The Window
The Window
By: Rukhsana Afridi
“Can you please keep the window blinds open?”, I asked my mother’s boyfriend named Mark. “But, they can see inside,” responded Mark. “Who is going to look inside and who cares if they do”, I shot back. I looked through the bay window in the living room with ease. I see the tree standing beautifully situated within the green grass and bushes. The sun shining overhead like the piercing star that it is. I feel deep pleasure and delight to see this view outside my living room window. To deprive me of the sun’s radiance outside and to sit in the living room surrounded by these darken walls without daylight is mortifying to me. Ever since we followed my mother’s orders to allow Mark to move in with us, our living room has been darkened to a degree that is unsettling. Why does he want the blinds closed? Who can see inside? What is he trying to hide? Is he just trying to be annoying? Is he just paranoid? These are some if not all the questions that swirl in my mind; like a tornado, as I open the blinds again to look outside and see the wonderful view outside. This peaceful view is like being in the eye of the tornado at this moment. Thank goodness he left the room before I reopened the blinds to let daylight through. How can anyone live like this? A darkened room without natural daylight hurts my eyes and makes me feel blinder than a bat. My goodness, I would need flashlights to walk around the house because it is so dark without the blinds opened.
As I gaze at the view outside, I see chirping birds and squirrels gorging on pumpkin decorations on the lawn. Neighbors entering in and out of the house. A Fed Ex truck zooms by without even a glance at me through this window. What is this enticing fear of having the windows open? I secretly laugh behind Mark’s back at this absurdity. I continue to look out the window and then I notice a car pulls up in front of the house. “Who is that?”, I wonder. I am fascinated that the driver doesn’t come out of the car. She is just sitting in the passenger seat staring blankly ahead. It must just be someone visiting one of the neighbors. I was just about to exit the living room when my mother comes into the room telling me to close the blinds again. I said, why?” Listen, mommy, I’m not giving in to this erratic or neurotic behavior of your boyfriend”, I exclaimed sternly. No, you don’t understand Rukhsana that car has been parking in front of my house on numerous occasions”, my mother stated anxiously. “Just do me a favor and close those window blinds!”, my mother ordered.
As I reluctantly walked over by the bay window to close the blinds, I see the woman suddenly exit the car. When she got out of the car, I can see her more clearly. From the looks of her, she was an older woman. I can see age-old wrinkles and some grey in her hair that looks like she does it regularly. She had light hair and eyes. She also wore a red winter hat with a thick sweater and black pants. She approaches our house and rings the doorbell. My mother motions with hand gesticulations and tells me not to open the door. Before I think it through, I rashly answer the door. This little old lady looks at me with a worried face; crinkling her wrinkles and asks me does a man named Mark lives here. Before I could answer, my mother pushes me aside and talks to the old woman. My mother says “No, no one lives here by that name.” I am speechlessly gawking at the two women talking to each other. The old woman says, “I am his mother.” “I’m looking for a man by the name of Mark he is not well. I need to take him home”. Just then a thought zipped through my mind; like a news flash, “Gee, now I understand why Mark and my mother kept the living room window blinds closed.
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