juliet scowers {seven} fin

[solo]

juliet scowers
twelve
wild, paints with her fingers, trouble-maker, outgoing, lives with her aunt and siblings, parents disappeared, surprise baby

[solo]

Laz calls me a "surprise baby". When I ask him what that means, he says I came as a surprise present for Mum and Dad. Like on your birthday, when you don't expect much but then someone comes home with a fresh orange or some dark chocolate. I like the sound of that. I like thinking of myself as something sweet, something they got when they figured they weren't gonna get any more presents.

Mum and Dad weren't in the house a whole lot when I was little, but I remember what they were like. Mum had curly blonde hair, like me. It was hard to keep it all settled, so she'd tie it up in a knot and let a few strands hang loose. I've tried tying my hair up a couple times, but I never seem to be able to do it. Eva has battled it into two little braids, mostly for Reaping Day, but they've usually come undone by the time the sun sets. She shakes her head at me sometimes. I don't mind.

Dad's hair was thick and curly, just like Laz, and he had the same crinkles next to his eyes. I look nothing like my Dad. Mum said I have his laugh, the way it rattled deep in his chest and his whole face lit up like the sun. I don't have a deep laugh, so I never understood how she could compare the two of us. I giggle more than I laugh, anyway.

They disappeared when I was seven. Eva always seems surprised, when I tell her how well I remember them. I guess she thinks I was too little. Eva thinks I'm too little for a lot of things.

The two of them were always out of the house, always whispering, always keeping secrets. I didn't understand much of it. What I did understand was that I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, and I wasn't supposed to ask a whole lot of questions. So when Laz said we couldn't stay at the house, told us we had to move in with Aunt Louise, I didn't bother asking why. I didn't care all that much anyway. We were already living in this tiny, hole-filled cabin that froze in the winter, so I didn't mind moving into a bigger place.

I didn't know a whole lot about Aunt Louise, and, like most things, I didn't ask a whole lot about her. She was Mum's sister, but Mum didn't talk about her much. She always seemed upset when Dad mentioned her, and even that wasn't very often.

Whenever Eva and Laz talk about Aunt Louise, it either has to do with money or alcohol. Aunt Louise has too much alcohol, and not enough money. At least, that's what I've gathered. They keep saying she would've lost the house, if they hadn't moved in and started earning money for her. Laz works as a lumberjack and sells his sculptures on the side, Eva works at one of the merchant's shops in the square. I don't know why they bother. As far as I know, all their money goes into Aunt Louise's drinking.

I liked the new house. It was big and empty, with lots of rooms for exploring and playing. Eva tells me that Aunt Louise had a rich husband, and that's how she got such a nice house. He's dead now. Nobody wants to tell me how it happened.

I don't mind playing alone. I don't mind playing with other kids, either. I don't have any dolls, so when I'm alone, I have to make stuff up in my head. But that's easy. The house is my castle, and I'm the princess trapped inside. Except, I don't always like playing the princess. Most days I prefer to be the evil dragon, tearing up Aunt Louise's garden and building a fence out of twigs around the front door. I make a pretty good dragon, I think, even though Eva says I make a mess. I know she doesn't really care. The house is already messy, it's hard for me to make it any worse.

I started painting a couple years after we moved. Laz does these amazing, teeny tiny paintings, about the size of his hand. I think it's mostly because he can't afford enough good paint to cover an actual canvas. But he likes what he does too, he's always so careful, it can take him days to finish a single painting. It drove me nuts. How still he was, how dull the colors were. Why didn't he try something a little more exciting?

I figured I'd have to show him so he could understand, so I ran a couple errands in the market to earn some money, and used it to get some paint of my own. Not the expensive stuff that Laz uses. Just some cheap, pretty ones from a store that was shutting down. Who wants paint, when all we focus on is trees?

I didn't have any paintbrushes, but that didn't bother me. I used my hands. Got myself a nice big sheet of paper, and spent the afternoon covering it (and a bit of myself) in the brightest colors I could manage. It was hard, cause if I went over the same spot too many times, it started to turn this mushy brown color. So I had to be a little careful. But for the most part, I made sure to cover the thing from corner to corner. I called it my ocean. All blues and reds and greens, swirling back and forth, making fancy little twists and turns.

I think Laz had a bit of heart attack when he saw it. He doesn't like a mess, you see. He likes me, but he doesn't like my mess. And I don't think he liked my painting, either. I was alright with that. I thought it looked amazing.

[solo]

finished!

[solo]

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[gamemaker artemie 🦉nyte]

i love her! a cutie
accepted