By Ada Mina, with characters by PD James
18-year-old Mick Dalgliesh inherited the dark good looks of his parents, though he never had much interest in his parents’ literary pursuits. He likes Goth bands like Sisters of Mercy and listens to their songs on his playlist, but he wondered if he did this because neither of his parents saw each other anymore. The last time he saw his father was when he was 16, the time he became a legal adult. Perhaps Adam Dalgliesh lost interest in his wife, Emma, and he’d often write poems about dying. Mick thought he was probably suicidal, since he expressed a desire to kill himself whenever he wasn’t feeling good.
Adam rarely feels good ever since he lost his first wife and child, no woman would ever satisfy him, not even Emma. In fact, whenever he gets upset she’d administer medicine to him and sometimes he takes it, but at other times he found it utterly unnecessary that he’d go away from her for long periods of time. So he often visited the pub, with a notebook and a pen in his hand. He often feels guilty for not being a good husband to Emma and not a good enough father for Mick that he’d drink everyday to numb it, he’d even frequently submit those morbid poems to magazines and websites. Mick felt alarmed because it’s like he wants to kill himself.
He tried to stop his father from drinking and writing those, but he rarely stopped so he got hospitalised many times over. Emma didn’t like being alone and would often seek the company of other men to keep herself calm, but oftentimes sleeping around with them and sometimes having flings with bodybuilders and footballers. Mick doesn’t like that whenever she brought along a new man to their house, he’d often leave her for his friends, Danielle Mercer and Abe Haskins. He’d hang out at their houses to play Sisters of Mercy songs on their computers and smartphones when he has the time to, since Emma would take him back him even when he didn’t feel like it.
Once again, Emma brought home a new man and his name is Brian Murphy. She met him before while feeding foxes together, so they’d visit each other whenever they went out to feed those animals. Murphy is a few years older than Mick, he has high cheekbones, light brown hair and preternaturally blue eyes. Emma found him to be very attractive and would kiss him often whenever he came here, but Mick doesn’t like that and went to his bedroom to avoid seeing her with another man. In his room, he plays ‘More’. Though alone and bereft of his friends, at least he wouldn’t see his mum flirting with another man for long.
Then he starts emailing his friends to come over to his house, so that he wouldn’t feel so lonely for long. He waits for awhile, hoping they’ll arrive and come to his rescue. Then these two finally arrived at the doorstep, Danielle with her dyed and teased blue-black hair, black tights, combat boots and little black dress met Emma. She closely inspects her unusual appearance, those curiously blonde eyebrows and roots of hers and her thick eyeliner. Emma believed her to be suspicious though she’s oblivious of the fact that she herself often makes out with any man she finds in Adam’s absence.
Abe Haskins looks more normal, with his blond hair tied in a ponytail, black Sisters of Mercy shirt, bifocal glasses and blue jeans. Then he starts talking.
‘Madam, where’s Mick?’
Then Danielle followed.
‘He told us to come over here, so where is he?’
‘He’s in his bedroom. Who are you both?’
‘My name is Danielle Mercer, nice to meet you. What’s yours?’
‘Emma Lavenham-Dalgliesh. Why do you dress like that?’
‘It’s my style, don’t get too worked over it.’
‘I’m Abe Haskins, studying psychology in uni.’
Then Mick arrives and takes the two in his room, but Emma wasted no time introducing both of them to her new boyfriend.
‘Danielle, Abe, this is Brian.’
‘Hi Dani, hi Abe.’
Then Mick retorted.
‘Mum, this is embarrassing!’
He shooed her away, along with her boyfriend to be alone with his. Mick has been embarrassed by his mother’s promiscuity, wondering why she never bothered bringing back Adam since he told her to. But then again Adam would make himself disappear for long periods of time, making it hard to find him so Mick contacts him whenever Emma gets a new boyfriend every time. That Adam got hospitalised for his depression and alcoholism made him grow fonder of him in some way, despite being equally appalled by his suicidal tendencies. With Danielle and Abe, he found comfort and solace. They’ll never betray him, they’ll never abandon him even if they themselves mess up.
Danielle with her commitment to her biology studies, Abe’s commitment to psychology and that Mick works as a DJ in his spare time. Mick also never really liked how Emma would come home smelling of foxes, telling her to stop feeding them even though it’s taking a toll on her hygiene. He did his best to keep her company, often talking to her about his favourite books (his were often about Goth bands and rock music in general) and reading his father’s poems out loud. But he knew that his father lost interest in her, not that he disliked her but he grew more aloof from her the worse his depression got. Adam never legally separated from Emma, but over time they led separate lives.
Emma with her foxes and boyfriends, tending to Mick’s feelings from time to time. But he also felt that she practically forgot about Adam now, since she doesn’t see him much anymore. Looking very distressed, both Danielle and Abe played ‘Dominion’ (another one of his favourite Sisters of Mercy songs). Abe starts patting him on the back while Danielle wiped his tears, doing their best to comfort him. Mick wonders why he was born to a man who lost interest in the woman who’s his mother, why his mother would be obliged to either feed foxes or sleep with men whenever she feels lonely and distressed. His friends’ parents aren’t like that.
Danielle’s parents Steve and Janet deeply love each other, they always have each other’s backs when tragedy strikes. Both of them are deeply supportive of her career in biology, of the three she’s best equipped to put up with Emma’s habit of feeding foxes when she’s not sleeping around. Abe’s parents are also supportive of his career in psychology, where he aspires to work in that field. He’s best equipped to understand Adam’s state of mind and tendency to disappear whenever he doesn’t feel good, perhaps they are the only ones who understand what Mick’s going through.
‘Danielle, my mum keeps feeding foxes. She’s been doing this whenever my dad leaves her.’
‘You should go tell her that she should be careful with those, lest they get too familiar with people for their own good.’
‘I can’t stand the smell these buggers give off.’
‘That’s got to do with the glands in their bodies.’
‘Good point, now that I realised.’
Then Mick turns to Abe.
‘Abe, my dad keeps writing poems about wanting to kill himself. He’d do anything to leave, trying to do that.’
‘Mick, that’s a red flag. Has he been medicated or hospitalised?’
‘Many times over, sometimes by the former by my mum.’
‘I better find him, can you accompany me to the hospital he’s in? It’s somewhere here.’
The three went outside to find him, with Mick telling them where he has been. Minutes turn to hours when they finally arrive there, looking for him whenever they can. Then they go on asking where Adam Dalgliesh is, they say that he’s somewhere upstairs. Looking for the room where he could be, they went left and right for it. Eventually Mick spotted his father taking medicine from a nurse, his bandaged arms a sign of self-harm.
‘Hi, Dad. It’s me Mick, haven’t seen you in a long while.’
‘Mick, I feel like s—.’
‘Why?’
‘I’m not good enough, everything I do is wrong.’
‘Sometimes I feel I’m not good enough either, that I should’ve stopped her from cheating sooner than later.’
‘I don’t like it whenever she forces me to take medicine. Actually I don’t like being medicated much, it’s demoralising.’
‘Good evening, Adam, it’s me Danielle. Mick’s worried about you and he wants to see you.’
‘Adam, I’m Abe. Can I help you?’
Adam withdrew from them, locking up the room when he told them to. He goes on writing poems again, away from their sight and alone with the nurse. Mick felt disappointed because he wanted to see him again, but he pushes people away. Nothing can make him happy, even those who love him the most. They all go to Danielle’s house, Mick feels safer but still yearns for his father. Isolated, even with people by his side.
fynm 