’ ‘It’s ok Maddie, I’m here.’ said Mum.

  Worried for her daughter, she knew she had no choice. Things had to change. Over the next couple of weeks, drastic changes had been made: Dad quit his full time job and Mum turned into Maddie’s therapist. Mum, looking to find more time with her daughter, cooked simple meals instead of having to stand in the kitchen for most of the day. ‘Mum?’ Maddie watched as her mum redecorated her room, which was once filled with junk, with family portraits of when Maddie was just a newborn child. ‘Yes, beautiful?’ said Mum. She straightened a picture of both her and her husband, smiling, with little Maddie in between them. ‘Why are you hanging pictures of me?’ Mum turned around and smiled. ‘It’s a reminder for all of us. Dad and I have forgotten, after moving here, what a wonderful family we have. We love you very much.’ Maddie smiled back. At that moment, she discovered what was missing: Her mother’s love. Mum was the “best friend” she had been searching for all along.

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  Hope you enjoyed this short, but sweet story. Feel free to post me a review.

  Love all!

  Sarah Haliem

  About the author: Expressing myself and sharing my writing is something that I am passionate at. Creativity is my hobby and I enjoy using random ideas, to ideas stemming from real life experiences and watching it grow into a written form of art. I am currently completing third year in my writing and publishing degree.

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