thinking is one of the most stressful things i've come across
There's a reason Ida never likes to talk about her past. Partly because opening up to people is not something she rarely ever does, but also because she likes to forget about her parents and the pool and concentrate on Doctor Gashly, his clinic and his patients. To her, they are family.
Her real family, however, isn't nearly as big or as loving and caring as the Gashlys. She was born an only child, to a father who was never around and a mother who honestly didn't seem to give two shits about her. They fed her, clothed her, sent her off to school and the rest of the time pretended they didn't have a daughter. She was constantly reminded that she was a mistake and they never asked for a kid.
When Ida was five, her father had an affair with a work colleague of his. She witnessed her mother and father screaming at each other well past her bedtime because nobody had put her to bed. She saw her mother crying at the kitchen table and was then told to fuck off and leave her alone. And, even though he hadn't been around much, she hugged her daddy and tried her hardest to get him to stay because she liked him better than mommy.He left.
After that, her mother seemed more distant and uncaring that usual. Ida learnt to stay quiet and keep out of her business. Although not naturally a quiet kid, she tried her best to shut up and not bother people because bothering made mommy sad and she didn't like it when she was sad. There was one time when she mentioned her father and her mother flew off in a rage. Ida got scared and made sure she never mentioned him again.
Her and her mom got lucky about three months after the divorce was finalized. A relative who she had never even heard of had left them some money and if you add that to the money from the divorce settlement, Ida and her mother were pretty well off. Without talking to Ida about it, her mother decided to move house and get away from the place that ad so many memories. Their new house wasn't a whole lot bigger than the other one, but pretty comfy for two people, and the location was just beautiful. They were just a hop, skip and a jump away from a lake and in the middle of a beautiful countryside.
Ida had always wanted to go down and swim in the lake but her mother, actually being responsible for once, told her not to go down and just stay in the house. She did what she was told. Until one day when her mother went out to the store. The sun was high in the sky, the water was glistening and still and looked so inviting. And little Ida was sure nothing bad could happen at all.
She grabbed a swimming costume, a pair of shorts and a towel and ran down as quick as she could, anxious to get in the water. She had always loved swimming and even though her mother had only taken her a few times, had taken to it naturally. Still, she was only young at the time and so even natural ability couldn't have stopped what happened. She went to the end of the jetty and stuck her hand in, testing the water. It was ice cold, of course, not even the warm summers day could help with that. A little nervously, she stripped down and put on her bathing suit, and the shorts to keep warm, and dangled her legs in the water. She couldn't tell how deep it was because the water was murky, but she thought it couldn't be that bad.
She was wrong.
She slid off the jetty and into the water and nearly screamed at how cold the water was. He feet immediately started kicking around, searching for some place she could stand on, but she found nothing. Her head was only just above the water and she was scared that if she couldn't find someplace to stand soon, her head would start dipping below the water. She tried to swim but just managed to swim out further and further and when she realized what was happening, she was too far out to swim back. So she started to panic.
Her head started slipping below the icy waters and she got mouthfuls of water and dirt. She was coughing and spluttering, thrashing her arms wildly and kicking her legs violently in an effort to get back to the jetty. Her lungs filled with water and she couldn't breathe, gasping for air. The cold water made it even harder for her to fight, even more difficult to move and swim. When her head slipped below the water all she could see was murky, black water and she was scared, terrified, that would be the last thing she could remember. She swallowed water. She choked. Her head bobbed above the water one more time and she caught a glimpse of her mother. Then she slipped under again. Everything went black.
The first thing Ida remembers about being resuscitated was the throwing up afterwards and coughing for a few minutes straight. Then she remembers her mother's face. And although she was expecting her to at least look happy she didn't drown, she was just angry that Ida had disobeyed her. And really, what what worse than the drowning and the throwing up and the coughing, was her mother's expression.
To this day she's not sure exactly what made her do it. But after being brought back she kicked up and fuss and screamed and cried and shouted at her mother. She pretended that she was still dead, refusing to believe otherwise. Ida didn't have a clue what she was doing, she only knew that she was angry and wanted her mother to feel bad.
Everything after that was a mess of memories. Nurses and doctors, a hospital, everybody asking if she was okay, her chest feeling sore, Doctor Gashlycrumb, a car ride to a big white building, being utterly terrified of water ever since and not ever being able to forget how angry her mom was.
And the rest, as they say, is history~
Her real family, however, isn't nearly as big or as loving and caring as the Gashlys. She was born an only child, to a father who was never around and a mother who honestly didn't seem to give two shits about her. They fed her, clothed her, sent her off to school and the rest of the time pretended they didn't have a daughter. She was constantly reminded that she was a mistake and they never asked for a kid.
When Ida was five, her father had an affair with a work colleague of his. She witnessed her mother and father screaming at each other well past her bedtime because nobody had put her to bed. She saw her mother crying at the kitchen table and was then told to fuck off and leave her alone. And, even though he hadn't been around much, she hugged her daddy and tried her hardest to get him to stay because she liked him better than mommy.He left.
After that, her mother seemed more distant and uncaring that usual. Ida learnt to stay quiet and keep out of her business. Although not naturally a quiet kid, she tried her best to shut up and not bother people because bothering made mommy sad and she didn't like it when she was sad. There was one time when she mentioned her father and her mother flew off in a rage. Ida got scared and made sure she never mentioned him again.
Her and her mom got lucky about three months after the divorce was finalized. A relative who she had never even heard of had left them some money and if you add that to the money from the divorce settlement, Ida and her mother were pretty well off. Without talking to Ida about it, her mother decided to move house and get away from the place that ad so many memories. Their new house wasn't a whole lot bigger than the other one, but pretty comfy for two people, and the location was just beautiful. They were just a hop, skip and a jump away from a lake and in the middle of a beautiful countryside.
Ida had always wanted to go down and swim in the lake but her mother, actually being responsible for once, told her not to go down and just stay in the house. She did what she was told. Until one day when her mother went out to the store. The sun was high in the sky, the water was glistening and still and looked so inviting. And little Ida was sure nothing bad could happen at all.
She grabbed a swimming costume, a pair of shorts and a towel and ran down as quick as she could, anxious to get in the water. She had always loved swimming and even though her mother had only taken her a few times, had taken to it naturally. Still, she was only young at the time and so even natural ability couldn't have stopped what happened. She went to the end of the jetty and stuck her hand in, testing the water. It was ice cold, of course, not even the warm summers day could help with that. A little nervously, she stripped down and put on her bathing suit, and the shorts to keep warm, and dangled her legs in the water. She couldn't tell how deep it was because the water was murky, but she thought it couldn't be that bad.
She was wrong.
She slid off the jetty and into the water and nearly screamed at how cold the water was. He feet immediately started kicking around, searching for some place she could stand on, but she found nothing. Her head was only just above the water and she was scared that if she couldn't find someplace to stand soon, her head would start dipping below the water. She tried to swim but just managed to swim out further and further and when she realized what was happening, she was too far out to swim back. So she started to panic.
Her head started slipping below the icy waters and she got mouthfuls of water and dirt. She was coughing and spluttering, thrashing her arms wildly and kicking her legs violently in an effort to get back to the jetty. Her lungs filled with water and she couldn't breathe, gasping for air. The cold water made it even harder for her to fight, even more difficult to move and swim. When her head slipped below the water all she could see was murky, black water and she was scared, terrified, that would be the last thing she could remember. She swallowed water. She choked. Her head bobbed above the water one more time and she caught a glimpse of her mother. Then she slipped under again. Everything went black.
The first thing Ida remembers about being resuscitated was the throwing up afterwards and coughing for a few minutes straight. Then she remembers her mother's face. And although she was expecting her to at least look happy she didn't drown, she was just angry that Ida had disobeyed her. And really, what what worse than the drowning and the throwing up and the coughing, was her mother's expression.
To this day she's not sure exactly what made her do it. But after being brought back she kicked up and fuss and screamed and cried and shouted at her mother. She pretended that she was still dead, refusing to believe otherwise. Ida didn't have a clue what she was doing, she only knew that she was angry and wanted her mother to feel bad.
Everything after that was a mess of memories. Nurses and doctors, a hospital, everybody asking if she was okay, her chest feeling sore, Doctor Gashlycrumb, a car ride to a big white building, being utterly terrified of water ever since and not ever being able to forget how angry her mom was.
And the rest, as they say, is history~