Faceless Instincts

The Woman of Many Faces

The sun had fallen hours ago, it was way past eight when I arrived back at the Bed & Breakfast utterly crushed and hungry, however, I wasn't expecting anyone with food waiting for me, so I simply made my way back to the room.

I saw Will standing with chopped woods in his hands and conversing with a girl. I wasn't sure if I saw it right, but I presumed he was handing over her some money, I decided not to bother him and started again on my path.

When I closed the door of my room behind me a wave of exhaustion surged through me and I almost slumped on my bed slightly avoiding a hit on the bedpost.

My head was bursting with aches. I had never missed my friends so much, so much so that I even missed Nikolai, I realised how supportive he had been through everything.

I sharp pang of ache jostled through my chest and I groaned in pain. When I closed my eyes a vision of someone sitting on a table with food and tapping a spoon against the wood flashed before my eyes and I opened them instantly. What is wrong with me? I thought to myself as I sat up.

After a while when I was feeling better, I got up and changed into clean clothes and scrambled in my bed. I had completely forgotten to tell Lucy or Will that I ran out of the woods and now my room was equally cold as outside, I hoped and prayed not to freeze to death overnight.

After a while, I was applying an ointment on my facial wounds when a knock startled me. I got out of bed and upon opening the door I found Lucy standing there with a tray of food, a bowl of hot chicken stew with bread and cheese was spread on it. She walked in and placed it on the table then poured a hot Ginger tea in a cup and handed it to me, "you didn't have to it" although I took it in a heartbeat.

She raised her hand to stop me and reached for her pocket, procuring a piece of paper she handed to me. I kept the cup aside and opened the paper, "I knew you would say that when you didn't bother to show up for food after working all day, so you can zip it and have this meal that I heated for you."

I looked up at her, not sure if I wanted to laugh or cry, I was depleting emotionally and hardly had the energy to display my emotions, but as if reading me perfectly she signalled me to turn the paper around and so I did, "I know your work is important, but a woman of your age shouldn't look so exhausted, eat this and I will send some bedtime tea, it will help you sleep easily, and by the way did you get what you went for?"

My mind recollected all my memories with my deceased mother, this is how she used to bombard me with questions every afternoon when I returned from school. We would eat and she would ask me for everything that I experienced throughout my day, looking at Lucy I said, "I didn't get exactly what I went for but I did get something to get me started." I paused taking in a shaky breath, "I don't know I must say this but for some reason I want to, you know, if my mother were to be alive today she would have done the same things as you Lucy"

She had a twinkle in her eyes and her eyes darted towards the notepad that was still laying on the bed, she picked it up and started writing as I read, "A mother is not just the woman who gives birth, instead of motherhood and motherly Instincts are a form of true and pure love that one develops, a man can possess motherly instincts, however, we have made them too strong to uncover their motherly side. Always remember, purest love will always know and it will always worry. It will skip several beats when you get injured, and it will crumble like a Volcano if you put yourself in a situation where there rises a possibility of your separation. I am just another mother who knows a child and I feel it. Look around, you might have other people who. love you just as a mother would. Of course, there is no denying that one's mother is the only soul that can rip itself to warm up the child"

I looked at the note for a while, "you are right, even if I don't have my mother, I do have people who worry about me just as she would have" she smiled at me and then pointed towards the food.