When she came to work with those big X's carved into her cheeks, we didn't say a thing. At least not to her.
Of course we talked about it between ourselves in the alley on a smoke break or at lunch at the Thai place. She seemed to not be self conscious at all about the X's, and would still look you or a customer right in the eye. When Selena looked at you with those golden green eyes of hers, look out. Many, MANY people fell hard for her. But she wasn't ashamed of her face or whatever, and she almost seemed to enjoy our uncomfortableness around her.
And we still never said anything.
After the second week of this and her scars had healed into thin dark lines, we decided that someone needed to bring it up with her, you know like find out what was going on. Samantha cornered Selena in the break room and then told us what had happened.
She just came right out and said it, "Selena what happened to your face?"
Samantha said she actually shivered when Selena said, "I'm ugly now, right?" in an eager, puppyish voice.
So Sam said, (she said she "crooned") "No no no Selena, you're beautiful, you're still beautiful everyone says so," and she was right. She always was a heart-stopping beauty; the scars now lent her a depth that she didn't have before. Now she was a fierce tribal warrior, carrying her flame of beauty into battle.
VERY attractive.
So then Selena said, "No!" and she pushed Sam away, hard (according to Sam) and ran right out of the store.
Weird, we all thought. She doesn't want to be pretty? Is that why she did the X's? We discussed it for a bit, but the store needed closing and those cocktails weren't going to drink themselves.
*************
Of course we talked about it between ourselves in the alley on a smoke break or at lunch at the Thai place. She seemed to not be self conscious at all about the X's, and would still look you or a customer right in the eye. When Selena looked at you with those golden green eyes of hers, look out. Many, MANY people fell hard for her. But she wasn't ashamed of her face or whatever, and she almost seemed to enjoy our uncomfortableness around her.
And we still never said anything.
After the second week of this and her scars had healed into thin dark lines, we decided that someone needed to bring it up with her, you know like find out what was going on. Samantha cornered Selena in the break room and then told us what had happened.
She just came right out and said it, "Selena what happened to your face?"
Samantha said she actually shivered when Selena said, "I'm ugly now, right?" in an eager, puppyish voice.
So Sam said, (she said she "crooned") "No no no Selena, you're beautiful, you're still beautiful everyone says so," and she was right. She always was a heart-stopping beauty; the scars now lent her a depth that she didn't have before. Now she was a fierce tribal warrior, carrying her flame of beauty into battle.
VERY attractive.
So then Selena said, "No!" and she pushed Sam away, hard (according to Sam) and ran right out of the store.
Weird, we all thought. She doesn't want to be pretty? Is that why she did the X's? We discussed it for a bit, but the store needed closing and those cocktails weren't going to drink themselves.
*************
Wow, very good! I just kind of stumbled onto this one. It says, posted by Kirsten McCory, you are the author of all of these though, right? If you have any other non-fiction stories, or maybe something that's just partially inspired by real life events, or family, or even one that just mentions something about the old neighborhood, I would especially love to read it. My memory is so terrible, (and quickly getting worse), it really sucks! Anyhoo, it's just nice to be reminded once in a while. It was hard to read that other one, but really good at the same time. I know it sounds strange, but it was like I could feel his presence again. That was such a great feeling, and one that I hadn’t had in a really long time. As the years have gone by, I've gotten pretty good at sort of turning my emotions off. I think I kind of had to, to stay somewhat sane. But in all seriousness, it is nice to feel something every once in a while, even if it's sadness or heartache, it reminds me that I'm still alive. I know I'm weird, but I really would love and appreciate a suggested reading list if you feel inclined to send me one:)Thanks, a lot.
ReplyDeleteMuch Love, Audrey