The drive home was the longest drive I had ever taken. We all sat in silence, watching the sun setting as we drove along the busy streets, people scuttling about, closing shops and making their way home. Everyone seemed busy, had a purpose, something they had to do, somewhere they had to go.
We arrived home and dad called us into the front room and asked us to sit down.
Paul and Greg sat on the sofa, I took the chair, dad sat opposite us. He sighed and ran his big hands through his slowly greying hair. He started explaining that mum was ill, Greg stopped him short and told him we had heard his telephone conversation. Dad looked sadly across at us all as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Finally he came clean and told us the truth, that she had tried to take her own life. He explained that he was unsure exactly why she had, he said that she was unhappy, had been for some time, maybe even from the start of their marriage.
He told us that mum was going into a special clinic that would help her and hopefully make her feel happy again. He couldn't say any more because he really didn't know any more.
Greg looked angry, he stood up and shouted something at dad, that it was his fault or something like that, I really can't remember. I do remember Greg storming upstairs, Paul following him. I remember staying still and looking at my father, at his tired face, the deep lines around his eyes and his hunched shoulders. When he looked at me I saw a deep sadness that I have never again witnessed in anyone.
I knew then that things were going to change. That perhaps our normal family wasn't quite so normal after all. But normal or not, we were about to undergo a massive change.
to be continued
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Short StoryIsn't it funny just how much your mother can influence your life. You don't even realise it. You're born into a family and take everything that happens within it as normal. I mean, until you are older and start comparing ......
