9 May 2025, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2731: familiar face
“So, yeah, I did see a familiar face – I saw everybody who didn't do right, and I decided that it all ends today with all them and I'm not sorry because not only is nobody going to hurt me again, but nobody is going to hurt Glendella, Amanda, Eleanor, and not even my brothers Robert, Grayson, George, and Andrew although they were coming with a whole Lego tank and kinda know to take care of themselves.”
Capt. R.E. Ludlow, quietly listening to his eight-year-old granddaughter Edwina talking to the family therapist, shook his head while his grandsons were sitting on the ready-made Lego tank they had whipped up in five minutes because they thought Big Glendella Ludlow was going to try to take their cousin Glendella back. They were just calmly waiting their turn, but, when even calm Andrew was saying, “Yeah, Papa, we are as mad as a bad hailstorm at just about all our relatives but you and Grandma and Cousin Harry and Cousin Maggie, and also mad at most of our foster parents, and we just decided we're not going to take it any more,” it was obvious all seven Ludlow grandchildren were triggered.
Edwina had ten-year-old Glendella on one side and seven-year-old Amanda on the other, with eleven-year-old Eleanor behind her, all hugged up in support, and Capt. and Mrs. Thalia Ludlow learned something new while the warrior heir of the captain told more of her story.
“So, I'm really done with all you adult people right now except the ones that have been consistent, because I'm not supposed to be good at this, but, while we were at the airport when Amanda and I were supposed to be going to our new life with our real Ludlow grandparents, her foster parents decided to use their last day free before sentencing to try to do something dumb before the security gate because they blamed Amanda for them getting jacked up. I broke bad and handled the situation – TSA is too slow!”
“What?” Capt. and Mrs. Ludlow said.
“Never underestimate what I can do with some rolling luggage on a escalator!” Edwina said. “You're about to go down that thing the hard way!”
It had been listed as an accident, because Edwina was too short to be seen, but, yeah … a couple of people running up a down escalator trying to beat the crowd to the top had tumbled down after somehow a big bag had been rolled down from the top and undercut their legs.
“I was so scared, because I knew they wanted to hurt me, but, Edwina,” Amanda said, and snuggled her big sister even more.
“I'm about to start getting up with my brother Lil' Robert and working out with him and Papa because I don't play about mine and we're not going to do this!” Edwina said. “I'm trying to be a sweet little girl, but I'm gonna need you adults to get started doing right or get ended!”
“I've never seen my grandmother run like that,” Glendella said, “but, she needed to get away from here and never come back, and it was nice of Big Cousin Robert – I mean, Papa, as of today – to have her Rolls Royce towed to where she can get it later.”
Mrs. Thalia Ludlow restrained a guffaw – that car was going to be sold for impound fees, because Big Glendella had been put into the same asylum her husband was in, and her daughter Julia was not going to be bothered to spend the money to get the car back. Capt. Ludlow had broken bad too. He just was more subtle than Edwina.
“And this is why we have family therapy,” Dr. Grace Snyder said, “so we can talk about the things as a family that we need to have understood so we can help each other. Did you not think your grandfather was going to handle the situation, Edwina – did you feel unsafe?”
“No – I just got so mad when that woman tried to hurt Glendella I forgot – I kinda don't remember anything until Papa was carrying me back home from way down the street.”
“I'm told you chased for half a mile,” Dr. Snyder said.
“See, I'm like my brother Rob now – I gotta eat more and get longer legs,” Edwina said.
“But maybe there was a better way to handle that,” Dr. Snyder said.
“Yeah, because my brothers were right there with the tank,” Edwina said, “but I forgot.”
“That's called a blackout, Edwina,” Dr. Snyder said gently. “A lot of people who go through a lot of stuff sometimes have those as they tap into whatever they feel they need to do to survive – when they are triggered.”
“Well, yeah, I was definitely triggered, because I'm not doing this and nobody around me is doing it,” Edwina said. “Amanda looks out for everybody to make sure they are safe and if they are not, I take care of that!”
“But maybe if you remember you don't have to do that any more,” Dr. Snyder said.
“Well, yeah,” Edwina said. “Papa was right there. I just forgot.”
“Would you like to learn some memory games to help you remember better?”
“I would.”
“Can we get some of that?” nine-year-old George said as he got off the tank, “because we forgot too and I was just about to get my homemade spit paintballs for ammunition, and then –.”
The Ludlow grandparents just walked away instead of interrupting again, went around the house arm in arm, and came back in to get back to the work at hand.