Rosie

Part title

Rosie
          
They thought she was insane, and they couldn't be more right. Despite this, no one dared to blame little Rosie for the way she was. That is, all except her father (who was usually too drunk to stand). He supposed that she should, "Grow up and face the facts of reality." Despite the fact that she was only eight. She was six when tragedy decided to worm its way into her little life.
             Rosie was happily coloring with crayons and talking away to what seemed to be deaf ears when the teacher called her to her desk. She informed her of the tragic accident that claimed her mother's life... or at least a version of it.
            "She had been driving home from her night shift when it happened," she said holding back tears, trying not to frighten the little six year old. "But she will always be in here." And with that she took the little girl's hand and placed it on her heart. That is the story she believed for a very long time.
             One busy day as Rosie's sister Mary, walked her to school, she said, "Do you miss mom?"
             "Nope," said Rosie.
              Mary looked down at her shoes and scoffed. "But why? Didn't you even love her!?!"
              "She is in here," she replied, touching Mary's heart gently.
               "Let me guess..." said Mary knocking her hand away.    "...The teacher told you that...Ha! And I bet she told you that mom crashed into that old willow on Route 64," she said smugly.
                "But that's what happened!" said Rosie, so confused she thought she would cry.
                "Just grow up Rosie! They crashed because Dad got drunk! His breath always reeked of alcohol and he was coming home late. You don't need to be 15 to figure that out! GROW UP!!!!!!!!!!!!"
A tear found its way down Rosie's cheek. It was soon followed by a flood as she ran down the street towards her school. Mary's anger soon slipped away  as she realized the severity in the situation. A six year old girl was now running down the road crying and about to cross the street in the middle of the morning when everyone was trying to get to work, and in realizing so, she ran after her saying, "Oh my gosh... what did I do!"
            After that Rosie was never quite the same. Slowly the sweet innocent little girl they knew dissolved into nothing but a memory. No one had seen her father in weeks and her sister was so distraught by the whole thing that she could barely function. Over the course of a few months, poor Rosie's life had degraded to the winding and unwinding of ball of twine. She would wrap it around her finger until it looked like a big purple grape, letting it fall loosely on the floor than  Eventually Rewinding it back to the messy ball she had begun with. After a while, Rosie stopped going to school by taking a mental health leave and was home with her sister, the only one left to watch her. Due to the fact that her situation was not improving, Mary finally had no choice but to make the decision to send her sister to a mental hospital.
            She had been at the hospital for about a month when the seizures started. Her father was still nowhere to be found, but Mary had stayed with her the whole time.  While Mary thought that she must have problems deeper than mental, the doctor insisted that it was simply caused by a lack of the will to live. But unbeknownst to him, she was truly loving her life; just not the one given to her.
            It had been over two years since anyone had seen Rosie's father.  As suddenly as he had left, he returned, determined to see his daughter.  Mary was hurt and confused. Why did he leave?  Where did he go? Why was he back now?  But what most puzzled Mary was the fact that Rosie seemed to be responding to his presence. Most visitors, including Mary, were received with all but a glassy stare. Rosie was starting into what seemed to be nothingness; but it was for some reason captivating to her.  This time it was different... she seemed to acknowledge his presence, maybe even be intrigued by him. Mary wasn't sure what, but she was certain that something was bustling in that little girls head.  But...what was it? She didn't know it yet, but this might have been the most important thing she had ever inquired.
''''''''''
Rosie saw the door open with a creak and light flooded in through the open doorway. The mess of her hot pink room was now illuminated by a soft light.
            "Mama!" exclaimed Rosie "Are you staying home?"
             "No baby, I need to go on a business trip with your father. I came to say goodbye."
             "And she isn't the only one," said her father, as he gathered Rosie into his arms and swung her about the room.
             "Do you have to go?" asked Rosie.
            "You know we do baby doll," said her mom "But we will be back soon. Bye baby." And with that they left the room. As the door closed, Rosie let out a small, knowing plea. "Mama... come home."
            After recovering her natural gayety, Rosie slipped into her favorite sun dress and went to the park to meet her special friend, Rudy.  He was a nice boy, and an even nicer one in Rosie's eyes. His cat, Buster, was a real character in many ways, demonstrated by the time he stole the tuna sandwiches right from their hands at their last picnic meeting. While she was waking, she suddenly saw a flash of white light. At the center, she thought she could see a hideous man with a shirt as yellow stained as his teeth. This image though, slipped her mind as Rudy called from a nearby picnic bench.
''''''''''
            It was clear that her father was utterly disappointed by the state his daughter had fallen into. It was also clear that two years of running from his problems on his lonesome hadn't helped to change his opinion of Rosie's current situation. His thoughts still rested on what he considered to be the fact that it was all Rosie's fault. He still could accept no blame for her "current situation". Mary, who was flabbergasted by the fact that her father had even stayed this long, was even more so when he began talking to her gently. Unfortunately, yet Not to anyone's surprise, after his gentle words didn't work, he began yelling at the young, damaged girl. From his years of bar hopping and violence, his vocabulary included some of the crudest language you would have ever heard, which he had perfected the use of. He even went as far as to shine a flashlight in her glassy, doll like eyes. She squinted and looked away, but then retook her normal state of gazing into a world that no-one else could see.
''''''''''
            Rosie happily sat herself down next to Rudy, eager to start the picnic. It was clear to her that Rudy made the best sandwiches she had ever tasted, but that wasn't what kept her coming back. Over the past year she and Rudy had grown to be wonderful friends, and maybe even a bit more. Buster happily sat himself down on Rosie's lap and began to purr.
            "May I please have a --"
             "Egg salad sandwich? Coming right up!" finished Rudy with a little smile.
            "How did you know?" asked Rosie.
            "It was simple really," he started. "You know you can't have tuna because Buster is here, and I know you hate PB&J, so it was pretty obvious."
            "You clever dog," smiled Rosie
            "I prefer cat please!"
             Rosie smiled and said, "I wish we could do this more often."
            "Maybe we can." he said. "Your sister is watching you, right?"
             "Well yeah..."
             "Maybe we can do this every Friday instead of every other, since she has a soccer game!"
            "Perfect! See you Monday at school."
            "Ok, see you then!"
            ''''''''''
After they calmed her father down, it seemed to them that everything was going to be all right. But the tranquility was not to last. At that very moment, Rosie went into a seizure. Usually they ended pretty fast but this one didn't. It was ten minutes later and she still hadn't come out of it. It was her longest one yet and everyone was at her side as she lay on the floor. They phoned her doctor and he said he was on his way.
            "Daddy," said Mary, "is she going to be okay?"
            "I don't know. Better wait for the doc to get here."
So they did,with an eerie, awkward, death-like silence between them.
                         ***********
       It was Friday before she knew it and she was off to see Rudy. Rosie brought good news with her as well. Her parents were on their way home and she had just enough time to have her picnic and go. She loved her summer picnics with Rudy. She told him the news after lunch and asked him to come and welcome them with her. He agreed and they were on their way.
                        ''''''''''
The doctor was stuck in a traffic jam. There was nothing they could do but wait. Or so Mary thought, but to her surprise her father leaped into action. He remembered his flashlight and turned it to its brightest level. He held it in her eyes. Something was happening her eyes went back to normal... not their glassy state but normal.
    "Daddy?" said Rosie weakly. Her sister burst into tears. That was the first they had heard her speak in ages.
            "Where am I?" Rosie looked around the room "Where's Mommy? ...and Rudy? How did I get here?"
And then she was silent for a moment. It seemed like it was all starting to come back to her, but then, out of nowhere... she died.
                       ''''''''''
"Where am I? Where's Mommy? ... and Rudy?"
      "We're all right here" said her mom.
      "Come with us Rosie. Come home," Rudy said to her softly.
a brilliant light came from the spot they were standing.
            "Rosie come home," they both said to her.
Rosie ran into their embrace and knew from then on that she would be happy.