A Tale Of Two Cousins (Flash Fiction Part 10)

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Flash Fiction #163

This is the 10th part. The previous 9 parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9.

With rumors swirling around, my mother was in full damage control mode. Whenever my parents found their common enemy, they would work together against the external threat, real or imaginary; whenever things were back to normal, they would start to sling bitter verbal arrows at each other. Physically my parents looked like normal and healthy people, but they were not. The healthy norm represented only the empty shells, no matter how shining, under which existed two emotionally destroyed human remains.

To recuperate her reputation, she hosted events for her students and her neighbors–colleagues were included; she gave up two professional outfits she brought back from the big city and presented them as gifts to others; most important of all, she flattered the wife of the vice president of the university. In our university, the president was appointed by the provincial government and the president came and went within five years. The real power was held by two vice presidents who were local and who would stay forever. The wife of one of the vice presidents grew up in subtropical areas and loved items (furniture included) from the south. One of my mother’s brothers worked for an aviation company, and he helped my mother obtain several of those items and got them transported to us. The wife of the vice president was really grateful for at least two months afterwards, during which she and my mother often walked together on campus–somehow I guessed that these walks were contrived by my mother. She was an expert on narcissistic parade.

Basically my narcissistic mother love bombed the whole community, hoping that people would be so grateful or so afraid that they would give up on the pleasure of talking about her.

And that’s not all. She went around to talk with everybody, putting all the blame on Arjin, who spread vicious rumors about his own aunt and uncle. The aunt and uncle’s are his own flesh and blood, whose only concerns were to discipline him, help him grow, improve his academic performance. As to Altan, he was unharmed by the police; his camel was alive and kicking. He went away and wandered to some other place. How could Arjin spread such rumors about his loved ones? It was unthinkable. When boys became unruly, they could be rude and uncontrollable. Every parent had to be careful of his or her boy. My narcissistic mother would assert her last line while talking with a mother who had a boy.

“Oh, you are my sister. My sisters are not here and you are more of a sister to me than any of them.” My narcissistic mother would grab a neighbor’s arm, and stare into her eyes, “you don’t know how much I suffered. I only tried to help my sick brother and my sick sister-in-law. It was out of my pure heart of gold that I took Arjin under my wings. And how did he repay me? With such resentment; such anger. Can you believe it? Isn’t it the worst fear of a parent to have an ungrateful child? And I struggle every day at home. I have to cook and clean, while my husband is not much of a help at all. My daughter looks quiet, but she is bitter, sour, sulky, and aggrieved. I told her she has the best life, but she just wears her sullen look every day. Everybody says a daughter is an inner vest that warms a mother’s heart, but my daughter is none of that. She never listens to me and she never tells me anything.” Other mothers sympathized with my mother. Some even shed tears with my mother.

Cousin Arjin, Present Day

I don’t want to remember those things happened 25 years ago, but somehow I can’t think of anything else today. I stayed with my aunt and uncle for four to five months, and I hated every minute of it. After I came back, I stayed with my grandma for a while before going back to live with my parents. We were living in the same big city and I loved the time with grandma, who did her best to indulge me.

I have never wanted to see my aunt, uncle, or cousin Nalan again. Among them, Nalan is the worst. She always brings me bad luck. I dislike girls like her who’s sulky and silent. I like girls who have my grandma’s traits, who want to fuss about me and who want to do things to please me.

And recently, something happened and it brings Nalan back into my life. This is why I can’t help remembering those things that happened 25 years ago. I am going to go to her tomorrow to tell her firmly that she should get out of my life. There’s no love lost between us. I think she resents me as much as I resent her.

And you won’t be able to guess what she did. She persuaded my wife to leave me. Can you believe that? I just know it. I just know that she always brings me bad luck, but this time I will make sure she pays for her misdeeds.

(To Be Continued Here)