Freedom

I twirl around, watching my skirt whirl around me in perfect pinwheels. I throw my hands up, breathing in the crisp air. The meadow spins around me, and I laugh out loud. My boots crush flowers below my feet, and I jump up and down, squealing like a child, relishing the cool breeze whipping my hair around my face. I pick up some dirt and smear it across my cheeks in two large streaks, like my brother Luke does in the army. It feels good to let go of everything. To forget all my duties and responsibilities. Laughing, I scoop up handfuls of soil and dump it in my hair. I catch a glimpse of Luke from the corner of my eye watching me strangely. I bound over to him and clasp his hands.

"Brother! It's glorious! We can do anything!"
"Anything?"
"Anything!"
He promptly picks up a ball of mud, winds up his arm, and hurls it at me. It splatters across my patterned skirt. I gasp. "Luke! Mother will be furious! This will never wash out!" I pretend to be irritated, but secretly, I don't care. It's wonderful to forget everything and have fun with my brother.

But my mother has left her mark on me. All her rules and regulations are fiercely drilled into my mind. The longer I stay with her, the more she worms her way into my mind. She will break me. My walls will crumble, and she will slowly poison my heart. I came here to escape. Not to think about her.

I look at him, my brother, gathering another mud ball. His blonde hair matted, the twinkle in his eyes, the mischievous smile playing on his lips. Soon he will be going back to the front, and I may never see him again. My older brother, my one sibling, my hope for escaping mother. I run towards him and tackle him, screaming deviously. We topple over, and roll around in the earth before we realize quite what we're doing.
"Anna. That is not the proper way for a lady to behave." He says in a mock aristocratic voice, mocking mother. In response, I pick up a clump of dirt and dump it on his face. He sputters and sits straight up, coughing. Laughing, I tousle his hair and lie down next to him, looking up at the sky.

“Do you ever wonder why mother is how she is?"
He lazily looks over at me, thinking about his reply. "The thing about mother is that she wasn’t always like this. Losing father made her very protective.” I give him a look. “So much so that she’s become frightened of losing people.” he continues, despite my snort.

“She may be frightened, but she’s still a controlling witch.” I say, raising my voice.
“Anna!” He scolds me, but his voice shakes with unexpressed mirth. He knows I’m right. I roll my eyes in response. He stands up, brushing his slacks, before offering me a hand. I wrinkle my nose, as if disgusted, and stand up. He laughs. "Anna, that’s quite a temper you have." I stick my tongue out at him and he laughs. Suddenly, he tips his head up to the endless stretch of blue sky, dotted with white clouds and he yells: "You can't tell me what to do!" I look at him, bewildered. He gives me an encouraging look. "Go ahead. It's strangely liberating."

"You don't control me. You have NO POWER OVER ME, MOTHER." I laugh out loud. We take turns screaming to the sky, setting ourselves free.
"We are too strong to be held down!” Luke shouts, the veins on his neck bulging. The image of us slides into my mind. We look like dishevelled muddy maniacs, yelling at the sky. Mother would hate it. But I love it.
"I will do great things!" At the indignance in my voice, Luke tips his head back and laughs. Feeling empowered, I continue. "My freedom is near! I can nearly taste it, mother. You can try - and try you will - to stop me. But I’m already gone."

freedom is the oxygen of the soul

- Moshe Dayan

                                                                by: Millie Alchin