Based on a True Story

“What can I do? I get so tired from his screaming,” Ruti said in a weak, apologetic voice. “I can’t take it anymore.”

“His screaming and the neighbors.”

Ruti averted her gaze, a rare occurrence. “Yes. The neighbors don’t like me. They pretend to smile at me and ask how I am, but they keep going up the steps without waiting to hear the answer. They’re always looking at my children. They think I’m not a good mother. I know that.”

Ruti’s voice was filled with pain. Her therapist, Ohaliva Nitzan, looked at her in admiring silence.

She would not say, “What do you mean, Ruti dear? You’re a wonderful mother! It’s just your imagination. I’m sure your neighbors respect you for who you are. They’re not looking at your children, because they know that you’re caring for them so well.”

It wasn’t true, nor would it be productive to deny reality.

*******

– Who is Ruti Estherson and why isn’t she a good mother?
– Is there a chance she will ever catch up to society’s standards?
– Or will her teenage daughter Rocha die of embarrassment first?

By Pnina Paksher, author of Fear of Falling.