21 September 2013

Painted Lady's Lament - Memories




Her father called her Kat, always with tenderness. From the time she was in the cradle, Catherine was her father’s angel. He doted over her and protected her. When Catherine was three, he had taken her to the county fair; a good ol’ country girl who loved the animals and the simplicity of life. She told stories about how she loved peering into the animal tents to watch them munching on apples and corn. But she also remembered seeing other things, secret things the “carnie” teens did exploring their youth and each other. But she had sent those memories into exile. When her father had died, Catherine’s mother became unhinged. Her spirits plummeted and a tension had built between mother and daughter. This angst clawed at Kat’s heart and left her a ravaged heap of humanity; a pile of confusion – she lost her father and was losing her mother. When she turned eighteen, the memories of those young people in the animal tents haunted her. Catherine made the rash decision to find her comfort elsewhere, in the arms of strangers. She called herself Kit, a bastardization of her father’s love. That’s all everything had become now!

Her loss brought her pain.
Nothing could ease her struggle.
That was her first clue.

© JPW – 2013

6 comments:

  1. A powerful story and so sad. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. A sad story for Kit. Enjoyed the read.

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  3. Sad, the decisions the past can promote... Strong write.

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  4. Excellent haibun, written with such sadness.

    Pamela

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  5. I do remember that your last piece was also a haibun. Could you put a link to the previous piece. I know I read it, but others may not realize you are doing a continuation. And I believe I read in the comments that is what you said you were doing from last week - And that is one of the reasons I stopped by.

    I hope Kit can find a white knight amid her tossed passions.

    My piece is here:
    http://julesstorypageswhirl.wordpress.com/2013/09/22/sunday-whirl-127-c5-a-second-summation/ ~Jules

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    1. Thanks for the suggestion and inspiration to string these together... something you're very good at, Jules!

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