978-1572305441

A Heather Mind Apart
Chapter 2
Heather
A World That Revolves
around a Different Axis
Walking through the old neighborhood, you can hear the
children’s shouts before the schoolyard comes into view. The sounds cut
the morning air like metal striking metal. It is a cold November day, and
the trees, now bereft of leaves, are stark against the sky. The clouds are a
monochrome gray, and no shadows are cast by the movement of the
young mother as she walks into town to do her shopping. She thinks
about walking past the schoolyard, knowing it’s time for recess. Perhaps
she can catch a glimpse of her daughter, wave to her, give her a smile
and the confidence to work hard in class. Her daughter is six years old,
and the separation each morning as Heather is bundled off to school is
still difficult. To see her would be a brief moment of pleasure stolen
from the inevitable process of growing up and moving on. But she does
not want to be a distraction, to pull her daughter away from her playmates.
The mother imagines her daughter skipping rope or playing tag
with the kids. Heather is still new to the school, and there have been
many problems. Perhaps it’s best not to know, to turn down the other
corner and go straight into town. But the lure of seeing the tiny figure in
the distance is too great, and with a mixture of longing and foreboding
the mother turns up the street toward the playground.
Now the children’s shouts are louder, almost deafening. There is a
long chain-link fence that cuts the schoolyard off from the street, either
to protect the children from strangers or, more likely, to try to contain
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