Upside Down

'You're a wife now. You're going to be a mother soon. Grow up! '

With these words, followed by a slam of the door, the mother was off and gone.

Leaving her confused daughter.

She sat down slowly to reconsider her next options, seeing as how the best one had blasted its head off, and her's as well.

Actually, she already knew what must be done. What's not certain is the people who are going to carry out this out. She never paid much attention to her neighbours, save for polite 'hi's and a facade smile. Neither do they. That's the way things are between the two linked houses.

And now that she is going to need their help, she is unsure of securing it, her heart questioning whether she deserves their help or not.

None of her usual friends, or even family, can do stuff like this. She is going to need someone, someone who understands the mechanism of society, not her usual loud and rowdy pals. They can't do shit, and her husband is too young for this. They are both in this together, neither of much help to their spouses.

He is not beside her now, but in scenarios like this, it is better to sit down and think peacefully, rather than having him dismissing her worries and caressing her and ending up making love. Love will not get them out of this mess, only people with credibility and position.

She will meet them the first thing tomorrow, when they are going to work. Her husband does not have to know. There he is now, smelling of cigarettes and liquor. Tonight is going to be a wild one again, but she stood up to welcome him with open arms, her night dress slipping of her young shoulders...

The next day, she saw the couple walking out of their house, on the way to their daily routine. She called out to them in a rather awkward manner, not being accustomed to talking beyond polite boundaries.

The couple listened quietly at first, while she fumbled for words to say about her predicament. She wondered at the difficulty of doing this. Now she began to understand why it is such a forbidding thing, or even a taboo in society to be in a position like her. The faces of the couple are everything but cheerful, anything but frivolous. Her stumbling upon words did nothing to ease the tension growing.

There was a brief silent when all was quiet.

The man spoke, a frown shaping, and assured her that he will look into it. The woman consoled her, while trying and failing to smile in her usual manner. She was filled with a curios gratitude, and left the vicinity as fast as she can, leaving the two grave-looking people staring at her back, and then each other.

Back in the safety of her house, she reflected what happened. She has no doubts that they will help her in this matter. After all, people like them are supposed to help clean up the mess of her people. But like all human beings, the natural instinct to gossip and criticise is ever present, and she wondered about the things they might say. Probably something like 'not finishing school' , 'get pregnant before marriage' , and 'still very young...' .