I heard a knock on the door and I quickly dried up my tears laying the photo frame back down on the table

“Come in ” I said quietly

“Come downstairs Harriet your father and I would like to have a word with you ” mother said

“Alright Give me two minutes ”I replied

The click on the door notified that my mum had walked out already as I moved to the bathroom to wash the tears off my eyes

Drying my face with a face towel I walked down the stair case towards the dinning as I sat down beside my dad and Mother

I wasn’t really close to my father cause he always spends time at work we only talked when we made arrangements to attend conference parties and reunion gatherings

“Hello Father “ I greeted

“Hello dear ” he replied

“I’m sure you are wondering why I called this meeting well I’m pleased to announce that your engagement with Stephen Mario my partners don is set ” he stated

“STEPHEN MARIO” I shook my head in refusal As I flash backed to my regular thoughts again

‘Harrietta I can’t wait to meet your parents ’ he had said one particular evening

Laughing hard that day I replied ‘ let’s see then ‘

The snap of my mothers fingers interrupted my thoughts

“ you see dear main reason she has to get married one word to her and she zones off thinking about what I have no idea of ” mother said

I ran upstairs crying “Harriet get back here ” mother shouted

Opening my room door with force I knelt down crying and yelling

“Why ?! Does the world have to pay me like this Why did you leave me here alone?!

You promised we would spend our lives together

You never break your promises so why did you break this one ” I kept yelling

“ just tell me it’s a prank and the nightmare that

took place four years Ago never happened Please Zack !!!!!” I yelled

I crouched down as I sobbed harder hiccuping till I slept off on the floor

When I woke up from my sleep I was reminded that I had slept on a hard surface as the pains on my body was an evidence

My door clicked open as mother came in

“Dress up properly Stephen is here to take you on a date ” she said

“ I’m not going not interested ” I replied

“Listen young lady I’m not here to banter words with you or seek for your opinion you will get up

and dress properly your fiancée is waiting downstairs for you ” she said banging the door behind her

I wasn’t surprised mother always disliked Zack

She felt my relationship with him would destroy her social status, life

In her words she said ‘ being mocked by your friends for having a poor middle class son in-law is not one of the things I have on my bucket list Harriet , you better stop that joke you think would lead to a happily ever after and hang out with peers’

It has always been Status , wealth , fame , awards , rich friends to her

I feel I was just an experiment to them used to gain something in return

I used to be a jovial girl who loved adventures and would not miss a carnival I always felt secure

After the incident I totally changed the panic attacks , popping of pills ,I couldn’t do anything for my self I avoided carnivals like plague

Lifting my self up I moved to my closet pulling out a T shirt as I tried to avoid the memories from clouding my head again

I realized I needed to speak to my therapist before it gets late .

I couldn’t keep this burden by my self again I felt so suffocated with the shadows of the past

I guess I tried my best I acted strong but was that enough ? I wondered

Could they have been a better way to suppress the pain or would people have acted stronger than I did , leaving the past behind them . I thought

Realization dawned as I thought what if I was truly a “LUNATIC” like mother said