Her cat went to her bed and started playing with her blond hair, it was so cute that she felt secure as she used to be in her mother’s arms as a child. Actually, she could never forget her tenderness and softness…
“Did you have sweet dreams? It looks like you visited the wonderland. Did you met your friend Alice??”
“Good morning mom!!!”
“Good morning sweetheart! Ok, you have to hurry up, you’ll be late for school!”
“Ok mom,…”
“Come on Sally, breakfast is ready!”
“Coming!!”
Now, she can never hear that voice. She is alone with her cat, loafing their weekends away. As a child, she used to love her special weekends with her mother. They always came up with weird and new ideas.
“Ok Sam, I know you’re hungry and so am I.”
She got out of bed, took a shower and had breakfast.
“Well, you’ll stay home alone today. Penny is gonna come to check on you in the afternoon and give you something to eat. I have something important to do.”
Her family split up after her mother’s death, her father got remarried to a younger woman. Sally decided to live her life as independently as she could, not be caring about her father who dropped her.
It was quite rough to lead such a different life, her mother was always by her side supporting her as much as she could. She moved to another town, rented a small flat and got a job as a waitress in a restaurant. She had been dreaming of being a pilot, the dimensions inspired her deeply.
All of a sudden, the phone rang. Sally wasn’t in a mood to talk to anyone, so she didn’t pick up. The correspondent left a message on the answer-phone:
“Hi Sally, it’s me Bill. What gives? You suddenly took off yesterday!! Hope everything is all right. If you wanna talk about it, you know where to find me. Take care, bye…”
It was Bill, Sally’s close friend. They met when Sally moved to Portville two years ago. Sally was looking for a job, she met Bill at the job center. Bill had been working there and he helped her get a job. Since then, they became good friends.
“It couldn’t have been better, Bill. Sorry” she sighed to herself with an unwilling face.
A few minutes later, she left. While driving, she recalled what happened in the pub the previous night. When she was having a drink with Bill like on any casual Saturday, a couple came into the pub. A well-built man and a woman dressed in red who looked younger. They were strolling happily arm-in-arm…
“Oh my God, it’s him!! It’s him…my…my…father…” Sally whispered to herself.
“What’s up Sally? What are you so gloomy about?” Bill said. He tried to guess what was wrong but he drew a blank.
Sally heard only a babble of voices, she was at her wits’ end. Without a word, she got up and left the pub. Bill went out after her, as he arrived on the stoop, Sally had already driven off.
Three miles away from the pub, she pulled over and started crying. “They were happy together, very happy…It stands out like a sore thumb!! But what are they doing here? It’s miles away from where they live…Oh my God.”
She got out of her car and roamed around in a dark alley remembering her life in the lovely countryside home. Two hours later, she felt better and sat down. Memories began to flood her mind.
Nine years back. The river had been her favorite place, she used to picnic with her family there. She had enjoyed spending her time playing with her father. While playing, her mother had been gazing at them. They had really enjoyed those moments together.
Sally had wished those times would be timeless, life had been so enjoyable. “I wish life hadn’t been that cruel to all of us. If only I could turn back the clock.”
Her mind started swimming between fantasies and the reality, she fell on her knees and gazed at the mountains. The thoughts were so overwhelming that she lied on the grass, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Isabelle, Sally’s mother, decided to be a house-wife. Before that, she worked as a lawyer’s assistant. She loved her work, but the love of her family won over. “Family comes first!” she told her boss as she resigned.
She was 3 months pregnant when she decided to sacrifice her time to her baby, and her family of course. The idea of having a baby had always haunted her, after two years of marriage, she got ready to make the dream come true. She thought it was the time to start a real family.
This idea wasn’t welcome to her husband, Mike. He was a gym-trainer, having a lot of get-up-and-go. “We’re still young honey. There’s no need to have a baby so early. We have a lot of things to do together; just me and you. A baby will spoil that, won’t he?”
This was always Mike's response to the question.
One day, Isabelle went back home earlier. Mike was in the backyard, he glanced at her waiting for an answer to his silent question.
“Mike, I've got something to tell you” she said. She looked tired, he thought she may have been stressed out with work.
“I went to my doctor this morning and she told me that...She said..."
“Told you what, honey? Are you all right? You look like hell…” he answered.
“Well, I’m pregnant, in my third month. It’s a girl,” she nodded.
As soon as she finished her declaration, Mike choked.
Things changed since then; Mike spent most of his time out. Isabelle’s days took a sudden turn to sadness and disappointment, but that situation didn’t last a long time.
In the delivery room, Isabelle was having a short rest before giving birth to her baby girl when someone walked in with a huge bouquet of roses.
“I’m sorry. It took me a long time to see things the right way. I was dumb and looked out for number one. Please forgive me,” Mike said
“I’ll call her Sally, it’s a sweet name, isn’t it?” Isabelle nodded in a crying voice.
Their life got back on track, Sally brightened her parents’ days. The patter of tiny feet made the couple’s house exceptionally life-giving. Isabelle was happier than ever, she was always there for her daughter not missing the boat to be joyful.
Sally was 18 years old when her mother discovered that she had cancer, she had only few months left to live; even with treatment. Isabelle told her husband about it, they agreed not to tell their daughter. Isabelle’s health jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. 9 months later, she died.
Up until then, Sally had never felt so lonely. Her life had become a total mess. Finding happiness seemed as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. She believed life was unfair taking the dearest person in her whole existence. She actually couldn’t grasp what it was all about:
“Is it an in and out bamboozle game, an alternative of happiness and sadness?? Or maybe a rough experience we must go through to figure out the real ME??!!” Sally asked herself.
Sally wasn’t only intelligent and sensible, but she developed her self-confidence and realism as well. Qualities she inherited from her mom. She told her daughter to smile at life no matter what it may bring. “You know, sweety, life’s a big soccer game. You’ll never know what the score will be, because after a series of defeats, a team could win overnight.”
Isabelle’s words called on Sally’s mind once in a while, actually, Sally soaked the meaning up a few days after her mom’s death.
Sally tried her best to put her grief behind her but it wasn’t that easy! She was only 18 years old, still, she was feeling very old underneath. Besides, she didn’t have someone to lean on and talk to as teenagers do. She needed care, parental guidance, but her feathers were too weak that she went into a shell for months. She decided to live in her little bubble far away from normal life.
Unlike his daughter, Mike went ahead quite differently; his life took a turn to selfishness. He neglected Sally and started dating younger women, he got married to his fifth date. That event shocked Sally deeply. The situation became unbearable and the burden was so heavy to her heart.
“I want to shout loudly as to vent some steam, but I think it won’t be enough. My father has his own life now and I suppose he’s happy. I can’t continue this way, mom wouldn’t like me to be so weak. I don’t want to disappoint her”
She decided to see a shrink, in the meantime, she started looking for a part-time job. She didn’t want to depend on her father’s money at any rate.
She worked as baby sitter, a part time job most young people prefer. The family was very kind to Sally, treating her as a member. That experience encouraged Sally to regain her self-confidence, self-esteem and especially joy de vivre.
She decided then to move to Portville, as she wanted to lead her own life. She wanted to start everything all over again, it was the only way to be herself!! She drew up a list of her needs, her obligations and wishes!!!
“Like sand through the hourglass, so are days of our lives” a television statement Sally liked and totally agreed with.
Life must be lived as one wants, but one has also to fix his aims and goals so as to reach them. And that would be her challenge. One has to be genuine as he possibly can, that quality is a true guideline. Many people don’t really know what they want, or maybe they’re ashamed of being honest with themselves. How can they reach what they can’t know, what they can’t admit?
Sally knew what she wanted and swore an oath to do her best to fulfill it. She talked it over with her shrink, who absolutely agreed and gave her a push towards doing it.
Sally was 20 years old when she moved from her countryside family house to Portville. It was the first time she ever left her birthplace. Still, she had no regrets. Portville was a small city; people were nice, modest and generous.
As she was driving home that night, a quite weird idea came to her mind. She thought of beginning a long journey around the numerous towns, she inherited enough money to do so. Sally loved discovering new places and meeting new people, so she decided to see the other parts of the world, the hidden face of LIFE!
Yes, it was a gorgeous idea, but it’s not easy to leave everything behind and go in a journey overnight! That requires a lot of courage and self-confidence.
Sally thought such a step would help her feel useful, she decided to work in a voluntary humanitarian organization. She’d heard about such organizations once and thought it was very useful to take part in one of them. She did contact an organization called HFA ‘’Happiness For All’’ that helps handicapped children to better fit into their community. The meeting with the HFA’s people was great; Sally was so excited that she asked to begin her job as soon as possible.
She called Bill to tell him the news. ’’Good morning Bill, how are you?’’
’’It’s been a long time Sally, where have you been?’’
’’Oh yeah! I’m really sorry Bill; I must have been horrid lately!’’
’’Tell me about it!’’
’’Well, it is a long story and I don’t have time. All I can say is that I’m going to Morocco next week.’’
’’Morocco?? What for?!’’
’’I’m going on a mission, I’ll write you.’’
’’I haven’t a clue what you are telling me!!’’
’’Sorry, I got to go now. Talk to you later, ok? Take care,’’ and she hung up.
The trip was so exhausting that poor Sally fell asleep once the cab reached the hotel. The next morning, the telephone rang; it was the president of HFA Morocco: ’’Good morning Miss Anderson! Hope your trip was great. Ah sorry, I haven’t introduced myself: Paul Twain, president of the HFA Morocco.’’
’’Excuse me, I’m feeling dizzy; the jet lag you know!’’
’’Yeah, I know. Anyway try to have a rest today. I’ll call you later, ok?’’
’’Ok, Mister Twain."
Mister Twain called her later and introduced her to the HFA people. She began her work as a young handicapped children’s assistant. The first days were a little bit difficult, but Sally could easily fit into her new society; her new family!
’’You know, I’ve never imagined that I could be that comfortable and happy in a country different from the one I was born in!’’ She told Bill once when she phoned him from Morocco.
The HFA’s people were very satisfied with Sally, her especial enthusiasm and kindness had drawn everybody’s attention. Her stay in Morocco helped her develop self-confidence and other qualities that her life had been lacking. These qualities allowed her to get a good position within the HFA organization.
She went back once to the USA, for her father’s funeral. He died of lung cancer. She met her old friend Bill at the wake, he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw her; she was younger and full of life more than ever.
Sally’d decided to spend the rest of her years in Morocco. She wanted to be buried in Marrakech; her favorite town. She never married and devoted herself to helping children in need.
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