Please critique this, be honest! I can take anything you throw at me.
Every ending seems to be another beginning in my life. The ending that started them all was when Mother died. It has been seven years now, but the memory has stayed in my mind like a film playing over and over again.
I remember her smell; it was a cheap perfume that she had worn for as long as I could remember. I can remember the taste of the last meal we had together, it was a simple meal. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Even to this day I still can't eat them without tears coming to my eyes. I can remember the warmth of her skin as she lay next to me on the blanket in our backyard. I distinctly remember the sound of her voice, always full of compassion and radiance.
The old oak tree was the only shade my mother and I had from the heat of the gleaming sun. We were waiting for my Father’s arrival, and as usual he was running late in a meeting.
My father may as well have been married to work because that was all he seemed to care about. He was very rarely home and paid little attention to Mother and me. I could tell that my parents were having problems. Almost every night that my father was home I could hear them yelling at each other, then the front door would slam, and the engine to my father's Eclipse would rev up and he would be long gone by the time I would run to the window to wave goodbye. The only problem was that then I didn't know how much of a problem that there was between the two of them.
As we laid there my mother brought out the two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches she had already made, leaving the third in the basket just in case my father did show up. The cordless phone that my mother had brought outside earlier began to ring and she answered it in her usual peppy voice, "Hello?"
Her usual glowing face became infuriated and it was at that moment that I knew that my father was on the other line. She began to yell and question my father and the expression on her face was unlike any I had ever seen as she said, “I didn’t do it! You know me better then that Leo! All I did was go over to his house to thank him for fixing the car! Maybe if you would have been home in the first place I wouldn’t have had to call him at all!”
She looked as if she was disappointed even though missing a family activity was a usual thing for him. There was a brief silence, where I suppose he was talking then without even saying goodbye she hung up the receiver and looked at me with tears in her eyes. She got down on her knees and took me in her arms whispering, "Aurora, honey, there is something wrong with your father and we need to leave the house right now."
I was bewildered by my mother’s sudden action and didn’t quite know what to say, but in a quivering voice I managed to ask, “What is wrong with Daddy?’
“Aurora, Daddy is really upset and we just have to go right now before he gets home,” Mother answered back in an unsteady tone.
“Mommy I don’t want to leave Daddy. I want all of us to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches together like we used to. We never eat together anymore and if Daddy is coming home then we can. All you have to do is talk to him and it will be fine, won’t it Mommy?” By the time I finished my last sentence my face was streaming with tears. Tears of fear, fear that I may never get to see my Father again.
Just then I heard a car pull up in the driveway and I knew it was his. Although I couldn’t see him I could tell by the slamming of his car door that he was furious. He began to yell, “Aurora! Aurora, Daddy wants you! Aurora, come here!”
I was scared to the point of paralyzation and by the looks of my mother so was she. I didn’t want to upset my Mother or Father so I just stood there. A few minutes later my Father was standing on the back porch steps with fury in his eyes, bypassing me and glaring at my mother.
“Ella I am taking Aurora and we are leaving!” My Father yelled angrily.
Quickly getting over her shock my Mother yelled back, “No! She is my daughter and I am her mother! I have a right to be with her! Besides you are so wrapped up in your work that you couldn’t possibly take care of her! So you can take all your precious little things and leave us alone!”
I looked at My Mother and she seemed very upset. Her face was red from anger and her voice was loud and shaky. My Father looked completely different. His eyes seemed enraged and bloodshot. I knew there was something wrong, but I didn’t know what to do.
My Father ran from the steps to where my Mother was standing and wrapped his hands around my Mother’s neck. She didn’t scream, or even say a word. She just stood there staring deep into my Father’s eyes as he wrapped his hands tighter and tighter around her neck.
“Stop it Daddy! Stop, you are hurting her!” I screamed to him, but I knew he couldn’t hear me. Even if he did he wouldn’t stop. He never stopped. He just kept listening to the voice inside his head telling him to kill her. Telling him that she was a whore and had no right to live. Telling him that he was better then that and justice had to be served to this woman.
My Mother’s mouth gave out one long gasp and my Father and I knew that that was her last breath. He dropped her body to the ground then fell on his knees staring at his hands until he began to cry.
I ran over to my Mother’s body and shook it rapidly, hoping that by some miracle she would wake up. She didn’t. The tears kept rolling down my face as I lay down beside her. “Someone help her! Someone help us! My Mommy needs help!” I cried out, but no one heard me so I continued laying beside her until my crying soothed me to sleep.
