The Escapade |Editing|

10~~ Ah! There It Is!

"Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle,
Mix it up and make it nice,
Pop! Goes the weasel".

I whistle lightly in the bathroom of the secret room. Mother hasn't called for me and I am prepared to leave before she wakes up hopefully.

Still whistling, I take a pair of scissors and look straight into the mirror.

"This hair has got to go", I mutter and resume whistling.

Yes finally! I only hope the forest on your head didn't breed any wild animals.

I take a fistful of my waist-length hair and sigh heavily before cutting.
Few minutes later, my once long hair is now shoulder length.

I clean up, pack my bag, put everything in order and exit the secret room. I make my way downstairs. The heat in the living room hits me like a damn truck. Why did mother turn up the heat?

Just then, I cast a glance outside and it's snowing. Oh no! I forgot that Christmas is approaching. I go to the kitchen and open a cabinet filled with gloves.

Why mother keeps a cabinet filled with gloves in the kitchen is beyond me.

Well it came in useful now didn't it?

I wear a pair of gloves and put three pairs in my back pack. I slowly creep to the door.

"You were leaving without saying goodbye?", mother's questioning voice resonates through the vast living room.

My father did a nice work here. I glance around. The fire place, the dining room, the kitchen, the store room all downstairs. The game room, spy room, secret room, the gym all in the middle floor. The terrace and photograph room all on the first floor.

My gaze finally lands on my mother's normal, pale and expectant face. This time she's wearing a black lingerie.

"It's only five thirty in the morning and I didn't want to wake you. Besides, I've overstayed my welcome. I've spent over twelve hours here which is way beyond my normal time", I say with a neutral tone.

"Nadine", mother calls as she makes her say down the steps.

She's really beautiful and elegant.

"Yes Mommy", I answer politely.

"Your new haircut suits you"

"Thanks Ma!"

"You can never overstay your welcome in your own home. Your father built this house in your name", my mother says with the tears making her eyes glisten.

"I know that but the situation of things this past few years has rendered me homeless and helpless. I'd rather live in the mud free than get caught again and taken back to prison for a crime I didn't commit", I vehemently say with the tears threatening to spill.

You're so emotional and pathetic.

I sniff and turn my back on her. She holds my hand and grabs me, forcing me to face her.

"Nadine, Christmas is only a week away. Please stay with me. I've missed you so much", she whispers as the tears fall from her eyes.

"Please Mommy, don't do this. I have to go and even if I did stay. Won't Jack and his family be coming over? I can't risk it. I really can't", I say holding her face between my palms.

"Is this about them? Are you so jealous of them you would rather roam on the streets than stay in your house?", mother yells.

"A house Mommy, not a home. I've grown so accustomed and comfortable on the streets than in your house. And no this is not about Jack and his family. Jack is like a brother to me and I wish him nothing short of the best. How could you even think that?", I yell back and run my fingers through my hair in a frustrated manner.