Monday, July 13, 2009

Fran 7 (FICTION)

Francisca pulled up to a three-story house. The guard at the gate recognized her immediately and opened the gate with a tip of his baseball cap. Marcus had been working for the Lofts for so many years, Francisca considered him part of the family. As was the usual habit at the house, Francisca pulled up to the front door and popped the trunk. Leaving the keys in the ignition, she walked out of the car and headed towards the house; Marcus would take care of the rest. 

Francisca stood in front of the door and gathered her thoughts for a minute. She had no idea what awaited her inside, but she had no other choice, nowhere else to go. For once, she just wanted to have a normal family, a normal mother. She wanted to walk through the door, step into her mother's protective open arms, and sob like a baby.

Francisca remembered the last time she cried in front of her mother. It was six years ago. Sean had just broken up with her and she was depressed. She came home while her mother was out. When Linda walked in, she saw Francisca sprawled out on the couch, surrounded by dirty tissues and empty containers of Haagen Dazs. 

"What's going on here, Francisca?" Linda called out, appalled. "It's not another break-up now, is it? Really, Fran, no wonder you keep getting dumped all the time. Just look at yourself, you've gained at least five pounds. That ice cream is really not helping you..." She would have continued, but Priscilla, the housekeeper, walked into the room. Linda immediately switched over to her, calling out a dozen commands per minute. As Priscilla walked out of the room, Linda followed, shouting something at her the whole way. As usual, Francisca was forgotten and left to wallow in her own pain, alone. Since then, Francisca made sure not to show any weakness to her mom. This time, though, things seemed to be different. 

Gathering her courage, Francisca finally rang the doorbell. A few minutes passed before a young girl in a uniform opened the door. Must be the new maid, Francisca thought. "Oh, Ms. Loft..." the maid said, surprise in her voice. Well, at least she was well-trained. "Come in. I'm sorry, Mrs. Loft hadn't mentioned you would be staying here. I'll get your room prepared right away."

"Wait, please. Are my parents out then?"

"I'm sorry, I presumed you knew. Mr. and Mrs. Loft are in Paris for the next two weeks..." Her voice trailed off.

That's just perfect, Francisca thought, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. 

4 comments:

  1. this whole story reminds me of a line from one of my favorite songs

    "its fucking hopeless! and its only getting worse!!!"

    come on Inna, give her a chance! now is the time her fortunes need to change, let her have at least one decent day before you kill her off!!

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  2. what gave you the idea that she was going to die?

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  3. I like this one. I just read the last few entries, and this one has caught my interest. I am wondering why she is there. I would like to know more about the mum and why she is so impersonal/unsympathetic with her own daughter, cos that dosent just come out of nowhere.

    This is Dawn by the way, I don't know how to categorise myself...

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  4. Hey Dawn. Glad to see you here. Have you read the previous Fran episodes? It will give you an idea of how her family functions and what kind of a person Fran really is (although I have a feeling the disease might change her to some extent - just a hunch).

    See you soon :)

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