The ninth of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer -
about Alice’s life and times is about Ivy.
I is for
Ivy
Alice’s mother Ivy had withstood
the privations of war and shown immense strength when news came of Edward’s
loss and Charles’ death. She knew Edward was dead but a part of her clung to
the hope that he would return one day. Miracles sometimes happened. In her
bleaker moments she wondered at the wisdom of such hope. Daniel had returned
maimed in body and spirit. He had learnt to walk on artificial legs but his
mind remained caught in the horrors of war.
When Daniel was discharged from
hospital he and Ruth moved into a small house nearby. Ivy protested that he
should come home to his family where everyone could look after him but Ruth insisted
he needed peace and quiet. Ivy had not argued but she and Ruth were no longer
as close as they had been.
Alice knew Ruth was right. Her mother
hovered over Daniel and made him uneasy. Her artificial brightness and attempts
to jolly him along irritated him. Ruth’s quieter manner soothed him. Alice learnt
from Ruth and moderated her behaviour when she visited. She wished her mother
would do likewise. She couldn’t bear the sadness in Ivy’s eyes when Daniel
brushed her away. She hated the despair etching lines ever deeper on Ruth’s
face. Most of all she couldn’t accept that Daniel was broken beyond repair.
In 1950 Alice introduced her
boyfriend to her family. Norman had seen three years’ action in the war. Ivy
was elated. Meeting Norman might help
Daniel.
It must be hard for a mother to step back and let her son cope on his own after something so horrible. :(
ReplyDeleteOh, interesting and intriguing. I do hope meeting Norman helps Daniel!
ReplyDeleteSuch difficult times for people to cope with and nobody knew how to help the wounded or indeed their families.
ReplyDeleteThis really came to life for me. I've missed too many, though. Need to do a spot of catching up.
ReplyDeleteMy heart is just breaking for this brave young man who probably felt like his life was to all accounts, over.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I am beginning to think that perhaps Edward WILL be coming home. He is 'lost' and not 'dead.' I hope so!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. War does things to people that you don't expect.
ReplyDeletelovely ivy
ReplyDeletecool post
do check out my letters at GAC a-z
How sad. I hope Daniel will be okay.
ReplyDeleteYou can weave a story!
ReplyDeleteGreat way to do the A-Z! Looking forward to
ReplyDeletereading some more :-)
thanks for visiting my blog LindaK
The plot thickens. :))
ReplyDeletesounds like an interesting story! i wonder what happens next...
ReplyDeleteNutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Happy A-Zing!
A heart tendering tale Janice, very well told. You write a wonderful story that keeps me focused from beginning to end.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving this web you're weaving around Alice.
ReplyDelete---Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012
Amlokiblogs
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
Fun challenge--I can't wait for the next installment brought by the Letter J.
ReplyDeleteI was only going to read a couple of chapters tonight but you have hooked me, I had to keep reading.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in the hospital I found visitors to be a distraction. It's nice of people to want to assist, but fawning all over me actually exacerbates my woes. I can therefore easily identify with your character.
ReplyDeletePoor Daniel. Poor Ruth and poor Ivy. Your piece shows so well that war has no winners.
ReplyDelete