This Year Caitlain McAuley
“ Maybe this year will be different .”
I lay among my soft bed covers , barely stirring , even as the alarm clock screamed in my ear . The room around me spun every time I dared to open my eyes , casting everything I knew into a chaotic blur . I felt ... disconnected from reality , as if all ties I had with it had been severed by a malicious , unknown being . Still , I knew that my family were waiting for me downstairs .
Begrudgingly , I heaved myself out of bed , blindly fumbling for the clock on my bedside cabinet . I lifted my hands to my eyes , rubbing them raw . Honestly , I felt like allowing my body to collapse , giving up on all I had strived for that morning . Thing is , I didn ’ t . I understood why my relations wished to see me , but I saw no reason in it . I had to pretend that I enjoyed the torture of listening to grandma ’ s tales of “ the good old days ”, and dad ’ s roast dinner . Somehow , he always managed to incinerate anything anyone trusted him to cook ( although to be quite honest nobody ever trusted him to even enter the kitchen ). There was also my mother , who insisted on bringing out all the embarrassing photos of my youth , particularly the ones of when I was in the bath . Finally , there ’ s my sister . Ever since we were young , we ’ ve been rivals to the core . Everything has always been a competitive sport .
The event I had been absolutely dreading was here … Easter Dinner .