lenka
the mother left her retarded child with lenka, the bitch next door. just for a few hours, she said, please. the bitch frowned but let the child in, and shut the door in the mother’s face.
the child ran away and was lost and the bitch didn’t care when the police returned the girl with a shaved head and bruises on her little arms. she was wearing a tattered shirt that was meant for a man. saliva pooled in her mouth and trailed down her chest and she hummed.
the bitch curved her lips in disgust at the child’s vacant eyes and fed her a few spoonfuls of mashed potatoes while she waited for the mother to knock on the thickly-painted white door.
the child kissed lenka’s elbow and a low, repulsed moan rose from the bitch’s throat as the spoon dropped to the floor. lenka did not pick up the spoon, and left the kitchen quickly, and went to call up her fat ugly lover. his name is yura.
yura stares at the child drooling on the table. lenka flashes an awkward glance at the child and takes yura’s thick hairy arm and pulls him onto the couch with her.
the child hears nothing.
the television is on and yura is sitting on the floor with his back against the couch. lenka traces his features and wonders why she invites him over, then looks in the direction of the kitchen. there is a light thudding sound of metal against wood. the child is playing with the spoon.
yura doesn’t want to leave for one reason or another and though lenka has never been very polite, she does not ask him to go. instead, she goes to the kitchen and sits next to the child and feels helpless.
lenka lifts her hand and strokes the back of the child’s head. it is soft. lenka doesn’t move her hand for a few minutes. the child concentrates on the spoon but appears pleased. lenka sighs and a smile forms on her wiry lips.
lenka hears yura light a cigarette. he starts to cough, and with each cough that exits yura’s hideous lumpy body, lenka’s body shakes. she screams at yura and he rolls his beady eyes at her but says nothing and leaves, shutting the white door loudly behind him.
it is midnight and the child slowly closes her eyes and rests her head on the table. her breathing is rough but it appears she is asleep. lenka places her head on the table next to the child’s and closes her eyes. she thinks herself to sleep.
the mother does not come.
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Interesting, yet disquieting story. Made me a bit uncomfortable for some reason. Was that the desired effect? Whose the bitch in that scenario? :-(~
ReplyDeleteyeah, the story's supposed to make you feel uncomfortable, but it's also sad. initially, lenka is the bitch, because she acts disgusted by the retarded girl she's supposed to babysit, and the reader's supposed to be really put off by that, but then we see how lenka's life is sucky and being a bitch is just a front as the child grows on her.
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