Open Your Eyes

The house had become near immaculate in Annalee's opinion. Every day since her dinner with Ryan she had become more and more obsessed with getting rid of any trace of the past. Although the room at the top of the stairs remained sealed every other square inch had been cleaned from top to bottom and back to the top again. His questions all the while buzzed around in her head, she kept trying to come up with a backup story to tell him if he pushed her again. Lying however was not as simple as she imagined not knowing much about the outside world. Granted Annalee was a very intuitive girl but that only stems so far. She stood from her crouch next to the bushes in the back yard. Ryan had stopped by the other night with his lawnmower so she could actually access it. She remembered with a grin how he had placed a surprising amount of blankets in the trunk before placing the mower inside and strapping it down. He had mentioned to her how much the car meant to him considering he wanted one as a young boy. Now she had taken the time to start trimming the bushes (he also lent her his trimmers) and clear the pathway to the backdoor leading to the basement. She enjoyed this time that she had to herself the whole block it seemed was at work during the afternoon and she was able to enjoy the cooling fall weather until she started seeing cars pull into their respective drives. It was a time to think and self soothe; think mostly of how she was to live for the rest of her life and self soothe her panic at being outside the house. The birds were singing today a million sharp calls to one another she imagined them flitting from bush to bush free to roam where they pleased. She felt a moment of dark envy at their freedom. Lately she'd been pushing a lot of those dark feelings down. The unjust imprisonment she had endured for nearly her whole life kept eating away at her new found happiness. A million times she had wondered alone in her room if it was normal to never see the street outside her house. She would curl up into a little ball in the middle of her little bed and think. Think of the memories she had with her mother playing outside in the back yard. They had a garden just to the left of where she stood now. The rusted wire was still stuck in the ground where it had once glimmered in the light holding up tomatoes to get the full effect of the sun’s rays. Weeds had overgrown nearly every inch of the yard and she sighed looking at the forlorn left corner of the yard that had housed the majority of her memories with her mother. A big floppy weaved sun hat would shield her face as she knelt next to her vegetables. White summer shorts, a floral top, and gray gardening gloves.
As Annalee stared at the cut down weeds she could almost hear see her mother there again tsking at the weeds plucking them away, "Miss Annalee," she would say, "Grab mommy that hose and bring it over here. Would you please."
Her mother loved talking with a proper southern accent to her; it was one of their little games. Being only two at the time and knowing very few words it was sweet to hear her try to mimic her mother in that little innocent voice. Her mother was a gentle woman of many words, she talked night and day about anything she could think of to anyone she would stop long enough to hear what she had to say. She gave Annalee her auburn hair and glowing green eyes. Thinking back now if she were still here they would be mistaken as sisters. In the mornings she would pull Annalee's hair back from her face leaving a few wisps and braid it down her back.
"You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen Miss Annalee," She would say, "There's no point in hiding it behind this hair." Then she would kiss the top of her head and carry her downstairs to make breakfast.
Annalee's stomach growled and pulled her out of the wide eyed trance she found herself in. She was staring at the garden with her mouth slightly agape, her wide eyes misty they stung with un-shed tears. Granted she had thought of her mother many times throughout the years but to be out in the most special place to both of them to see the ravaged garden they used to tend was nearly overwhelming. Gulping in a few breaths of calming fall air she turned herself away from the garden and headed back inside the house to the kitchen. That would be her next project she told herself. Rebuilding the garden would be a tribute to her mother’s memories maybe bringing back a little of her good cheer.