The trip


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Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels


Mrs Anderson paced back and forth across the room, deep in thought. She was trying to think of a befitting punishment for her daughter Martha. Martha used to be a very nice, hardworking, and obedient girl until her father passed.

He was on his way to pick her from school when he got in the accident that hospitalized him for weeks and ultimately ended his life. Martha loved him so much and she was devastated. She kept blaming herself. Her mother had told her multiple times that it wasn't her fault but it didn't stop her from feeling guilty. Ironically she was the only one who didn't cry at his funeral.

When her father died Martha began to distance herself from everyone including her mother. She'd always leave the house without permission and return late at night. A couple times she wouldn't even come home at all. Her grades started dropping. Before she was an excellent student, always among the top of the class, but now she was barely passing. Her mother was already getting frustrated with her attitude, and now she got into a fight and got herself suspended. Her mother was furious.

The tip-tap of her footsteps snapped her mother out of her thoughts.

"Where are you going?" her mum said angrily.

"I have to go see my friends over at —"

"Shut up" her mum interrupted "you just got suspended and all you can think of is to go see your friends? In fact you're grounded till your suspension is over. And give me your phone."

"But —"

"Give me your phone." she shouted

She brought out her phone from her Jean pocket and handed it over to her mum before mumbling and heading back upstairs to her room.

Her mother sighed deeply

"What happened to my sweet little girl?" She asked no one in particular.

She grabbed a bottle of wine and a glass cup from the cellar and went back to reading her book on parenting. It just so happened to be that the chapter she was reading involved consciously trying to spend time with the child or children. She looked at Martha's phone as it lay on the table.

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The next day she canceled all her work appointments. By around 10am she went to knock on Martha's door.

"Aren't you coming down to eat breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry." Martha replied

"Oh I'm sorry let me rephrase that. Come down for breakfast!"

"Fine, give me a minute. "Martha said.

In next to no time she was downstairs and they had breakfast together. Martha was already rushing to get back to her room when her mum stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

"My room." Martha replied

"What's it with you and your room? Stay here, let's watch some TV together." Martha's mum suggested

"No thank you, I'm good. And besides, don't you have work to do?"

"For your information,I'm totally free today. You can choose not to watch a movie with me,but in the evening we are heading out together." Martha's mum said

"What if I don't want to"

"Then you won't get your phone back, but if you do, I'll give you your phone." Martha's mum smirked evilly

"Fine, I'll come. Where?" Martha asked.

"It's a secret."

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By 3pm Martha's mum went to knock on her door.

"Are you In the mood for some adventure?" She asked childishly

"Whatever mum" Martha said as she grabbed her shoes from the shoe rack.

They both went downstairs and hopped into her mother's black Hyundai Tucson.

"You still haven't told me where we are going." Martha said

"I said it's a secret." Her mother replied.

The journey was quite long and Martha fell asleep on the way.

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"We are here" Her mother said while tapping her to get up.

Martha opened her eyes slowly to a very familiar location. It was the hill her and her dad used to visit when she was a lot younger

"Why did you bring me here? You shouldn't have brought me here." Martha said as tears began to fall out of her eyes.

Her mother pulled her closer and patted her back.

"There, let it all out." —she continued consoling her for a while. "You know you're the only one who didn't cry when he left." Martha's mum said.

"The only reason I didn't cry was because I didn't believe he was gone." Martha said, wiping her tears.

They just sat in the car and stared at the hill for a while.

"You know mum, when you said we were going on an adventure I didn't have this in mind." Martha ended the silence

"Me neither." her mum replied

They both stepped out of the car and climbed up the hill. Sharing various tales of her father along the way.

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