The Month of October

October 1st

"I think this is the last box.” Emily panted as she carried the heavy brown cardboard box from the back of the car’s trunk to the front porch of her new house. She wiped away the sweat that was forming on her forehead when she not so gently placed the box on the ground. She had been working for almost two hours now under the cruelty of the midday heat.

“Careful now, this might contain glass.” Her mom mentioned.

“No the ones that have glass were the first ones out.” Emily replied.

“You worked yourself out. Go rest dear.”

Resting she did need. Emily wobbled her way to her room where the floor was filled with boxes. She hardly managed to make her way to her bed without stepping on any of them. The room depressed her as it was far from tidy. She loved to see everything clean and organized especially if it was her stuffs.

She huffed while she sat on the wooden frame of her bed because the mattress was probably still leaning against the living room's wall. She thought that by coming to her room she would immediately unpack and start putting everything in its place, but her mind was overcrowded with questions that she failed to ask her mom. She tried multiple times to open the subject in front of her.

Every time she did, her mom would directly change the topic. Emily decided that she should stay in the dark no longer. She stomped to the door knocking a few boxes over in that manner. Swiftly, she opened the door and left it there knowing that she needed it wide open if things went wrong.

She stopped a second just to locate her mother's whereabouts. The clanking and ruffling indicated that she was in the kitchen. Surely enough, Emily stood in the kitchen’s doorway and watched her mother picking up wooden spoons and utensils putting them away in their rightful places.

“Mom.”

Patricia turned her head only to see her daughter standing behind her. She turned her head back to its original position and continued where she left off.

"You need anything, sweetie?" She picked up a cloth and wiped the bunch of silver spoons she held in her hand.

“I don’t understand why, of all the places you could have gone to, you came back to your hometown. I thought you hated it here.”

Patricia paused in her actions. Slowly, she lowered the cloth onto the counter and gripped the edge instead.

"Where do you suggest I go, Emily. This is the only property I have left."

“That’s not true. Dad said that he could find you a place to stay in.”

“I don’t need anything from that man!” Patricia snarled.

“What about Darla? She asked you if you would like to stay with her for as long as you like.”

"Of course, I wouldn't have accepted the offer. She was just being a good friend. I can't live with myself knowing that I am a burden on her."

Patricia finally loosened the grip on the counter's edge and turned around to face her daughter. Her honey-blonde hair reached her aching shoulders from the hours she worked with her daughter. The few short strands framed her face perfectly, but they were rather annoying when she constantly had to pull them away from her eyes.

"Look Emily, for now, we have to cope with it for a while. It is not as bad as I described it to you. Hopefully, by the end of this month, I would have enough money for us to move out again."

Emily wasn’t entirely pleased with her answer. She still has so many questions in mind, but watching her mother’s tired and slightly teary eyes, she decided to tame her curiosity
about this subject only for now.

Diverting the conversation to another perspective, she asked another question. “Where did you even find a job here this quickly?”

Her mom chuckled. “I will work in a flower shop not far away from here. Everyone knows everyone in this town, Emily. Even the ones who left, such as myself, are still remembered by the town folks."

“So you casually called an old friend you haven’t talked to in almost twenty years and asked for a job?” Emily smiled.

“Pretty much.” Patricia laughed. “But in all seriousness,” she dropped her smile and stared at the floor, “Emily promise me you would stay out of trouble when I’m not with you.” She locked eyes with her daughter.

“That was a weird turn of events. Don’t you think?” Emily smirked.

“I know, but promise me that.” Her mom pleaded.

“I can’t. I don’t believe in promises anymore.” Emily stated.

“And why is that?!”

“Because you always promised me that you and dad would stay together.”

"Emily you know-”

“See you in the morning.”

Emily bolted out of the kitchen turning her back to her mother. She hated this. She hated that recently every talk she had with her mother ended with one of them fumingly leaving the other. She wished that she could also turn her back to the sorrow and the haunted voices, but their footsteps grew louder the farther she got from her mother.

She grabbed her mattress that she found leisurely leaning on the wall. The day wasn’t over yet. The sun was still in her prime. The world outside was bright and full of colors, far from the darkness of the night.

To Emily, it was now dark. Her night came sooner than the rest of the world. The day was already over for her. She chose to end her day whenever she wanted. The darkness embraced her fully. The sun in the sky felt false to her. She entered her room and closed the door behind her.

It was dark now.