The Numbers in my Head

by Isabella Marcellino

When I wake up I see the cradle where my baby Abitha sleeps rocking a bit back and forth. Two seconds later there is a big scream. “Shhhhhhhh!” I whisper to her, and pull the covers filled with straw off of me so I go rock the cradle back and forth so she can get back to sleep. I try my best to hear the crinkle of the straw over the sound of the crying baby. I check off “cradle time #1” in my head. I have a bad habit of doing math in my head and counting how many times I do different actions. Of course, it isn’t like the math that the higher classes are taught, but I can count to 70, and I’m very proud of it. Anyway, I had talked to my husband, John, about my math problem.I had heard stories of similar women who turned out to be possessed by demons. He said that he was worried for me because no woman should think about math at any time when she should be thinking about her children. This made me very upset, but I tried to hide it because I knew he could hurt me if he wanted to. He is very strong and likes to use his anger on other people. He works as a gunsmith and goes out hunting very often. I have learned to never speak to someone about my personal thoughts ever again.