There was a boy at that other place, that other house. He had a broad, laughing grin and brown hair that never stayed tidy. In her mind, he picks up a baseball bat and runs away to join the other boys down the street. She follows after him as a faceless woman calls behind her, “Samantha! Your brother doesn’t like you bothering him when he’s with his friends!”
Her brother, the boy in her mind, is not named Jeffrey. She can’t remember his name. She can’t --
“Samantha?” the man who calls himself her father says. She does not look up from her dinner. “Why aren’t you eating?”
“I’m not hungry,” she mumbles. She stirs her mashed potatoes around in a circle.
“If she’s not gonna eat, I won’t, either. I hate mashed potatoes,” Jeffrey says, in that flat voice of his. Her other brother had a flat voice, too. She can almost hear it.
“You’ll eat your supper, Jeffrey.”
“But Dad --”
She looks up, hesitantly. The man who calls himself her father is staring at her, frowning. She stares back, half daring, half frightened.
“Are you thinking about them, Samantha?”
She looks down. “No.”
“You know they’re not real. You’re just confused.”
She says nothing.
“This is your family, Samantha.”
She feels like crying. She pushes her food around and bites her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. Everything looks blurry, watery, unreal. She tries to disappear into the world in her mind, to that other house, that other family.
The man who calls himself her father asks her more questions that she doesn’t want to answer. She shoves the cold, flavourless food into her mouth, refusing to speak.
When they come for her again, they take her memories, trying to sweep her mind clean. But there are still little fragments left over, hidden away here and there. She pulls them out of the cracks in her mind and tries to fit them together, creating an out-of-focus family portrait. She thinks about that boy with the goofy smile and wonders if he’s out there somewhere, if he’s thinking of her now.
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"The Other Family" - Samantha Mulder, got no reason/got no shame/got no family/got no name - PG
Date: 2011-04-28 06:04 am (UTC)Her brother, the boy in her mind, is not named Jeffrey. She can’t remember his name. She can’t --
“Samantha?” the man who calls himself her father says. She does not look up from her dinner. “Why aren’t you eating?”
“I’m not hungry,” she mumbles. She stirs her mashed potatoes around in a circle.
“If she’s not gonna eat, I won’t, either. I hate mashed potatoes,” Jeffrey says, in that flat voice of his. Her other brother had a flat voice, too. She can almost hear it.
“You’ll eat your supper, Jeffrey.”
“But Dad --”
She looks up, hesitantly. The man who calls himself her father is staring at her, frowning. She stares back, half daring, half frightened.
“Are you thinking about them, Samantha?”
She looks down. “No.”
“You know they’re not real. You’re just confused.”
She says nothing.
“This is your family, Samantha.”
She feels like crying. She pushes her food around and bites her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. Everything looks blurry, watery, unreal. She tries to disappear into the world in her mind, to that other house, that other family.
The man who calls himself her father asks her more questions that she doesn’t want to answer. She shoves the cold, flavourless food into her mouth, refusing to speak.
When they come for her again, they take her memories, trying to sweep her mind clean. But there are still little fragments left over, hidden away here and there. She pulls them out of the cracks in her mind and tries to fit them together, creating an out-of-focus family portrait. She thinks about that boy with the goofy smile and wonders if he’s out there somewhere, if he’s thinking of her now.