He Is Not Mine

Laelie

"Six-o-clock, in the little shed," I say to myself quietly, "bring a loaf of bread and a tablecloth." I repeat this over and over as I walk. I walk up a hill, and I see the roof of my house starting to appear. The sun is up in the sky, sending rays of hot sunlight onto my skin, which is now dirty and sweaty.

Once I approach my house, I say what I have been saying one last time, and then I pull open the door. I'm welcomed with the scent of cake coming from the kitchen. I breathe in the delicious aroma and close the door.

"I thought you were never coming home," a high-pitched, gentle voice says. I walk into the kitchen and see my mother standing there, cleaning up a mess from making the cake. She has a white dress on, and a yellow apron tied around her neck. Her hair, which is graying, is pulled up into a bun. She smiles at me and embraces me. She pulls away after a moment and looks me over.

"Oh, darling, you are almost as tall as me now. You are becoming such a lovely young woman... long, silky brown hair, deep blue eyes," she says. I smile and blush. "You are starting to look like me when I was your age," she tells me.

"Why are you making a cake?" I ask. Her smiles fades, and she stares at me for a second. She then leans in.

"Laelie," she whispers, "did you forget that it's your sister's birthday?"

I realize that she's right. I suddenly feel very bad.

"I suppose that I did forget," I tell her. 

"Do you have anything that you could give her as a gift?" she asks. I think for a second.

"I may have some jewelry in my room. I will go check," I turn to walk up the stairs.

"Hurry, as soon as she gets home, we are going to start celebrating," she calls after me.

How long will we be celebrating? I have to leave soon, and I still must take a bath and make myself look nice. I do not want to be late.

I hurry up the wooden stairs, which creak as I go. I walk through a dark hall and then into my room. I pull a box out from under my bed and swat the dust away with my fingers. I open it.

Inside, there are many things. Buttons, neat rocks, earrings, necklaces, and many small illustrations. They were all done by my other sister, Betty, who is a natural artist. Many of the drawings show my father's face. Though Betty is a talented girl, she was never able to truly capture the way my father had looked. There was something missing from the drawings.

I think of my younger sister, Miriam. I pull out two necklaces. One has a white gemstone, and the other has a purple pendant. I think of her fair skin and light-colored hair. Her rosy cheeks and pink lips. I decide that the white necklace would be the best for her. I know that she will delight in it greatly. 

I search for something to put the necklace in. I don't have a small box, so I take some paper and wrap it up. I take a small piece of twine from the floor and tie a knot around the small package so that it will not come undone.

I hear laughing from downstairs, and a voice that it smooth like fresh cream. Miriam must be home. I bring the little package downstairs with me.

Miriam is standing in the kitchen when I come down. She is wearing a floral pink dress, and her hair is down, which is unusual. It's pretty, though. Her blonde locks are always pulled up into a bun, much like Mother's.

She turns when she hears me come down the stairs. She smiles and looks at me with her light blue eyes. She runs up to me and hugs me tightly.

"Laelie, how I've missed you," she says.

"You saw me in the morning, didn't you?" I say, laughing.

"Yes, but you've been gone all day, and right before you came back Mother sent me to go get some wax candles. But now I'm finally able to see you!" she says excitedly. Then she pulls away from the hug.