Nobody's Property Illustrated Series #2

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Fashion After 40 doesn't have to be boring

Clia Foster stood in front of her bedroom mirror, scrutinizing her reflection. She couldn't help but wonder if her clothing choices were still age-appropriate. At 44, nearly 45, she felt caught between trying to maintain a sense of style and an idea still in the back of her head about what was appropriate for someone her age to wear. As she examined the black faux leather pants and print shirt she'd gotten at a thrift store when she was much younger, and was still in love with, doubt crept into Clia's mind.

Her stepdaughter Sasha Willis walked into the room. Though Sasha didn't even think of herself as being all that fashion-forward, Clia valued her opinion greatly. "What do you think, Sasha?" she asked, gesturing towards her outfit with uncertainty. "Should I still be wearing stuff like this."

Sasha's eyes danced across Clia's reflection. She smiled warmly and said, "Come on, Clia...you always look fabulous! I get that someone born in 1985 might still be a lot more hung up on archaic concepts of age appropriate fashion than someone born in 2006, but age is just a number. You can wear whatever makes you feel confident and comfortable." Clia couldn't help but feel reassured by Sasha's words. Maybe she didn't need to second-guess her fashion choices so much after all."

Meanwhile, Clia's biological daughter Nadia, nearly a decade younger than Sasha, reflected on possibilities why her mother frequently forgot who she even was. On the night of June 23, 2030, after Nadia had killed her own biological grandfather, Percy Barnett, and saved both of them, Clia suffered from a heart attack which led into a stroke. Though she still spoke normally, Clia's memory had taken a hit. Thankfully, as far as Nadia was concerned, her mother did not remember her awful biological father, Percy Barnett, at all.

Nadia suspected that the reasons behind Clia's selective memory loss were deeply rooted in pain. Percy had abused Clia when she was a child, and Nadia herself had been forced to shoot him in self-defense many years later, before her mother's very eyes. While the act had saved their lives, it had also traumatized them both.

As Nadia pondered these thoughts, she couldn't help but feel conflicted. On one hand, she was relieved that she no longer remembered that psychopath, yet on the other hand, she realized that the consequence of that may also always include her mother completely forgetting who she is, perhaps even forever one day.

As Clia looked into the mirror, she allowed herself a smile. "You're right, Sasha. Fashion after 40 doesn't have to be boring. We really have to get away from the notion that people have to stop wearing certain things after certain ages." While Sasha reassured Clia about her clothing choices, Nadia came to the realization of the probability that she, too, had inadvertently contributed to her mother's anguish from the incidents of that night, and tears flowed from her face like a waterfall.

Nobody's Property illustrated series is published on nobodysproperty.com by Blake Hutchison dba Sansevieria Media. All rights reserved.

© Nobody's Property Illustrated Series, copyright 2018- | all rights reserved. This illustrated series is for entertainment purposes only. Please do not attempt any homicidal, vigilante, or other illegal acts.