The Secret World of Maya Alexander

Chapter 18

A familiar up and down glare had whispered to Maya of the disappointment and discomfort she had caused her husband. With a secret relief to escape the intrusion of their uninvited guest, she had already made her way back upstairs to the shower. June's noise followed her into the bathroom with a sting. 'You two do have a leisurely start to Sunday don't you?!'

June glided into the kitchen to take charge of clearing away the plates. She commenced an interrogation of her son.

'Is Maya okay Stephen..?Not taken to her bed again has she..? I thought you told me she was going to counselling?..Well I think she just needs to get out more. Do you take her out Stephen? Your Dad used to take me out when he thought I was getting a bit blue. Well actually, he would give me some money and tell me to phone Pam and go for some lunch. He has never really been one for going out. Like this weekend, he could sense I was worried about you. Insisted I come over and put my mind at rest.'

Stephen worked alongside his Mother as she cleaned the already clean kitchen and proceeded with her monologue. There was no need for him to respond whilst she worked her way through her stream of consciousness. His silence went unnoticed because that was how conversations had always been in the Alexander household. There was no need to interject the matriarch. June was happy to talk out loud to her son. They were both immune to the expectation of reciprocation.

'You forgot to make me a tea!' Exclaimed June all of a sudden, as she realised that she and her son had run out of worktops and tiles to clean.

Stephen looked at his watch for the first time since he had left the breakfast table to answer the door. 11.47. 11.47. 11.47. He tapped his foot three times. His mum was already preoccupied with filling the kettle and did not notice.

'Oooh I forgot! Did you say Maya was in the shower? Hope you have good water pressure up here!' June remarked as she convinced herself that she had not run the water with the intention of hurrying Maya along. 'She's been in there an awful long time though Stephen, are you sure she is okay? What if she's fallen?' Her maternal instincts began to imagine discovering Maya, all frail and in a heap on the floor, wrapping her in warm clean white towels and calling an ambulance.

Stephen could see the excited panic in his mother's eyes. He had not wanted to intrude on whatever process Maya was engaging in. There had been days when he himself could become stuck in the shower amidst interrupted rituals. But he was beginning to get annoyed that Maya had left him so long alone to endure the company of his mother.

As he set off to check on his wife, his mother's panic crept into his ears 'What if she's fallen? Where were you? Cleaning the kitchen!' His clock face leapt before his eyes, demanding his attention. 11.53. 11.53. 11.53. His nails sliced into his skin. 'USELESS. USELESS. USELESS.'

The warm waters of the shower worked tirelessly to cleanse Maya's body, unbound by the passing of time. Dirt gathered in a pale brown pool of unperfumed lather at the bottom of the cubicle. The laundered soul watched how the detergent worked with ease to wash away the outward signs of the last few days. How simple it seemed. Working up a lather on each part of her skin. Removing her bodily connection to the days gone by. If only it were so simple to clear one's mind. What would it look like as the filth poured down the plughole?

Maya closed her eyes to try and sense the comforts of the forest she had discovered in her solitude. Warm rains refreshed her soul. Her visions took her further and further away from Riverside Drive, further from her husband, further from time.