Disastrous Holiday in the style of a Tragic Drama

Nina

The pink pelicans stand on one leg in the volcanic landscape of Bonaire. The heat is unbearable, the sea is at least half an hour drive away. Why my parents decided to go on a hiking trip on this particular, 33 degrees Celsius day, is a mystery to me. Why my parents decided to go on holiday together in the first place, is another mystery to me. The sweat dribbles off my face, and I stare onto the sandy horizon.
All I can see is rock, lizards crawling around. My father and mother do not speak. Not after the fight in our apartment this morning. As we walk on in silence, the three of us, my father makes a remark about my way of walking. My walk is, according to him, a disgrace to my womanhood. I feel the argument coming before they even know it themselves. My mother grunts. ‘What?’ my father seems to be saying with his look. Here we go.
“Well”, my mother starts, “I don’t think Nina would be walking like this if you would have listened to the doctor when she was a baby.”
Oh no, please, not this again.
I wish my brother was here, at least we could team up, at least we could have some humour about this. But the cold, icy truth stings me, thinking about him hurts too much. It’s too soon.
Dark clouds cast over the sun. The sandy atmosphere of the surroundings changes to one of darkness, as my parents start shouting at each other.
“You should never break a child’s will!” I hear my father yelling. “She did not want to wear that horrible thing, so I did not want to force her.”
“Oh what?” my mother screams, “It had nothing to with will. It had to do with what is best for the child, and at that moment she should have worn that harness! You have never known what’s best for a child, you are so incredibly selfish.”
My father looks purple.
“I think it’s utterly normal to prevent a child from wearing some horrible harness, as you call it, which would prevent her to sleep, so that her legs can be violently pushed in the right direction! That is against nature!”
My mother is now walking so fast, that we can hardly keep up with her.
“I - hate - you!”
The words echoes over the darkened landscape. A couple of pelicans are startled by the sound and spread their wings. I wish I could fly away with them, high above these dark clouds, to a place of peace and quiet.

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