July 5, 2010
Prompt: Life had trained her not to listen.
In the back of her mind, she felt a silent desperation born of a life trimmed in constant danger. Outside her sturdy shutters, night had fallen. The beasts were already prowling, hunting any of the villagers foolish enough to venture out into the gloom or unfortunate enough to be stolen from their homes. Many times – when she was younger – she would hear the ferocity of their attacks, punctuated by the screams of the victims and followed by the resumption of incessant low growls. But life had trained her not to listen. She turned to the table and to the two dolls and Mr. Bunny waiting for her to pour so the tea party could begin. The imaginary whistle of the kettle drowned out the sounds of claws scraping at the shutters and doors.
--Jim Van Loozen, RBWG Member
***
The atmosphere in the room tightened another notch. She slowly turned her head toward the door, only a few steps away. She placed her coffee mug on the table and stood. Nodding toward the group of men she made her way toward the exit.
“Wait, aren’t you going to give us your opinion?” She shook her head and kept going. The conversation continued as voices rose in anger. Life had trained her not to listen. She had lots of experience listening and none of it turned out well. She felt a chill that had nothing to do with the inside temperature.
--Eileen Callan RBWG member
***
Life had trained her not to listen. Aren't we all like that? First, we learn not to listen from our mothers, who, as early as possible, filled our little minds with things to fear:
- Look both ways when you cross the street so that you do not get hit by a big car.
- Lock all the doors and windows whenever you go out so that a stranger will not burglarize the house while we are away.
- Do not do anything with water during a thunderstorm or you will be electrocuted.
- The newspaper reported that a child who did not have a bowel movement for 2 days died.
- Chew pieces of meat carefully so you do not choke and die.
- Do not get into cars with strangers or you will die after they do something bad to you.
- Do not take candy from strangers or you will die.
--Joanne Sinsheimer, RBWG member
***
Life had trained her not to listen very closely to the reasons she got. You had to hear them, she knew that, but you didn't need to "listen" to them. You, at least, had the advantage of knowing that reasons are inherently meaningless -- important only to the explainer. She knew better: life just happened and you just rolled with it. Reasons were the imaginary spoon full of sugar that made the medicine go down. Reasons were Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy. She loved the idea of them and remembered them fondly. A tooth under the pillow at night, a shiny quarter in the morning. But now she was properly trained and that was that.
--Tom Hoyer, RBWG member
***
Life trained her not to listen.
Their stories were the same. The men with whom she shared a bed seemed all the same. They wore shells of success on the outside. They spoke with confidence and walked standing tall. But as she perceived confidence in them, so they perceived it in her. As she felt their strength, they felt hers.
But theirs was false. Not once but three times she discovered a hollowness inside them that led to their failure and dependence on her.
She learned not to listen to the promises and the hopes for success. Their failures became hers.
Life trained her to listen to that voice inside that raised doubts and demanded alternatives.
Life trained her that nothing was easy.
Why did it take so long to learn that life’s lesson?
--Sue Towers, RBWG member
***