What Happened to Cormac Li? ✔

/ 11 /

A familiar xylophonic melody resonated from my mother's room. It was her Saturday morning alarm, meaning that, in about ten minutes, she was going to pop her head through the crack in the door and check if I was up.

  It was the first time in a while that the alarm woke me up because it was the first time in a while that I had slept through a full night.

  I felt more energy than I had the past few weeks and used it to pull myself out of bed and shuffle to my window to open the curtains. Sunlight spilled gloriously through the window and the blue sky seemed bluer than ever before. It was stunning weather, a rarity in January winters. Although, it was nearly February which meant spring and new beginnings.

  A blue butterfly fluttered across my view and settled on the window sill outside. I don't know why but it made me smile.

I still hadn't read Cormac's letter but already I felt some form of relief. The idea that he had forgotten me or thought of me as some insignificant addition in his life had weighed on my troubled mind but clearly that wasn't true. My fingers fiddled with the folded letter that I had left on my window sill. I didn't feel any urgency to read it. I wanted to savour it because it was the most precious thing in my possession.

  My door cracked open on cue as my mother leaned into my room.

  "Honey, are you-oh. You're up."

  "Yeah. I am."

  I walked over to her and opened my door fully.

  "How are you feeling?" She asked, leaning her head on my door frame.

  I flashed a genuine half-smile at my mother. "Better. I'm really hungry though."

  She chuckled lightly. "How about I whip up a batch of chocolate chip pancakes? Just the way you like them."

  I remembered the absurd period in my life when I would deprive myself of my mother's pancakes. At that moment I wanted nothing more.

  "That would be amazing. Thanks, Mom."

  She nodded slowly, still seemingly taken aback by my sudden energy but she didn't say anything and instead kissed my cheek before going downstairs.

I returned to the window and picked up Cormac's book and letter. I slipped them into a loose tote bag of mine, knowing exactly what I was going to do that day.

I took a long, knot-untying shower first, scrubbing every inch of my skin. The sensation of Cormac's blood on the side of my thigh still lingered but it was fading, slowly but surely. I undid my two braids and lathered my scalp with shampoo, rubbing it satisfyingly with my fingers.

I was still exhausted but better. So much better.

The splendid scent of a sweet breakfast wafted through the air, pulling me downstairs to where I found my family getting the table ready. Tina was the first to spot me.

"Morning, Em."

I smiled and picked up a plate. "Good morning."

My mother stacked three pancakes onto the plate I held out to her before I sat at the table. My father sat down beside me, placing a quick kiss on my head before continuing a conversation with my mother about the weather. Tina planted herself in the seat on my other side and squeezed my hand under the table.