✅ My Sister's Problem

98. Aftercare

I was terrified of the giant machine, like it was going to hurt me or something. I couldn't stop crying, and I couldn't even bring myself to stop walking. But when Mommy and Lindy were both holding on to me, they managed to get me to move. Somewhere deep down, I still knew that I was just playing a role, but I didn't allow myself to be aware of that for now. So there was just the childish fear flooding my mind, keeping me from thinking about anything else.

I couldn't see where I was going through the tears, so I just had to trust Mum to lead me forward. I couldn't hear them cooing and telling me that everything was going to be okay, either. It was like a mini nightmare as we had to walk right through the middle of the machines, with lengths of twine flying past just a few feet over our heads. We didn't stop to watch the big loading bins, and the machines spat out wrapped and labelled balls of cord one by one. They just herded me towards the exit, and pushed open a heavy door that seemed excellent for drowning out the sound. There was another room back here, filled with the dull thump-thump-thump of the machine running next door, and decorated with local artists' renditions of the machine in a dozen different styles. But we didn't stop here either. I ran for the outside door as soon as I saw it, almost tripping over my feet in my haste. But when I reached the door, Mum was right there beside me to push it open so that I could go through, and Lindy was quick to grab my hand again before I could run away.

"Are you okay, Sally?" Mum asked. "Was that all a bit too much for the little baby? How about we get you a little treat next?"

I didn't really know what she was asking, but I looked up at the word 'treat'. And then Mum didn't lead me straight back to the main ropewalk, but to another, smaller building. It was, according to the sign outside, a family business that had refused to move as the twine factory site had expanded. For years it had been a little independent island surrounded by the many buildings of a twine plant, reachable only by a narrow alley between the backs of two warehouses, but somehow that only seemed to make it more popular among local schoolchildren. Now, Johnsson's Ice Cream shop was a part of the museum as well, decorated with sepia-tinged photos of the proprietor, his father, and his grandfather over the shop's history. There was still a counter at the back for school kids who wanted to get their icecream without entering the museum, but it was only tourists inside the little building.

I was still scared and crying, but found my laughter again when Mommy bought me a bowl of icecream with a complex name that I couldn't remember a second later.

"Was that too much for you?" she asked, after I'd had a few bites. I wasn't sure how to answer. I'd been terrified, but I had also felt more like a real child than I ever had before. And it was hard to know if that was something I wanted or not. I put all the big girl thoughts to one side for a minute, and dug into my sweet treat. I laughed at brain freeze, and let myself not notice that I was getting half of it all over my face. Mum smiled at me, and produced a cloth from somewhere to wipe the icecream off my face, but there was always more before I could get all of it.

"Is there a word to make her a messy eater?" Lindy asked. "I don't remember that one."

"I think she's just playing along," Mum answered. "You did keep telling her she has to act like a real baby, after all. Or it could be that the fear one has left her feeling more babyish, so it's automatic to act in the ways she imagines a baby might."

"Like it's scared all the adulthood out of her. What a baby! You should have never let her grow up, she's so much cuter like this."

"You're right there," Mum said, and pinched my cheek to elicit another chuckle. "She's adorable, and there's a part of me wishing that she could stay like that forever. But then I'd miss out on all the things she's going to achieve. Maybe she'll be a major sports star or something, and I'd be even happier to see her grow up."