by Wendy Owen

Created on: December 24, 2008

Something's not right she feels as she looks at herself in the mirror. She vaguely hears the Everyly Brothers singing how it's so sad to watch good love go bad with a slight crackling that seems foreign to her ears, if she listen's closer she can actually hear the needle scratching against the vinyl as it plays and oddly this gives her a feeling of warmth and home. Her long brown hair brushes against her small body and somehow she's amazed at the simple pattern of her cotton gown and she just can't shake the feeling of wrongness in this picture. The hardwood floor seems cool against her bare feet as she slowly reaches for the knob on her bedroom door. As she leaves the comfort of her bedroom she looks to the left and she can see inside her parents room and much to her surprise it looks perfect in there as always. This surprises her because there is this feeling of strangeness that keeps nagging at her gut and she just can't quite put her finger on what's wrong. The brothers continue to sing, "Remember how you used to feel, dear You said nothing could change your mind It breaks my heart to see us part So sad to watch good love go bad". A memory hits her like a steamroller as she makes her way to the family room, the boards on the hardwood floor creak just where she thought they would. Standing at the one source of heat in the house she places her hand on the little gas stove and lets out a slight giggle as she remembers racing to this exact spot on a cold winter day to get dressed in front of the one little heater that is used to heat the entire house, fighting with her brothers over a spot that would warm her up as she put her socks on, standing there bare and cold, but strangely happy because for some reason at this point in time, no matter how cold, all seemed right in the world. Her heart was easy and free.

She hears the needle lift off the record and strangely the mechanical arm squeaks as it makes it's turn and she hears a plopping sound and then the mechanical arm squeak again and then she hears ole Hank blurt out, " Came in last night at half past ten That baby of mine wouldn't let me in so move it on over". She hums along with the song as she reaches the kitchen looking for someone that will tell her why she is feeling so strangely today but no one is there. This is odd to her because every morning of her entire 12 years of life, when she wakes in the morning she can always find her mother in the kitchen cooking breakfast ready to greet her with a smile.

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