The Fate Of The Tonsorial Artist

Swallowed In Affection

The lights went dim and faintly swallowed the whole room. She remembered, no she was fully confident that these precious pairs of hers would lay softly in its secret safe place.

“Oh Ari darling, you've got to be hasty. Sticking to your punctuality habit would cement a special place in the heart of Mr Mark”

Ariana smiled, her back bent down, as she scanned vigorously, beneath the old wooden shelf erected at the edge of the small room. “Yes momma, I know. I've still got an extra hour ahead” with a gentle echo.

Their abode, a small bungalow, resting in the heart of the rusty town of Montiel, far kilometers away from the affluent city and the luxurious estates. There were two other occupants. Silent neighbors that were barely around.

By the side of the old wooden frame that embodied their mattress, her back remained bent. She knew that wasn't the normal tone of her mother's. While she shuffled through the racks, she pondered on the atmosphere in the sitting room.

“Ready to bag my first hatrick” she squinted. Her hands had grabbed her precious jewel. Ariana tags it that way. She recalled those moments. The encouraging words and hugs from Mrs Camilia and this gift, the precious jewel.

Sized 40, purple in colour, blistering against the dark room. Each time she's kitted and every thump she takes against the green surface, she oozes aura.

“Oh yes Momma , I won't be late” she thundered, with her back slowly raised up from the rackets.

“Took you decades to get your boots darling”

“Urhh, momma, it's just……”

“Say no more, your kits and jersey lay there. Packed and ready!” Juliet emphasized, with her finger pointing towards the edge of the blinds.

“Like I hinted earlier darling, punctuality is paramount. You create a special place in the heart of Mr Jasper” she voiced, as she watched her only offspring take gentle steps towards the window shutter.

Ariana nodded in acknowledgement, grabbing the helm of the brown bag.

“Oh my world!”

“Mum, you should feel this” in a joyous tone, with her back still leaning against the shutter.

“Come , come ,come” Ariana, joyfully whispered.

The forced smile was visible, Ariana observed, as she stared at her mum reluctantly moving her feet towards the window direction.

With flash, Ariana dragged the shutter up. With her eyes closed, a bag hung already at her back, and her face bloomed with a wide smile.

“Feels soothing huh!” Her smile became more bloomy. Juliet became mute, her eyes closed instantly as she placed her palms on her daughter's shoulder. She was deeply engrossed in the weight of the breeze that blew through the blind.

“We shouldn't have closed the shutters then. Seems going to rain heavily later in the evening”

“Sure you've got a place to shelter in your training ground?” Juliet chipped in. This time her eyes became wide open, her hands drawing the shutters up.

She keenly observed. The once jovial countenance of her princess became moody. “Hey baby, what's wrong?”

“Cause your job wouldn't allow you to come watch me doing my duels, taking on my teammates, exhibiting my dribbles and skills, shooting my…….”

“Hey pumpkin…..” instantly her hands wrapped around Ariana. With warmth,she gummed her body gently against hers.

“.....I totally understand how you feel. I promise you, I will take a leave soon, and escort you to watch you play soccer. I would be there for you also at the big stages. This is a promise.”

Ariana was sober and mute. She gently nodded in acknowledgement.

“When you are back from today's session, your favorite meal would sit pretty and wait patiently for you” she bribed, rubbing her hands gently on Ariana's cheeks.

Ariana released a faint smile, one that blended with the cold breeze that engulfed the room. Juliet had transited into the room, Ariana was a few inches to the door.

“Hey!”

“Do you want to get swallowed up by this alarming weather”

“Come, take along with you” she ordered.

Ariana watched the grey sweater soar in the air towards her direction. With precision, just as the way Evelyn tries to save most of her strikes, she grabbed the sweater off the air.

The smiles transcended into appraisal and gratitude. She pondered, what sort of precision does her mother embody? The manner she flinged the sweater towards her end was stellar.

“Baseball calls your name momma, a great pitcher would you turn out to be” she teased, with her hand leaning against the hinge.

“Oh come on darling” Juliet cheered.

“Have got half an hour to my workplace’s second general meeting”

“I ought to prep up, just as you've kitted up. And hey you look so flawless. I can't wait to hear your tales of how stellar you were today” with a soft tone.

In split seconds , she was already in full proximity to daughter. Gently, she planted her lips on Ariana's forehead. “Remember, I would always be there for you” with a warm smile.

“And you too momma, I would for sure make you proud. And can't wait to hear how you're meeting at your demanding job that doesn't spare you time to come see your daughter play soccer” with a wink, she teased.

“Come here pumpkin, I know it's long overdue. I would make it up to you” teasingly, with a gentle peck on Ariana's cheek.

Her legs were ready to sprint away, an hour timeline seems to be elapsing. Staying on the good books of Mr Jasper was the mantra.

“Alright Mama!” She dashed into the green pathways.

“Stay safe pumpkin, triumph majestically” Juliet echoed loudly, her face shooting out of the windows, watching her only seed joyfully dash through the green pathways, into the cold breezy air and the stony streets of Montiel.

•••

Juliet sat down by the edge of the bed. She replayed every scene, how anxious and intelligent her offspring seemed to be. Her soul tackled the moments of Dawson’s wail which interjected with the scene of patchy days of Wrexham.

She survived. The flame of optimism that burnt through Ariana's soul felt like a lifeline. The scars were physically hidden, but mentally troubled her.

“Ariana has grown fully now. Is it high time for her to know the truth?”

“What does it make of me?”

“Would this jeopardize the love and warmth she has for me as a mother”

Synchronically, these questions ejected from her lips in a low tone. The breeze became intense and colder, blowing against the heat of thoughts that spiralled in her skull.

Ariana clocks a significant age, one that transits her into the early stage of adulthood, perhaps making personal decisions herself. Juliet knows there was once a toddler who jumped around the park kicking plastic balls, the ecstasy she eludes whenever they went sightseeing at Nature Park. Now she sees maturity brewing through her, the perky shape that formed gradually on her chest, the tiny pimples that form around her facial region, and oh the first ever menstrual experience she had. The mass growth around her hip area. Juliet squinted against the wooden object that lay the side of the bed

“Oh poor girl” Juliet giggled, with her hands roaming through the surface of the portrait she had picked up.

“A few years from now, when she's all fully an adult, I will reveal all these tales to her” with a low tone, gently placing the portrait of her offspring against her chest.

Slowly, she raised her body off the edge of the bed. Her legs felt heavy, like the weight of thoughts and blood had traveled through her veins to her toe region.

“Damn it” she stressed her voice, blended with a heavy yawn and her hands raised high into the air.

“My time is limited, have gotta prep up immediately” “Mr Dawson could be on some shitty steroid today, getting there late could fuel up the fire” she mumbled.

Her legs dragged against the cold floor towards the bathroom. The scene replayed back again. The allegations, the multiple wages and salary deductions. Timidity had engulfed her. Mr Dawson claimed to be a multiple owner of businesses spread across the country. But what sort of ruthlessness is he indulging in by taking these heartless actions?

Juliet kept this to herself, revealing this time Ariana might break her, probably mend her high and optimistic spirit. Her thoughts tweaked back to when Ariana informed her about her trying to perfect her shooting range.

“Mum, I just want to make the cut to the first team. I must prove myself to Mr Jasper” these gentle voices of Ariana’s replayed back again.

Protection, support was her top priority. Juliet wouldn't want to dent her offspring’s high spirit and drive with saddening news.

Her head was beneath the shower already, the cold didn't seem overwhelming, the heat of thoughts that clouded her soul craved evaporation.

“Breathe in, breathe out girl” she murmured, fixating her hands on the shower switch.

“Oh damn” she stressed her voice lowly, embracing every drop that ejected from the shower.

There's a storm brewing at her workplace, she knows, armored and charged up to embrace the hearings at the meeting. Her hands moved slowly against her body in gentle massage, basking in the chills of each drop and the atmosphere.

She gently reached for her towel, draping it all over her body. Before she reached her leg region, the loud beep interrupted the moment.

She raced towards the table where her phone lay, with a heavy glance, she anxiously tapped the surface of its screen.

“What!” she wailed

“The f**ck does this son of a bitch think he is?”