Roaring Heart

A SHOCKING REVELATION

  "I have to tell them! This morning, I don't care what their answer will be, I have to tell them!", was the first thing Elin thought the next day, waking up.

Her cell phone alarm had just rung. She got up reluctantly, reached for her cell phone, then switched off that annoying sound. She would have to be at school by nine, meaning she would have a family breakfast, before her parents left for work. She put on her slippers and went down the stairs, which led to the drawing room and the kitchen. The bedrooms and bathroom were upstairs. Her house was pretty big - a grey brick two-floor cottage, surrounded by a large courtyard, perfectly taken care of by her father, a botany lover. She remembered that when she was little, she had loads of fun watering and taking care of the plants, but as time went by, Elin had developed other interests even though she had acquired a remarkable 'green thumb'. Whenever she felt blue, she only needed to lie down on the grass to feel better. She entered the kitchen still in her pyjamas. They were all already there, having breakfast.

   "Good morning, Elin", her father welcomed her.

   "Hi, dad!" she replied, with a half smile.

She poured some cocoa powder in her bowl of milk – white milk made her slightly nauseous – and she filled it with her favourite cereal, glazed oat flakes.

Having breakfast with the family was nice, especially if the day before you had gotten a good mark in an oral test you had previously failed. It was nice even if everyone was in a hurry to get to school or work. Her little brothers, David and George, who both attended Primary School, were noisy and lively as usual, and that lightened up the day.

When they were gone, Elin decided it was time to tell her parents the news, and avoid being sent up by her brothers.

   "There's something I need to tell you" she said, standing up from the chair and going to the centre of the room so that both her parents could see her full figure. "Look at what my knees do when I squat!"

   "Actually, they began doing it last year, but for a while they stopped".

She squatted, and a distinct creak was heard in the silent room. Her left one really hurt, so she got up.

Her mother gave her a puzzling look, then sighing, she said:

   "Ah, old age!"

Elin's heart skipped a beat. "What are you talking about? Hey mum, I'm only seventeen!"

   "It doesn't mean a thing. You know perfectly that you were born with a rare cerebellum problem that makes your muscles and bones ten times stiffer than normal. You have to do stretching exercises", her mum snapped.

Elin had to restrain herself from snorting. Another annoying lecture from her mother! She had made that speech so many times Elin was just sick and tired. She had had enough!

   "As you might have noticed", she retorted, "I am already doing that at the gym!" It was a half-truth. Actually, she lifted weights at the gym, while doing some stretching exercises at home (sometimes).

   "OK, so continue. It's the only way to stop the stiffness for a bit. If you don't do it your bones will get gradually worse", her mother insisted.

Elin sat down. She wasn't hungry any more. Was her body was already getting old, as her mother had sentenced? Great combo, given that one of her worst fears was that. Hiding to her mother that this news had shocked her, she began mixing the milk, which had now turned a light brown. The cocoa powder had had all but disappeared, even though some lumps remained. Elin tried to crush these against the bowl as best she could, though unsuccessfully. Eventually, she dropped the spoon and began sipping the milk.