Tags
A act of kindness, A kid's mind, Abuse, an act of love, Drama, Family, Fiction, Home, Love, Magpie Tales, Mentally challenged, Mother, mother-child bond, Nurture, Protection, Saving, The fly
Little Teddie – Edward Parker – was the nicest kid a mother could have. But little Teddie’s mind had refused to grow beyond that of a seven year old. Hence the ‘little’ in his name had stayed even when he was twenty-seven, 6’1″ and 180 pounds. His mommy, Linnette Parker, had the patience of a saint. So despite a mentally challenged boy and a drunk wife-beating husband, she had managed to keep her nerve and her job intact.
Every morning, on her way to work, Linnette would drop Little Teddie off at her sister Clara’s, where he would play with his Aunt Clara’s seven and nine year old grandchildren. She would later pick him up from Clara’s on her way home. And during all of this, Seth – Teddie’s dad – would hang out with his no-good cronies boozing, jumping jobs or gambling. He loved Teddie, oh he loved him a lot. But when under the influence, all he knew was how to beat up his Lin, slamming all kinds of harsh accusations at her whenever he felt like. This behavior of Seth’s had begun after he was laid off from work four years ago. Seth had been unable to cope with this, and had taken to booze, and subsequently, abuse. And over the years, Lin had learnt not to retaliate. After all, Seth was too strong for her. She would take some of the beating and later manage to calm Seth down with either moreย liquor,ย food, some gentle coaxing or sometimes, even an unpleasant quickie. But whatever it was, she made sure that her Little Teddy never witnessed any of the beating… EVER! This she managed by making him watch television in the living room with the door shut, and placing before him a bucket of caramel popcorn and a quart of his favorite cookies-n-cream. Occasionally, after a beating, Teddie would ask her whatย caused the boo-boo on her face, and she would give him a tired but fake-sheepish grin and say, “The door just rammed into my face.. how stupid of me!” or “Can you imagine I accidentally hit myself with the rolling-pin today?!” or some such thing. And of course, little Teddie would take every word that came out of his mommy’s mouth at face value. He always did, like when she would read those wonderful books to him and tell him how Santa Claus was for real, and what a hero Spiderman was and that this world was full of wonderful people. She would even teach him how to read those great books. And sometimes, when an odd fruitfly would bother her while she was reading to him, she would absently swing the book at it, make sure it went away, and then smile her sweetest smile at him. Oh how he loved his mommy. And his daddy too. He had never even dreamt that his daddy would hurt mommy.
The evening of June 12th was no different…well, most of it. After being at the receiving end of a long monologue from Clara about Seth and his horrid ways and the possibility of a divorce, Lin returned home with little Teddie just after seven. Seth was already home, and the scattered cushions and toppled chairs suggested that he was drunk – again – and was in some fit too. Digesting the situation, Lin involuntarily switched on the television, raised its volume, pulled the living room door behind her and hurried into the kitchen, where Seth was seething in rage. She asked him what’s wrong. He said nothing, and just glared at her. She was debating with herself whether or not to move towards him, when all of a sudden he rose and flung a punch at her. She barely managed to deflect the blow, but Seth caught her by her ponytail and began to strangle her with his bare hands – his strong hairy hands.
But at that very moment, something else had happened too. In the living room, Little Teddy, after having waited infinitely for his mommy to bring him his caramel popcorn and ice cream, had stepped into the kitchen to get some himself. And there, what he saw made him stand rooted to the ground! All he could see was a fly – a VERY LARGE HAIRY fly – causing a lot of pain to his mommy… his sweet mommy. And then he remembered what mommy used to do to get the fly to go away. So he went into the study, got the fattest book he could find and started swatting this big hairy fly. He swatted and swatted till the fly started to bleed, and finally fell to the floor… motionless. It would trouble his mommy no more…
Little Teddy seemed very pleased at himself for having saved his mommy from this hairy fly. And all Lin could do was snatch the book from Teddy’s hands, heave a sigh of relief, hug him tight, and close her eyes and see herself in the witness stand telling the jury, “It was all in self-defense”. She knew they would understand. She knew this world was full of wonderful people… She knew she had her Little Teddie by her side…
**Written for Magpie Tales (Week 66). Check out how the others were inspired by this beautiful picture prompt… and ENJOY!!! **
***Umm.. This is my first attempt at short fiction – prose… Kindly tolerate me if I have stretched it a little beyond “short” :)… I am pretty darned sure there’ll be tons of errors here, as I don’t quite have the same patience like Linnette does ๐ So please excuse me for that as well… And need I even mention, your comments and feedback are most welcome and will be greatly appreciated!! ***
K is an all rounder, as adept to short fiction as she is to poetry huh? ๐ Loved the narration, but I do wish there was another way to swat a fly than with a book ๐ Linette and Teddie had a happy ending, which was good to see, and too much under the influence deserves that fate too ๐ Cheers!
hah! You bet, Leo!! Wife beaters really deserve some swatting! ๐ Poor Little Teddie knew of only one way to swat a “fly”… (sigh)
I think you did a fantastic job for your first short fiction piece Kavita! I enjoyed the read very much! Great job ๐
Ohh… thank you so much, Tekia… I need that kind of encouragement.. REALLY!!!
xoxoox
Touching. Very nice narration and amazing flow. Second comment from me, first wala- on your mumbai ka poem. ๐
Aww… thanks a bunch, Sam (my fellow Mumbaikar!) ๐
WOW.. I am saying lovely story..
But sad real sad cause these things happen so often in real life. …
That’s so true, Bikram… unfortunately, this is a sad reality for many people ๐ฆ
I loved the narration. Beautiful take on the prompt. ๐
Thank you so much, girlie.. ๐
You did a wonderful job at this story. My youngest daughter has lived the no fiction version of this story. But her kids were witness. Her story has not ended. He is in jail. But hey only gave him 2 years. So There is still a chance her story could continue.
This is my first time here and at writing my own version to the photo.
Have a great week.
E
My heart goes out to your daughter, my friend… but I am sure she’s a strong woman… and I prat her “story” continues in the best of ways!
BEST WISHES, my friend…
I was immediately drawn to Little Teddy and his mom … nice Magpie.
Gee.. thanks a ton, Helen dear..
A well written bitter sweet story which unfortunately captures the lives of some women all to well. Fine write!
You bet, Charles…for some women, this is not just some story, it is THEIR story.. ๐ฆ
Glad you liked the way I wrote it, my friend.. thanks!
Kavita, this is a good work of fiction. I confess that it might have been a tetch shorter, as the ending was somewhat telegraphed by the way Mum kept Teddy from knowing for a bit too long in the story… but that is only by way of kind suggestion, and I hope you don’t mind my offering it.
As for Seth, Teddy handled it the only way he knew how. Self-Defense, that was the right call. He defended his beloved mother the best he could, and thank God he was there. Thanks for a great read, even though it was hard to think about. Good job! Amy (and please, offer me similar critique. I need it, always!)
http://sharplittlepencil.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/render-surrender/
My sincerest thanks for the suggestion, Amy.. and no, I do NOT mind it at all! ๐ In fact, I appreciate your offering it to me… there is a lot for me to learn here… and at this point, any learning is good learning ๐
But I am glad you liked the story (on the whole) … yaaayy..
Yea, “like” is kinda an odd word here, considering the nature of the story.. but you get my point, right?! ๐
In short, THANK YOU!! Yes, that’s precisely what I mean… you are awesome, my dear friend!!!
xoxox
I enjoyed your take on the prompt. Great Magpie.
Thank you so much, Sue… I am glad you liked this Mag..
dear kavita,
it may be short fiction, but in reality it exemplifies long non-fiction stories…true stories, where somehow someone manages, or should i say learns, to survive under the harshest circumstances…i remember reading the typical fantasy fiction short stories as a child, unfortunately, as golden books were, always filling my heart with happy endings, but never touching on reality…
i like how you’ve touched upon a different sort of happy ending entangling make-believe into reality, allowing the reader to interpret life on a much higher level…
congratulations on your first of many short fiction stories…
sincerely,
i
WOWWW!! Thanks for the in-depth analysis on this piece, Janie dear… it was really very sweet of you to have interpreted this in such a deep and beautiful way… I am humbled…
And thank you ever so much for the good wishes.. they are invaluable to me, my dear friend..
aww, kavi, what a narration.. love this so much..
Someone is Special
Gee.. thank you, SiS.. you are very kind, my friend..
Beautifully done! You painted such a great picture of this sad family and really roped me in.
Ohh.. thanks for the encouraging words, Debbie… I am happy you liked my attempt at fiction writing…
A beautiful narrative with the right touch of innocence and creativity of a mentally gifted (that is more appropriate for such children who see many things where we see just nothing).
Nice story, and the story could not be left in between once I started it.
Cheers,
Blasphemous Aesthete
It is the innocence and the gift they possess that had me going, Anshul… I think it’s they who see things for what they really are.. unlike us…
Glad you liked this piece so much, buddy… I need all the encouragement I can get!! THANKS!! ๐
Love this!!! The big hairy fly got no more than he deserved. You set this up well with a nice, sly ending. Great magpie, Kavita!
Gee.. thanks, DS… this is THE encouragement I needed!! ๐
Very touching.. pretty powerful ending too… jury would understand..perhaps…that’s how the weak keep moving ahead…on hope and prayers.. well done..Kavita.. my page too has a sad poetic tale this time.. hope you will like it.. RS
I really liked what you said here, Rameshji.. about the weak moving on… it has a lot of truth in it…
Thanks for the insightful comment, and your appreciative words here, sir.. they are very precious to me!
Oh my, Kavita, what a drama. You have a marvelous imagination … and you brought it out to us with great color and vigor. Sad story. Well written. Much appreciated.
Happy Sunday …
Thank you, my dear Jamie… sadly, this is true for many people… but thankfully, this was just a “story” here… I just hope that the people who have actually experienced this trauma find the courage to overcome it too… *prayers*
Wow! Every word pulled me in :;
Aww.. that’s the best compliment I can get for this piece, Layla.. thank you dearie…
First time? You sure about that? You had me rivetted. A common tale but it all is in the telling and you’ve done it well:-)
Gee.. thanks a bunch, Nadira… those were tremendously encouraging words.. and I really need it, trust me!
First attempt is well done! It makes me wonder if Little Teddie did pick a large book or a large “book” :-).
hahaha… thanks, knot2share (love that name)! A large book it was – the one that Teddie picked… sigh… poor guy… he had to resort to this! ๐ฆ