Happy spring cleaning!
Mrs C x
#springclean #lovinglife #mrsclean #cleaningwindows
164,458 likes
staffiemumjenni Could this woman’s house get any better? Great window-cleaning tip.
caraway98 This woman is amazing. I love her style.
the_sunday_feeling Why can’t I see her face?
@wisewoman45 Cos she wants to be anonymous. So people like you don’t start slating her.
the_sunday_feeling Hey! I was only asking @wisewoman45. I would never slate someone on here.
escapetothebookshelf She’s like the Banksy of Instagram.
underthe_sheets I think it’s inspiring. I wish more people would focus on the art rather than the person.
lucybest65 I think it’s weird.
7 Now
I arrived home after my afternoon lecture and immediately raced to my room. I found all the pound coins I could and stacked them up in fours, then nudged them into a perfect line. I opened and closed the window, pulling the lock across, then unlocking it again, only to relock it a further six times. I ripped the sheets from the bed and found the dry ones that I had brought up that morning from the tumble dryer. I performed the meticulous task of making sure the flat sheet had perfect hospital corners.
I felt hot after the exertion and walked to the window, daring myself to unlock it and open it an inch. A cool breeze trickled through and I took a moment to allow the spring-afternoon air to cool my face. I even closed my eyes for a second.
Then I heard it. The undeniable sound of ‘Mama’. I stumbled backwards. Was someone playing a trick on me?
I stood on the chair and peered through my window that looked out over the first four back gardens on the street, and I could just about make out a tiny frame under the arm of a woman with the flash of blonde hair. I was sure it was the same woman I had seen dragging the child inside the other day. Here she was again, heading back into the house with the child tucked under her arm like a rugby ball. The child, who I still couldn’t make out if they were a boy or a girl because of their wild hair, was beating the back of the woman. I heard their back door slam and the tiny echoing protests of the child.
My heart was wrenching as I climbed down from the chair and stumbled away from the window, falling into another chair in the corner of the room. It was just a test. I could get through this. There were always going to be times when I was reminded too vividly of my past, but I wasn’t prepared. I thought about the locks of hair that were so familiar, the pained cries that pelted through my body and filled me with the guilt I would never be rid of.
Moving to this house had been the best decision yet. For the first time in a long time, I felt as though I had come up for air, but, now, I was being plunged back into the icy depths of water again.
There was a knock at my door. I jumped from the chair and stumbled forwards. I opened and closed the lock five times before opening it on the sixth, no longer caring that I probably appeared to be a crazy person to everyone in this house. I had the urge, the compulsion; the monster had reared itself and I had to feed it. Thankfully, it was Sophia on the other side.
She looked at me sympathetically. I hated that look on anyone, and I wished more than anything it wasn’t Sophia wearing it.
‘Just checking how your first day was?’ She tried to hide what she was thinking, but I could see the concern in her eyes. I knew she didn’t mean anything by it. I stepped back and allowed her to come into the room. ‘It’s looking nice in here now.’ Sophia looked around and I tried to see the extreme neatness of the room through her eyes.
‘It was fine, I guess.’ Trying to remember the day but only seeing an image of Will in my mind’s eye.
I looked towards the window.
‘The neighbours, I…’ I stopped myself.
‘What is it, Regi?’ Sophia headed to the window. ‘Are they being too noisy?’
‘No, I… I just heard something. It was nothing.’
I couldn’t talk to Sophia, or anyone, about this because I hadn’t disclosed my past. Without that information, I was just a crazy thirty-something woman ranting about hearing and seeing a child.
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ Sophia sidled closer to me. I stepped backwards as I felt the edge of fear creep over me. I could trust Sophia, right?
‘What is it you’re worried about, Regi?’
Was that concern in Sophia’s voice, or sympathy?
‘You don’t have to tell me, but we have the party this weekend, so maybe you can let your hair down a bit. Enjoy yourself?’ Sophia folded her arms across her chest and shrugged her shoulders up and down.
‘I guess… I guess I’m just tired.’ I glanced back at the window, the cries of the child ringing in my ears. Sophia was right; I needed to make room for enjoyment in my world that had been so crammed full of other emotions that my soul had been
