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This above all; to thine own self be true. 
William Shakespeare

750 WORDS ~ 29 FEBRUARY 2016 ~ MUSING ~ WRITING PRACTICE

3/3/2016

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750 WORDS ~ 29 FEBRUARY 2016 ~ MUSING ~ WRITING PRACTICE

    Always a bright spark at school she had a sense of humour that was razor sharp. Always with an answer for everything she was breathtakingly quick-witted. I can’t imagine how the child relates in any way to the person she seems to have developed into.
     Now, incredibly unsure of herself,  wary of everything and everybody, life seems to revolve around cigarettes interspersed with alcohol. Her sole reason for existing seems to be the manipulation of everybody who comes into contact with her. 
   The trouble began as she developed an extensive dependence on her Mother over many years, whenever a threat to her wellbeing appeared she would run for cover and counselling, from her Mother. A strong relationship developed between the two of them over many years and then dependence developed and became more pronounced as the years went by.  
   Two daughters were born, the eldest was almost taken into care, but was rescued by a caregiver, who became a stepmother and saw her through the difficult teenage years, and her schooling. The eldest child became a well settled, level-headed young lady, who left school and obtained a responsible job.
    The youngest daughter was mainly raised by her Father, but a strong clinging relationship developed between the Mother and daughter.
   Mother had experienced two full mental breakdowns and was hospitalised on both occasions, finally diagnosed with a bipolar illness, she was on strong medication for many years.  
    A long period of relative stability followed as the youngest daughter grew up. The Mother developed a routine life, of visiting her own Mother, the child's Grandmother, on a daily basis, the Grandmother was a strong influence on both of them at that time. 
   Tragedy struck swiftly, as the Grandmother died and left a huge gap in the lives of the two of them. The Mother remained well and stable, in spite of this huge traumatic event, but slowly she began to develop a strong relationship with her elder sister, and they began to spend a great  deal of time with each other. 
    Her elder sister had been battling for years with a liver disease and was also on some very strong medication. Eventually the progression of her illness led to a liver transplant that was eventually fatal. The liver was finally rejected and she sadly passed away.
   This was an absolute disaster, although at first it didn't seem to register with her as there were no visible effects at all. Slowly the realisation of her situation began to become clear, all of a sudden several occurrences in her behaviour led to her getting hospitalised once again, minus several of her possessions.
   There were several further incidents with her daughter and a cash card, and their relationship began to slowly break down completely. Her ex-husband, the father of her daughter began to to take a hand in his daughter’s situation to ensure that she was able to continue to live in the flat, that the Mother and daughter had shared together. The daughter was desperately trying to obtain a place in a college of further education or a University to continue her studies.

   She was discharged from hospital into a halfway house in the community, where after a few days, and some further altercations with her daughter, she became ill again.

   Finally there was a further hospitalisation and this disjointed conversation ensued.

    “I am here until March. I have my cash-card back and I am able to buy cigarettes. I was worried about going to the garage to get them. My ex-husband has organised a lawyer for me. I am worried about my sister's ashes. I want to know where they are going to interred. My cousin  is away even though his Mother has just passed away. My half-brother is not my brother, I don’t want anything to do with him, not after the way he has treated me. The others are not related to me, they are Irish, I am English. I tried to contact Shane, but I was unable to get through to him, I used to be in love with Shayne. I remember my Grandad and my Grandma. In the countryside, I used to sit on my Grandads knee. He was a lovely man. I remember where we used to live in London and the people there. My Sister and my Mum are both dead and it happened so quickly, it has had an effect on me.

   This is such a disjointed account of a series of incidents in her life. Of the highlights of her life, much discoloured and misty in many parts. I can only feel a sense of shock at the way the balance of her mind and her thinking is so far from the reality. I feel she has definitely slipped over the edge of reality. I have to say I am relieved she is now in the right place to get the treatment to enable her to overcome this sad period in her life.

(839 WORDS)


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JED AND MARY ~ IN  ~ "SINK OR SWIM"  ~ 9th NOVEMBER 2015

11/11/2015

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This piece of writing was inspired by a prompt provided by Margaret. I was struggling with a subject to write about in the absence of a prompt and Margaret suddenly said "Sink or Swim!"
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SINK OR SWIM
by John Yeo

   Mary was a well known, well liked figure in the village, she was a fountain of knowledge in all things green and natural. Many people had reason to thank Mary for her magical herbal remedies and tonics she produced in her small cottage garden and kitchen.              
  In her younger days, Mary was responsible for bringing many of the younger villagers into this world in her role as the local nurse and midwife.
 People said Mary was blessed with supernatural powers, some even said she had the power to read minds and communicate over vast distances, simply by mind-power.

   Jed her husband was a sea-captain, shipping tea from the Caribbean to England, aboard the good ship Mary-Jane. He was often away from home for many weeks at a time. Although he was sceptical about the stories, many times he swore Mary was there with him in spirit, guiding him in whatever he did. 

 The tea clipper left an exotic port overloaded with as much cargo as the crew were able to pack into the hold. The price of tea was at its lowest level ever and the company had ordered every square inch of the hold to be loaded with tea. 

Captain Jed was uneasy about this and he informed his first mate of his fears. "Rolly, I don't like this, I feel very uneasy about our buoyancy as we are overloaded!"

  "Yes sir," said the first mate, "The crew are restless, and I think they would be mutinous if it wasn't for the promised bonus."

That night Jed woke with a start to find Mary in his cabin, a vision that stirred every nerve in his system.

  "What are you doing here Mary? Why have you suddenly appeared here?"

      "I have come to be with you my husband, at your side, facing the danger you are in. There is a hurricane heading your way and I am here to be at your side when the storm breaks. We will sink or swim together if the ship goes down," said Mary.

         "Are you serious? I will alter course and head for a safe haven until the storm has passed." Captain Jed spoke to an empty cabin, as Mary had disappeared.
   
  Captain Jed ordered Rolly to change course and they headed to an uninhabited island nearby with a sheltered lagoon and weighed anchor.

   Later that day, a fearsome storm blew up, a typhoon wind that ripped trees from the ground and blew them around like straws. Huge waves swamped the small island and flooded the tiny lagoon, where the tea clipper was moored, sending the ship on to the shore where it landed to get jammed on its side, on a sandy hilly beach. Many of the crew were injured and thrown into the water, Captain Jed and Rolly escaped injury and began to rescue and transport as many of the crew to the shore as they could.

 Jed had a vision of Mary, when they were fortunately rescued by a passing ship several days later. Mary was smiling and laughingly said, "I was with you all the time, my husband. We would never sink, so we swam together!"

   Jed or Mary never publicly referred to their joint escape again, ever. 

   Rumour has it that many further joint mysterious adventures have taken place, never to be revealed to a sceptical world.


Copyright (c) Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.
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