Tasha

Four

Memories snuck out of her eye and rolled down her cheek. The glistening poison of the tear trickled down her eyelid as is soon drew to a slithered halt as it reached her sharp cheekbone, soon sliding over it as though it were sleuthly hiking up a mountain. Once reached to the peak, the shimmering tear accelerated down, down, down, past her cheek and slid down to her neck until it could not hold on any longer. Splat.

Tasha scratched her itchy, moist cheek as the remains of her tears soaked into her skin - her emotions permanently drowning in her body. She gulped - thick moisture travelling down her dry throat, her nose sniffling and leaking uncontrollably. Words were swarming around her head, rotating round and round causing dizziness to overtake her soul. Not just any old words. Her Father's words. 

'My dearest Natasha,' Tasha read - this time out loud, 'Reading your previous letter braught a tear to my heart. Your words shared such beauty that they reflected so much of you,' She flicked a strand of hair out of her sight which was dangling across the side of her face, 'I could hear your voice reading your words to me - the soft, delicate tone of your voice' She pressed her lips together, preventing any sound from bursting out from her cracked throat, 'I miss you dearly and cannot describe in words how much - I remember receiving a small whiff of coffee yesterday and it reminded me a lot of your comforting scent,' Tasha choked a giggle and eyed her empty coffee mug in amusement which was sitting on her bedside table, 'You are coping simply incredibly, Tash and I know for a fact that you are remaining strong, inside and out. Always remain positive, my baby Tash, regardless of how painful the world is. I am currently fighting for my life - go fight for yours. Don't let it beat you down. You are capable of more, my special Tash' Tasha gulped and squinted, fixating her eyes on her Father's advice which was neatly scribbled upon the piece of paper, 'I shall write to you soon. I love you dearly my beautiful Tash and I wish you all the best for the following weeks.' Tasha grinned and rubbed her eyes, sighing in relief, 'Oh and tell Smudge he is still the handsomest black cat of them all,'  Tasha released meaningful laughter which caused more tears to flow down her face. 

In reality, Tasha rarely cried. Only her Father's words could trigger the thought of tears to drown her face. Nothing else. The moving letters she received from him made her determined to stay strong and remain confident, although lack of self-confidence was a disease which Tasha needed to fight through. A wet tongue licked her finger as Smudge was sat beside Tasha, appearing adorably cosey that Tasha could not resist to give 'the handsomest black cat' a cuddle. 

Neatly folding up the piece of paper, Tasha glided across the room toward the open window and gazed at the desirable distance before her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking in in all the refreshing dangers of life. Her eyes then drifted down to focus on the large cracked hole in the scratched wall where piles of paper were sitting. She carefully slid the letter in the hole, on top of the other multiple letters, as she left them there bedded inside her wall. Forever. 

'I need to get out,' Tasha whispered, stroking the wooden chips of the windowsill that were crumbling from the framework. Smudge pounced on top of the windowsill, blocking Tasha's view of the landscape before her as she rubbed underneath his chin. She looked at Smudge. Smudge looked at her, 'Let's go.'