Bleeding Rosa

chapter one

                      

"Joanne!!"
"Coming mom!"she shouted from the garden below,removing the cumbersome weeds,whose removal was long overdue.She blew away the strands from her face which have managed to escape her bun.
"Joanne!come here this instant,leave those pests be it isn't as they are gonna change our fate".

Drawing in a deep breath to chase away her rising irritation she put down the shovel and clippers on the grass beside her and stood up,deciding to finish up later she headed towards the entrance of her home.

"I've been calling you for a while now,why do you keep tending to that horrible garden hardly any money's gonna come our way by shoveling dirt in our own garden,if you wanna do it so bad at least do it in someone else's garden so that there can be some money at the end of the day to take care of our tummies" blistered her mother while noisily setting plates on the old dinner table"Heaven knows why I took that loan for your college education,if only I knew"another loud thump of the plate,"I would have asked Simon to teach you about gardening he would have had done it for free!,as sorry as this neighbourhood feels for us we probably should start playing on their sympathies".

"Mother that's enough"she quietly interjected,placing her arms on the back of the chair which was long past its glory,the polyester peeking out of some places.

"I finished college just three months ago,surely you don't expect me to land a dream job in such a short time_

"But Addy's son finished college along with you and has got a steady job!,you are just not trying hard enough for heaven knows you are far more smart than that boy".
"Mom Eustace barely passed high school and works in a nearby diary factory on a daily wage_

"Factory worker!!but Addy said he works in some fancy office,surely you must be mistaken"

"Ma you know how Mrs Banks is,she does have a habit if exaggerating things"while examining the dirt under her nails she added with almost an air of nonchalance"well dairy factories can too seem fancy if you have cheesecake addiction to support like Mrs Banks"

"Joanne!be polite,this is hardly the way to discuss elders"

"Yeah like I wasn't getting yelled at just a moment ago".

"Stop being so mouthy and go clean up yourself the lunch is getting cold"
"Aye captain,whatever you say".gave her a mock salute,began to climb up the stairs,a small smile playing on her lips. 
****
"Mom it's delicious".Joanne said while taking another mouthful of her lunch,desperately attempting to break an unusual silence at their table.

Ignoring her blatant attempt her mother put down her utensils and stared at her for a few seconds .

"Why are you looking at me like that?is there sauce one my face?"she asked while itching a self concious hand towards her mouth.

"No there is nothing there,I was just thinking that how quickly times can change,why it seems like only yesterday that you were born and today you are a young lady ready to take on the world,today I'm here with you tomorrow I won't be_

"Of course I'll have you with me tomorrow and the day after as well,stop being so dramatic mom"she cut in,deliberately missing her implication.

Her mother drew in an exasperated breath as if trying to hold her patience,opened her mouth to say something then shook her head as if she just decided against it,cleared her throat and tried again.

"Rosa darling I was speaking figuratively,life is quite unpredictable,it seldom plays out as planned.What I'm trying to say is that we should always be as well equipped as possible to deal with the unfairness that fate sometimes hands us.
Your job you see is as important for you as it is for shouldering the burden of this house".

After chasing the food about with the fork,she spoke while still concentrating on the fork movement,her back resting against the chair,her manners relaxed

" Mom i totally understand your concerns,but you must come to the terms that this town is small,the opportunities here are few to none,you must consider letting me go to London to find a respectable job,Alison has a great job there and she was telling me that there is a vacancy in the financial department of the company she works in".

"But London's so far away"her mother complained.

"So are our chances of achieving respectible livelihood if I stay here" she pulled back her chair and rose up
"

Atleast consider it."Her mother continued to regard her silently,saying nothing.

"I'm going to my room".
Her mother still said nothing,Joanne drew in a calming breath,pushed her auburn lockes behind her ear,turned and climbed up the stairs.

After Joanne's departure Sylvia Brooks sat at the table for a long time with fear gripping at her.She knew that she'd have to let Rosa be on her one day but the actual prospect of separating from her only child was still daunting.

She was all Sylvia had left,they both only had each other for Joanne's dad was long dead.Sylvia had never felt so alone.She wiped away a stray tear,shook her head as if trying to will away her depressing thoughts and tried to smile at the fact that Joanne would soon be sharing her financial burden,but her lips were trembling so hard that it took all in her to stop the ugly sobs from escaping her lips,the smile long forgotten.
****

Up in her room Rosa lied on her creaking bed,staring at the ceiling,a pillow clutched in her arms,staring so intently at the ceiling as if it contained all the answers to their problems.

she was well aware of the fears that gripped at mother,been raised in a small town and living almost all of her life here,the concept of going to a big city was a foreign one to her,she knew her mother worried that the big city life would prove to be too much for her but how she longed to prove her wrong!

She decided to plead her case again soon,and then with the thoughts of big fancy cars and shimmering gowns and handsome men she was lulled towards sleep,a gentle smile still on her lips.

*********
Author's Note

Hello kind readers! !
I do hope that you liked the first chapter.

Please don't get confused about the names because Rosa and Joanne are the same person.There is a bit story about her name or names but we'll uncover that in upcoming chapters.😉

Yours.