A Step to Love
Aunt Delilah
I felt the alarm clock hit my system at 6:00am. My aunt was coming for a visit, and I had to meet her. We were thinking of dropping off in the neighborhood’s park. She said there was something important she needed to tell me. I stretched myself under my purple and green quilt before moving my head, making it lead me towards my right. I swung my legs to my front, sitting properly on the bed before anything else. I yawned and tiptoed my way toward the bathroom, making sure I was extra careful not to wake Brit.
Nine days.
I looked at myself for a while before picking up the toothbrush. I feared being with my aunt at some point. Aunt Catalina was the charming aunt. Aunt Delilah…well, she was the embarrassing aunt. The kind of aunt that thought she was funny, the only bone in her that was funny was the bone in her back and it was because it was broken.
She made sure to show me the x-ray.
Every time I was with her during those Christmas’ breaks, I would hide in shame thanks to all of her embarrassing remarks and whatnot. Hanging out at the mall was the worst.
Every time it was always the same. When she saw me, she would immediately start bombarding me with ten questions per second. Mostly about my love interests.
I took my sweet time getting ready and eating a short breakfast before heading out with my yellow bike in hand. I reached to the park and when I got there, I saw a woman with bright orange hair, dressed in a green dress, waving excitedly.
“God, Lilly! Look at you.” She reached up for a hug, and squeezed me tightly. I gasped a little reaching for air. Then she parted, still smiling in her perfect white teeth. “Oh, look at us! We’re twins!” she shrieked referring to our hair.
Oy, this was going to be a long day. She was still family, though, and she did take me in. I smiled, remembering and hugged her.
“Hey, Auntie.”
She took a look at me, and then circled her finger as if to tell me to turn around. I did. “Well, lookie here, your butt got bigger.”
I shifted uncomfortably in place. “I don’t know if you’re just complementing me.”
She winked, putting a hand next to her mouth like she was covering it. “Of course,” she whispered. “You know men like that!”
“Well…that’s good to know, then.”
Aunt Delilah turned to her left and I followed her seeing a few bags over a bench. She stood in front of the bench and rubbed the top of it a little before sitting. My gaze followed a bit further and saw her green S40 Toyopet Crown lay next to the grass.
On the way towards her, I tripped over a stupid rock I did not see and while looking for something to hang on, part of my hand’s skin got stuck onto the pointy edge of a trashcan that stood next to my fall.
“Oh!” Aunt Delilah hurried toward me and helped me up. After I shook some dust off of my jeans, she took my hand and examined it. “Ah, look.” I saw that the center of my palm was bleeding roughly, making me feel as if my breakfast was coming back to life. She jumped suddenly, “I just remember I have my first aid kit here.”
I followed next to her and sat, pursing my lips. I winced when my aunt pressed her gloved finger against the open skin on my hand. She washed away the blood with a wet napkin before applying antibiotic.
“So…?”
“It feels kind of weird, you know,” I whispered to her while she did this, “all of the changes. Sometimes it all feels so overwhelming and then, just when I feel like I have the slightest chance of overcoming it, it morphs into this greater force I—I can’t control.”
She sighed. “I know,” she whispered in return. “But you can’t sit here and feel sorry for yourself. You have to move, you have to do something about the situations—even if it feels pointless. Trust me, you’ll be in whole lot worse when you’re turned into a complete woman because problems never seize to exist; you just gain enough maturity to deal with them.”
I didn’t say anything for a while. She was completely right… By getting stuck, I was obviously not moving on to anything. So, my mother was stuck in an asylum and I was now under my aunt’s custody. A lot of shit happened, and one of my best friends was killed. My dad was truly missed, but I could not sit, waiting for time to pass by my side. I needed to learn my lesson and be done with it.
“Patricia and I talked about you yesterday.” I bobbed my head. “After you called me, I had to,” she explained. “She told me everything.”
“Everything?”
I saw her lips move up. “Even Alex.” I groaned mentally. She knew what I was talking about, she kept on pressing. “I still remember when I changed your diaper once. You’re growing up.”
“Alex and I aren’t anything.”
“Pat made sure to comment on that, also,” Aunt Delilah replied, making me laugh. I repeat, everyone in the house expected me to finally admit my feelings toward Alex. Now that I did, they were waiting for the next step.
“I missed you. We hadn’t seen each other in almost two years.”
She took her hand off of my hand and rummaged through her first aid kit for something. She pulled out a roll of gauze and started working with it. “I missed you, too.” She hesitated before leaving my hand.
“You came to tell me something,” I stated. “When are we leaving?”
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about…”
Nine days.
I looked at myself for a while before picking up the toothbrush. I feared being with my aunt at some point. Aunt Catalina was the charming aunt. Aunt Delilah…well, she was the embarrassing aunt. The kind of aunt that thought she was funny, the only bone in her that was funny was the bone in her back and it was because it was broken.
She made sure to show me the x-ray.
Every time I was with her during those Christmas’ breaks, I would hide in shame thanks to all of her embarrassing remarks and whatnot. Hanging out at the mall was the worst.
Every time it was always the same. When she saw me, she would immediately start bombarding me with ten questions per second. Mostly about my love interests.
I took my sweet time getting ready and eating a short breakfast before heading out with my yellow bike in hand. I reached to the park and when I got there, I saw a woman with bright orange hair, dressed in a green dress, waving excitedly.
“God, Lilly! Look at you.” She reached up for a hug, and squeezed me tightly. I gasped a little reaching for air. Then she parted, still smiling in her perfect white teeth. “Oh, look at us! We’re twins!” she shrieked referring to our hair.
Oy, this was going to be a long day. She was still family, though, and she did take me in. I smiled, remembering and hugged her.
“Hey, Auntie.”
She took a look at me, and then circled her finger as if to tell me to turn around. I did. “Well, lookie here, your butt got bigger.”
I shifted uncomfortably in place. “I don’t know if you’re just complementing me.”
She winked, putting a hand next to her mouth like she was covering it. “Of course,” she whispered. “You know men like that!”
“Well…that’s good to know, then.”
Aunt Delilah turned to her left and I followed her seeing a few bags over a bench. She stood in front of the bench and rubbed the top of it a little before sitting. My gaze followed a bit further and saw her green S40 Toyopet Crown lay next to the grass.
On the way towards her, I tripped over a stupid rock I did not see and while looking for something to hang on, part of my hand’s skin got stuck onto the pointy edge of a trashcan that stood next to my fall.
“Oh!” Aunt Delilah hurried toward me and helped me up. After I shook some dust off of my jeans, she took my hand and examined it. “Ah, look.” I saw that the center of my palm was bleeding roughly, making me feel as if my breakfast was coming back to life. She jumped suddenly, “I just remember I have my first aid kit here.”
I followed next to her and sat, pursing my lips. I winced when my aunt pressed her gloved finger against the open skin on my hand. She washed away the blood with a wet napkin before applying antibiotic.
“So…?”
“It feels kind of weird, you know,” I whispered to her while she did this, “all of the changes. Sometimes it all feels so overwhelming and then, just when I feel like I have the slightest chance of overcoming it, it morphs into this greater force I—I can’t control.”
She sighed. “I know,” she whispered in return. “But you can’t sit here and feel sorry for yourself. You have to move, you have to do something about the situations—even if it feels pointless. Trust me, you’ll be in whole lot worse when you’re turned into a complete woman because problems never seize to exist; you just gain enough maturity to deal with them.”
I didn’t say anything for a while. She was completely right… By getting stuck, I was obviously not moving on to anything. So, my mother was stuck in an asylum and I was now under my aunt’s custody. A lot of shit happened, and one of my best friends was killed. My dad was truly missed, but I could not sit, waiting for time to pass by my side. I needed to learn my lesson and be done with it.
“Patricia and I talked about you yesterday.” I bobbed my head. “After you called me, I had to,” she explained. “She told me everything.”
“Everything?”
I saw her lips move up. “Even Alex.” I groaned mentally. She knew what I was talking about, she kept on pressing. “I still remember when I changed your diaper once. You’re growing up.”
“Alex and I aren’t anything.”
“Pat made sure to comment on that, also,” Aunt Delilah replied, making me laugh. I repeat, everyone in the house expected me to finally admit my feelings toward Alex. Now that I did, they were waiting for the next step.
“I missed you. We hadn’t seen each other in almost two years.”
She took her hand off of my hand and rummaged through her first aid kit for something. She pulled out a roll of gauze and started working with it. “I missed you, too.” She hesitated before leaving my hand.
“You came to tell me something,” I stated. “When are we leaving?”
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about…”