Status: It's a one shot, so I sure hope it's complete...
Puritan
Chapter I.
Red sky at night, Sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, Sailor's take warning.
Maya let the sand flow through her left hand like a sieve as she contemplated the rhyme she had taught her son years ago. The crimson sky was beginning to fade to ink and stars, and she smiled knowing that Gale was somewhere watching the same colours drip out of the sky. Every time that Carter took Gale out to the dock, she had repeated that to him. Of course, she had never allowed Carter to take Gale in the morning in fear that the sky actually had been red. Carter had never fully appreciated her superstition; though that was unsurprising considering how many other attributes of hers he didn't appreciate.
Gale was his father's son more so than he was her's. She could see it in the way he clung to the ocean and the docks; rejected the land and the structure. The waves crashed in front of her and the guilty water lapped at her toes. Sin after sin replayed in her mind. Envy, pride, wrath. Maybe if she had been a saint, she would have been a fit mother, but she was no martyr.
She wondered if every time Gale heard that rhyme, he would grind his teeth like his father would. Gale was every inch Carter's son, so she knew he could never understand why she had to leave his life; cut out and discarded like a tumor. There wasn't a doubt that he hated her, or that he had a right to.
Maya could play the monster.
"What kind of a mother can do that?"
"How can you leave your family behind?"
"What is wrong with you?"
Everyone she had known called her cold when she packed her bags and walked out that door. Not a single 'friend' or family member wished to speak with her once she cut ties with her child and husband. They had all expected her to come back, but six years of absence taught them different. She had been taught different.
If she could have had the child and not the man, she would have, but his heart and soul and sinew grew on the child's bones. Could she even call Gale a child anymore? A fourteen year old would probably object, but all that came to mind was her Gale: an eight year old mess of dark hair and blue eyes who smelled like sea salt and who devoured goldfish crackers with one fist and a cupcake with the other.
Her Gale just turned fourteen today.
She still baked the cupcakes for him every year; they went to rot as she couldn't ever bear to eat them. Presents for every year she had been gone were stacked in the closet. Christmases and birthdays were all wrapped up in silver shining paper and vibrant ribbons and bows. She could never send them. In her new apartment, there was a room made up just for him. She had tried her best to accommodate a teenage boy's tastes, but she knew she had failed miserably. It bothered her more than it should, as she knew Gale would never sleep under those covers; would never wake up with a tousled mop of hair that she would harp at him to comb and cut.
But he wasn't her son, he was Carter's. That had always been her attempt at an excuse. Every time she had yelled, and he had cried. Every time she looked and saw those blue eyes that seemed like they held the entire ocean. Every time she and Carter had fought about having more children and she had only cried because she couldn't even handle the one she had. Every time Gale crawled over to her while she had one of her episodes and said "I'm sorry, Mommy." Gale wasn't her son, he was much too good for that. He deserved more than her lineage could offer; more than the title of 'Maya's Son' with everything it implied.
She felt terrible every time someone asked her if she was married, or if she had any children, and all she could say was "No." She was hardly a mother or a wife, so how could she claim anything other than "No"?
She couldn't, she could only claim 'monster'.
Maya let the sand flow through her left hand like a sieve as she contemplated the rhyme she had taught her son years ago. The crimson sky was beginning to fade to ink and stars, and she smiled knowing that Gale was somewhere watching the same colours drip out of the sky. Every time that Carter took Gale out to the dock, she had repeated that to him. Of course, she had never allowed Carter to take Gale in the morning in fear that the sky actually had been red. Carter had never fully appreciated her superstition; though that was unsurprising considering how many other attributes of hers he didn't appreciate.
Gale was his father's son more so than he was her's. She could see it in the way he clung to the ocean and the docks; rejected the land and the structure. The waves crashed in front of her and the guilty water lapped at her toes. Sin after sin replayed in her mind. Envy, pride, wrath. Maybe if she had been a saint, she would have been a fit mother, but she was no martyr.
She wondered if every time Gale heard that rhyme, he would grind his teeth like his father would. Gale was every inch Carter's son, so she knew he could never understand why she had to leave his life; cut out and discarded like a tumor. There wasn't a doubt that he hated her, or that he had a right to.
Maya could play the monster.
"What kind of a mother can do that?"
"How can you leave your family behind?"
"What is wrong with you?"
Everyone she had known called her cold when she packed her bags and walked out that door. Not a single 'friend' or family member wished to speak with her once she cut ties with her child and husband. They had all expected her to come back, but six years of absence taught them different. She had been taught different.
If she could have had the child and not the man, she would have, but his heart and soul and sinew grew on the child's bones. Could she even call Gale a child anymore? A fourteen year old would probably object, but all that came to mind was her Gale: an eight year old mess of dark hair and blue eyes who smelled like sea salt and who devoured goldfish crackers with one fist and a cupcake with the other.
Her Gale just turned fourteen today.
She still baked the cupcakes for him every year; they went to rot as she couldn't ever bear to eat them. Presents for every year she had been gone were stacked in the closet. Christmases and birthdays were all wrapped up in silver shining paper and vibrant ribbons and bows. She could never send them. In her new apartment, there was a room made up just for him. She had tried her best to accommodate a teenage boy's tastes, but she knew she had failed miserably. It bothered her more than it should, as she knew Gale would never sleep under those covers; would never wake up with a tousled mop of hair that she would harp at him to comb and cut.
But he wasn't her son, he was Carter's. That had always been her attempt at an excuse. Every time she had yelled, and he had cried. Every time she looked and saw those blue eyes that seemed like they held the entire ocean. Every time she and Carter had fought about having more children and she had only cried because she couldn't even handle the one she had. Every time Gale crawled over to her while she had one of her episodes and said "I'm sorry, Mommy." Gale wasn't her son, he was much too good for that. He deserved more than her lineage could offer; more than the title of 'Maya's Son' with everything it implied.
She felt terrible every time someone asked her if she was married, or if she had any children, and all she could say was "No." She was hardly a mother or a wife, so how could she claim anything other than "No"?
She couldn't, she could only claim 'monster'.