Miriam

by Kinovych Mariya

Miriam, give me my slippers! I can’t get up without them.

Morning in this family started normally. Miriam, thirty years old teacher without any private life, was making coffee when her eighty years old mother as always asked to bring her slippers. Those slippers were pink and awful as if they were made from a real dirty pig. Every evening Mrs. Cranberry wore them before going to sleep and every evening she left them near her bed, but every morning she couldn’t find them.  That was a great mystery of Cranberries house.
Miriam always should get up early. This habit she had from school, when her mother waked her up at six A.M. to help her to find something. When she was eight it was her mother’s dressing gown, at her thirteen’s she looked for her glasses. When Miriam became an adult she couldn’t go out if her mother didn’t find her silver spoon, knitting needles or others very important things. The reason of disappearance was inexplicable for Miriam. From her early childhood she was wondering why her mother’s things are always mislaid or hidden somewhere with difficult access. It seemed ridiculously, but some of Mrs. Cranberry belongings, which were in order in the evening, were mysteriously scattered all over the house in the morning.  Miriam couldn’t stand a sad expression on her mother’s face and every morning, till her mother woke up, she tried to find lost things to make her happy. She felt responsibility for mother’s life and couldn’t go away because she thought that the main purpose of her life is to find lost slippers.
Slippers were the most hated thing for Miriam. They consisted of two different pink slipper, which had never been found together, so it took twice more efforts to search for them. Every day in all weathers Miriam woke up and started to examine rooms, pantry, drawers and dust heaps to return pink slippers to their owner.
One day she was delayed at school and came home very late. She decided not to disturb her mother and just go to sleep. When she walked up to her bedroom she noticed strange rustling from the guest room. The door was opened and Miriam saw her barefooted mother standing on her all fours and doing something under the bed.
Mother, what are you doing here so late?
Mrs. Cranberry trembled convulsively and turned her head with strained smile to Miriam and mumbled:
Nothing, sweetie. I think I heard a mouse, but I was wrong. There is no mouse here. Even very little mouse. No mouse and nothing interesting here at all. Oh, it’s so late, isn’t it? It’s time to go to bed. I’m so tired, good night, honey.
And she almost ran away to her bedroom and locked the door. For a moment Miriam stood motionless and then she turned round and went to sleep. She was too exhausted to analyze her mother’s strangeness.
Morning was shiny and fresh. Miriam stretched oneself with a pleasure and got up. One more routine day had begun. The left pink slipper she found in a big vase, which stood in a hall. But the right one was absent. She looked in the bathroom, kitchen, her room, go outside and searched in the garden, looked for in the loft but there was no result. Then she remembered that she missed the guest room. Miriam came in and looked under the bad and what a surprise – there was a right pink slipper there! She looked at it amazed for a several minutes and during that time she understood everything. A couple of tears dropped down on the floor, but she didn’t make any sound.  In a moment she got herself together and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. “What I need is a cup of good coffee” – said she to herself and started to make breakfast.
Miriam, give me my slippers! I can’t get up without them.
Miriam heard her mother’s voice but she didn’t answer. She enjoyed her breakfast while her mother cried like a baby to attract her attention. When she finished, she stood up and went out. She wanted to go for a walk. Morning  park certainly must be beautiful.