Mr.Pelton and His Five Children

Helping Mama

And just like she said, Annabel has stayed in her room and has not stepped a foot outside. She spends most of her days trying to sleep and trying to sort through her emotions, or, more often than not, from the field outside she could be seen sitting at the window seat and gazing out in to the open with a sort of lost expression on her face.

"It's been five days. Five days!" Sam whailed, "That's it, I'm going in."

"Good luck trying, George and I already did." Maggie dejectedly said. Her and George tried to get Annabel out of the room, but were never successful. It was very hard for all of them to know that their mama was so close yet still out of reach, it was driving them insane.

Sam grabbed Tam by one hand, Margot by the other and marched with them out of the play room and to Annabel's room a few doors over.

"Ready, on the count of three." Sam told his sisters, they both nodded and when he counted down from three, they all screamed at the top of their lungs.

Richard, startled, dropped his pen and ran up the stairs to where his children's screams were. He was just in time to see them walk into Annabels room with big smiles on their faces.

"How are they allowed inside?" He grumbled to himself and went up to the door, only to hear the lock. He groaned and went back downstairs. She didn't even let him in, why did they get to go in? Was screaming the secret password?

"Why did you scream?" Annabel asked and went back to her previous window seat.

"How else would you let us in?" Sam asked and they walked up to her, but it was very very clear that she wasn't doing very well.

Her skin was pale and there was bags under her eyes, and since she's only eaten two meals throughout the entire five days of staying in her room, she was starting to loose weight.

"Mama you're tired?" Margot asked and tried to climb up on Annabel's lap, but Annabel wasn't paying attention to her, she was looking at a butterfly out the door.

"Hmm, isn't it too early for butterflies?" She mumbled and placed a finger on the window, and the butterfly landed on the other side. It lifted one of its legs, placed it on the spot Annabel's finger was on for a few moments, and then took off again.

"Don't climb up Mar. Mama is tired." Tam said and dragged Margot off, only then did Annabel remember that they were in her room.

"You didn't need to scream to get my attention. You could have just asked." She got up and herded them to the door. "Thank you for checking in, don't worry, I will get better." She kissed each of their heads and gently pushed them out the door and locked it behind them.

"We need a plan." Sam said, barging into George's room with his two sisters. Maggie was also there.

"Oh, did you not get in?" She teased.

"We did." Tam said, "but we need to help mama."

"You can't help someone if they aren't willing to accept it." George said from his spot on his desk. He was hunched over a piece of paper.

"What are you doing?" Margot asked.

"Nothing that concerns you."

"So you got in?" Maggie asked, she got up from her laying down position on George's bed. 

"Yes, but Mama looks really tired. She has dark circles under her eyes." Sam pulled his cheeks down. "And she looks really white."

"Pale?" George corrected.

"Yes pale." Sam nodded, "and she's skinnier because she doesn't eat."

"I wish I were skinnier." Maggie huffed at her body.