Another writing day challenge WORD is ready for all the writers who are BRAVE enough to challenge their skills!
Writing Challenge WORD OF THE DAY:
Tooth/Teeth
Day 2-Underground
I feel into a sleepless slumber as soon as my exhausted head hit the pillow on the comfy air-mattress. It was early when I dozed off after having a day to settle myself in our new surroundings. It was a bit more tight down here than it had been in the basement, but we were all adjusting well. The air was thicker down here, as we were twelve people sharing the same space within maybe five hundred square feet of safe shelter.
The girls were settled by my side and Johnie was settled next to theirs. Our family was settled, which had not been a word spoken in nearly six, seven days. We had two working watches which let us all know what time of day it was and if it was day or night at present. We were embarking on day two and it was time for me to stop my mopping and perk up, accepting the circumstances which I could not change. This was the way it was to be and the sooner I accepted this monumental fact, the sooner that I could join in on the fun that was being had by the rest of the family, Johnie included.
I scrambled to my feet from the floor mattress and gathered my things to finally get a chance to take a nice, somewhat hot, shower. All the water was recycled into a tank and filtered by the pump and the wall mount tank, also run by our pocket of gas. It was awkward at first, getting used to my new bathroom surrounding. I managed just fine, showering off the filth that had settled over the days past. I was drying off when I first looked in the mirror. The person looking back out at me was not meat all. This woman was tired. Skinny. To skinny and had dark circle under her eyes and her skin was to yellow. I also shrieked at the horror of that reflection.
It was only then that I noticed my teeth and the disgusting plague that had formed over the past seven days. I had been prepared here as well, pulling open the vanity drawer to find an extra toothbrush, well fifteen of them anyways. I started brushing, brushing, brushing until I felt I could no longer. I spit, rinse, spit again until I was satisfied that I had cleaned my mouth.
I finished, feeling refreshed, feeling better. I felt somehow reborn, all with cleaning off the excess rubble, the excess dirt of the life I had once lived. My mind was somehow more positive. It was a new day. I felt it energizing our new world.
I met some of the family in the common area. Boredom had yet to set in, but I could see that it would in the days to come, the months that would follow. I needed a few minutes to myself before words were spoken from my mouth. I needed to stop and thank the heavens for keeping my family, all that were here and whoever was still out there safe, healthy and alive. I knew I would be thankful for these reasons for more in the time that came, but for today, I was thankful, truly thankful for my life, for our lives. It was almost a bittersweet moment and as off guard as it had caught me, I could not help but wonder for how long this new outlook would survive.
The day turned to afternoon. The time spent inside, spent in here, was close and uncomfortable. The girls were adjusting as if it were wintertime and the cold was keeping them hostage inside the warm house we kept, but I was losing sight of reality by dinner time. I missed my now none-working-phone, I missed my internet, my emails. I missed leaving the house and escaping to the outdoors, or running that errand that I know I used to dread, to the grocery store. My bright day was turning cloudy and I knew the rain would start to fall soon, whether I could physically see it or not.
By night, as our clocks informed us, I had picked up some knitting needles and was busing myself, along with my Mom and Grandma, at making, perhaps a dishcloth. I was once again thankful for my family, which was a relief as far as I could see. We were occupying our minds. The girls were playing with Johnie, running all around. Day two was unwinding and I was mental drained by the highs and lows I was internally experiencing. Tomorrow, I would awake, refreshed and try to fight off the conflicts with a stick and focus solely on the good that could come out of this, if it was possible.
We were still surviving.
No comments:
Post a Comment