Take My Hand

Chapter 17- By Your Side

The ham and egg on her plate remained untouched, turning cold from the morning chill.

'Ceuil dear, is anything troubling you?' her mother enquired from the sink, her brows furrowed in slight worry as she studied her daughter intently. The change in Ceuil was unmistakable, and she wondered just what had turned her cheerful, outgoing daughter into one so miserable and hateful.

Hateful. Ceuil's mother widened her eyes and bit her lip in shame, shocked at the adjectives that came to her mind. Hateful? Had she just described her daughter as hateful? She cleared her throat uncomfortably and wiped her hands on her apron, averting her gaze from the dining table. She didn't want to admit it, but yes, hateful was just everything her daughter had turned out to be- a truth that no amount of denial could ever conceal, a truth that she clearly saw with her very eyes. Like how Ceuil had become withdrawn, emotionally unstable, unappreciative and easily agitated.

Sometimes she seemed vulnerable, a tiny soul who had lost her footing in the world. Other times she was offensive, snapping at the smallest, most insignificant things, a living time bomb that threatened to explode with the fury of a thousand volcanoes. Many a times her mother hoped that she had been mistaken, that she was being oversensitive and edgy with the adoloscent, but a mother's instinct is never wrong. There was definitely something amiss with Ceuil, but she was not talking about it.

Ceuil remained silent, pushing her food around the plate, lost in her own thoughts.

Her mother sighed silently, bereaved that the 'communication gap' she had was warned of had came so quickly. Unlike other parents, she had made the conscious effort to delay its onset, reaching out to her daughter, listening to her in earnest, providing her support in everything she did. So when it finally came, it hit her hard, causing her to stumble in disbelief at the reality of it all. She shook her head sadly. Teenagers. They were really an unpredictable phenomenon.

'Ceuil...?' she tried again, making sure to keep her tone soft. Gentle, kind, concerned, not probing or demanding. Just then, the toast jumped out of the toaster with a loud spring, jolting Ceuil back into reality. She dropped her fork, startled by the sudden intrusion in her train of thoughts. And it was only then, that she noticed her mother staring at her quizzically.

'Y-Yes?' she asked back.

'Is anything the matter?'

'No, I'm fine.' Her reply came quickly, so quickly that anyone would know it was a thoughtless lie.

Her mother approached her and took her by the shoulders gently. 'Now honey, you know that you can tell me anything. I'll always be on your side, ne?'