Realities: Stories from Our Times

By Carmen Subryan

These short stories are meant to reflect issues affecting the lives of many in todays society. Most of them have unexpected endings that, though sometimes shocking, are occasionally results of the situations depicted. These storiessuch as Retribution, which focuses on elder abuse; Revenge, which explores the effects of sexual abuse; Resolution, which examines elder care issues; and Dreamer, which pinpoints issues with elder gamblingdelve deep within the characters consciousness to discover sources of pain.

The stories should not only start a dialogue about these issues but also help readers to examine solutions to them.

Carmen Barclay Subryan, PhD

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524529963

Carmen Subryan

The author was born in British Guiana (now Guyana), South America, where the roots of her ancestors run deep in the history of the country. Carmen’s education was rooted in the British system. After graduating from high school and attending teachers’ college, she left for the United States to attend Howard University. There she received her BA (magna cum laude), Phi Beta Kappa, her MA, and her PhD—all in English. In 1974, she joined the Howard faculty as an English teacher and remained until retiring in 2014. Always a writer, Carmen has self-published three novels and three books of poetry.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Carmen Subryan.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016912512

ISBN:   Hardcover   978-1-5245-2998-7

Softcover   978-1-5245-2997-0

eBook   978-1-5245-2996-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 07/28/2016

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CONTENTS

Retribution : Elder Abuse

Legacy : Rescuing Young Men

Revenge : Rape and Revenge

Nightmare : Mental Illness

Dreamer : Elder Gambling

Journeys : Family Dynamics

Release : Marriage Issues

Resolution : Elder Care

Pain : Corporal Punishment

Retired : Academic Culture

For my Children and Grandchildren

FOREWORD

These stories will needle their way into your system. They are guaranteed to stimulate internal conversations through their plots and themes long after you have read them. They will keep you thinking about yourself, your life, catastrophe, and how blessed you are for avoiding it.

There are many aspects of our lives that we seemingly take for granted, or we are too afraid to pay adequate attention to, or we simply live in denial of. These stories will spark awareness, reasons to care, and resolutions to take action in areas of our personal, social, and, moreover, spiritual reality.

These stories expose us to the suddenness at which potential for a great life can turn sour, even when we think we are in control.

Pastor Kwesi Oginga, BA, MA

Adjunct Professor

The Washington Institute of Theological Studies (WITS)

Reston, VA

Associate Pastor

New Life Ministries, Silver Spring, MD

RETRIBUTION

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

I am a prisoner in my own home. This is a cry for help. I am a seventy-year-old woman who is totally under the control of my domineering, bipolar, borderline psychotic daughter who moved into my home five years ago after she was evicted from her last apartment. Since then, my life has not been my own. I am in fear for my life because I do not know which person will appear from day to day, especially since her condition is compounded by daily drug use. The abuse that I endure is incredible. In addition, she has a two-year-old son for whom I have been practically sole caregiver because she leaves the house early in the morning and does not return until the wee hours next day, if at all.

This situation has left me sick, tired, and totally exhausted and depressed. I know that you will recommend counseling, but I am not sure that is possible since my daughter is incapable of processing information. Decades of drug use have taken a toll on her brain. Many times I think it is my responsibility to end this situation, but if you have any suggestions, I will be more than willing to listen. I can be reached at my home number enclosed.

Sincerely,

Maisie Burnett

After she had called the police for help the second time in a month, Maisie had penned that letter to the crisis center she had been referred to. She would have liked to make a personal appearance, but her daughter had been driving her car since hers broke down two months ago; and since Maisie, who had retired two years ago, was the caregiver for her two-year-old grandson almost twenty-four hours a day seven days a week, she really had no pressing need for transportation. (But how she longed to get in her car one night and drive away and never return.)

Predictably, things had come to a head when her daughter demanded that she cosign for a new car and she refused. After all, Maisie was the one who was paying all the bills—mortgage, utilities, etc. and taking care of her grandchild. And she knew that the car note would be hers to pay. When her daughter Eveline had returned home, Maisie had told her to pay $300 a month to help with utilities, but she had not gotten a penny. After all, Eveline said boldly once she had settled in, those bills would have been paid anyway. And when Maisie pointed out the dramatic change in utility costs, Eveline could not even process the information. Over time, Maisie had come to believe that Eveline was deliberately running up her utility costs. Half-hour showers were the norm, and the water was so hot that when she exited the bathroom, the smoke detector would go off. In summer, the temperature had to be set at seventy degrees or lower, and even if Maisie moved up the thermostat a few degrees, Eveline lowered it again. It was even worse in winter because Eveline kept a space heater, which she set at maximum, in her room. In addition, one of the two vents in her bedroom was blocked by the bed which covered it. Maisie had spoken to Eveline about blocking the vent several times, but she was cursed at, and even when Maisie pulled out the bed from off the vent, Eveline pushed it back again. Needless to say, the heating bill was off the charts, and Maisie had to pay it all by herself. Of course, the increased cost put Maisie off her budget, but Eveline did not care.

Maisie had long come to the conclusion that Eveline was born without a conscience and that she was one of the devils hiding in plain sight on earth. Even as a child, she was difficult and combative, relishing chaos and confusion. She seemed her happiest when she was screaming at someone, bullying someone, or embroiled in general drama. She had a few close friends, some just like her, but most relatives did not care for her because of her overbearing attitude. As a matter of fact, several family members said that if Eveline died before them, they would not even claim her body or have a memorial. According to them, the state could use her for research and dispose of her remains.

Perhaps Eveline’s behavior stemmed from the fact that she was physically beautiful and had a model’s physique; in fact, she had modeled on and off through her early life. But her beauty masked an evil disposition that reminded Maisie of an old movie, The Bad Seed, she had seen once. Eveline truly believed that looks were all important; however, now in her midthirties, only traces of the early beauty surfaced occasionally. The years of reckless living had taken their toll. By the time she returned home, she had gone through so many relationships and jobs that Maisie had stopped counting. It seemed as if she always started out fine; then her attitude problems surfaced and she could not get along with anyone. Soon she was on to another job, conning the new employer until her true character emerged. Then coworkers realized that she had the emotional development of a two-year-old, treasuring confrontations, incapable of discussing issues like a rational adult.

Many times Maisie wondered whether she had done something to contribute to the situation. She racked her brain trying to recall if she had some responsibility for Eveline being so different from her older child. Maisie recalled that during birth Eveline’s head had not turned in her birth canal and the doctor had to use forceps to turn it before she could be delivered. Could that have contributed to her mental problems? But her doctor had been a very experienced ob-gyn physician who had delivered hundreds of babies. Then Maisie thought of her divorce when Eveline was about seven years old. Could that have affected her behavior negatively? But what about her older sister Joy, a normal, even keeled child who abhorred drama and was happiest with her head in a book? It was amazing how the two were so different in temperament. And Eveline hated Joy. She picked on her constantly, spoiling for a reaction so she could start a fight. Lastly, Maisie thought of her ex-husband, a controlling, overbearing, abuser whom she could not wait to divorce. Did Eveline inherit his DNA?

Eveline was one of those people who hated being ignored, who craved attention, doing whatever she could to achieve it. Very early, Maisie discovered that it was all about Eveline. She wanted the best clothes and shoes, asked that her hair be fixed in the latest styles, and constantly pestered her mother for anything she fancied. Once when Maisie decided to check out a local thrift store, Eveline refused to enter, preferring to remain in the car. So Maisie and Joy had a wonderful time together free of Eveline’s grumbling and attitude. When they returned to the car, she was seated in the front seat, her usual spot, pouting and mean faced. Joy sat quietly in the back seat. Even though she was older, she had stopped fighting for the front seat since Eveline claimed it and dared her to complain. And maybe because of her overbearing, controlling attitude, Eveline blamed any problems in her life on anyone she fancied; she was never to blame. If a relationship broke up, it was Maisie’s fault because she did not let Eveline spend enough time with her friend. If she misplaced something, it was Maisie’s or Joy’s fault—in fact, they had taken it, and when she found the item, she never apologized. At school or at work, the situation was the same. Teachers were not clear about assignments or they were picking on her. Coworkers were jealous of her and making it hard for her to succeed.

When Eveline started modelling locally, she became more self-absorbed, and as a teenager in high school, she was a cheerleader. It was then that her meanest spirit surfaced and she became more difficult to handle. No one, even teachers, and particularly Maisie, could counsel her in any way, and negative influences found her an easy target. Maisie figured that it was during that time that Eveline began her marijuana use. But even though she suspected that Eveline was smoking pot, she could not prove it since Eveline was careful not to smoke in the house.

But worse was to come after Eveline got her driver’s license at sixteen and cajoled and coerced Maisie into get her a secondhand car. After that, her true disposition surfaced. Indeed, she was the worst driver Maisie had ever encountered. Once when Maisie’s car was being repaired, she experienced Eveline’s erratic behavior firsthand. Apart from driving too fast, she engaged other drivers, blowing her horn, pointing at them, driving too close, cursing at them, and showing them her middle finger. In addition, she texted and talked on the phone constantly. Maisie could not believe what she was witnessing, and when she tried to speak, Eveline told her to shut the fuck up. Maisie could only hold on to her seat and pray they would not get in an accident. Of course, she never drove with Eveline again, but she knew that it was inevitable Eveline would get into accidents, and by the time Eveline left for college, she had totaled two cars including one of Maisie’s which she drove into a light pole.

Maisie sighed with relief when Eveline went to college, but her relief was short lived because the drama continued. It turned out that Eveline’s main purpose was not to get a college education but to model and profile so that she would be popular. She never studied and the friends she made were into negative behaviors, which fit her very well. Maisie even told her brother that Eveline majored in sex and drugs. Suffice it to say, Eveline attended college for six years and never graduated. Maybe that along with her temperament was one reason why she was unable to keep even the low paying jobs she got. Once or twice she made it out on her own, but Maisie helped her with money until she could no longer afford it. In addition, she had a few live-in boyfriends but the situations never lasted. When the men discovered how crazy she was, they disappeared.

Now things had come to a head. At thirty-three, Eveline was being evicted and she had nowhere to go and no one to support her. Even when she demanded to return, Maisie, ever the pushover, allowed her back against the advice of every family member. But Maisie was sympathetic to Eveline’s plight and that of many young people who were being forced to return home, mostly because of economic reasons. Some had lost jobs, and for others, their low paying jobs could not sustain their lifestyles. Several of Maisie’s friends were in the same predicament with boomerang children who had nowhere to go but home. Maisie had even written a poem about them.

Coming Home

The birds that flew away

Are coming home today.

Full of their things

On broken wings

The winds of life

Have battered them

The storms have blown them back

They have nowhere to go

But home/they’re grown.

Will her life ever be the same?

She fears there will be grief

She fears no better years remain

She fears there’s no relief.

The kids are coming home

She can’t say no

This is their place to go

But why does she feel so low?

Maisie realized that these children often return home bitter, broken, and disillusioned. They have lost control of their lives and, for some, the only way to regain some control is to seek to control the situation they find themselves in. Maisie often reflected on the possibility that some young people’s circumstances and attitudes were in part responsible for the growing number of homeless youth. Once they leave home, family, who often could not wait to be rid of them, refuse to let them back in. So some simply prefer to live on the streets where they are free to do whatever they like without family interference. This group usually ends up drugged out, sometimes prostitutes, and become the dregs of society. Although she never got along with Eveline, Maisie could not imagine her entrapped in such dire situations.

Often, however, their elderly parents suffer severe consequences because their lives are upended. Their retirement years are jeopardized, and many are forced to change their plans, especially if