Not Today

Overcome with sadness, Elyse struggled to pull herself out of bed. The gray of winter sapped what little strength she had left. Her eyes traced the lines of the crown molding on her ceiling. She remembered designing every intricate detail of her bedroom. Picking out the colors and fabrics that would adorn her dream home had been so satisfying. She’d come from nothing and worked hard to make something of herself. The only thing she ever wanted was a space to call her own. A somewhere that would erase the memories of the many temporary places she inhabited as a child in foster care. She held tight to her handwoven sheets and cried into the imported duvet that she held so dear. A month ago she wouldn’t have dared to sully her prized security blanket. But now, “what was the point” she thought. She was losing the house to foreclosure, her bank account was empty and the man the trusted with her life had betrayed her and stolen everything she had. Money, to her, had been her salvation from the poverty of her childhood. She hated herself for not guarding it with her life. She should have smelled his desperation.