brontide ; stranger things

SEVEN

Toska (n.)

a dull aching of the soul

-Collie's Word of the Day #19

•••

  "'WAS she going to live very long after that? I didn't know. My mother died when I was just three months old. I do wish she'd lived long enough to remember me calling her Mother. I think it would be so sweet to say-'"

  "Do I have... mother?" Eleven interrupted Hopper. He sat on a chair between Eleven and Collie's beds, reading to them from an old book in his hands. The lamp on the nightstand illuminated the room, giving everything it hit a golden glow.

  Hopper looked up at the younger girl and hesitated.

  "Yeah, of course you have a mother," he replied at last. Collie, who was barely awake underneath her covers, watched them with sleepy eyes. "You couldn't have been born without one."

  "Where is she?" Eleven asked. Hopper remained quiet, choosing his words wisely.

  "She's not around anymore," he said after a still moment. Eleven's eyebrows pinched together in confusion at first, then understanding.

  "...Gone?"

  "Yeah." Hopper regretfully nodded, looking down at the book. Tears welled in Eleven's eyes as she gripped her blanket, her mouth quivering. She glanced to her surrogate sister, who watched the scene sadly.

  "Collie has... mother?" Eleven questioned, pointing to her. Collie immediately sobered up from her drowsiness as Hopper switched his gaze to the elder girl, an even heavier weight being placed on his shoulders.

  "...Yeah, she has a mother," he finally answered. "But... she's, uh, she's gone, too." Silence fell over the three as Hopper watched his girls carefully. A lump formed in Collie's throat and she turned on her side, refusing to let the other two see her cry.

  To her, it wasn't fair. She and Eleven never even got to know their mothers, all because of Brenner and Hawkins Lab. They didn't have a mom to cry to about stupid things or rant about boy problems to. They only had each other.

  "I'm... I'm real sorry about that, girls," Hopper said. After what seemed forever he began to read again, his voice low and soft. On her side and faced away, Collie felt a tear trail its way across her cheek and down her nose as she tried to keep from shaking. She murmured, barely audible,

  "Toska." Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and listened to Hopper read, drifting away into sleep.

•••

  After school, Collie, Jonathan, and Nancy crept through the door of the Wheeler's house and made a beeline for the stairs. Earlier, Collie and Jonathan had filled Nancy in on their plan, and the three resolved to do it together.

  Just as they passed the kitchen, a voice called,

  "Jonathan? Collie?" The three teens hurried back around the corner and greeted Nancy's mother, Karen, with innocent smiles.