Shepherd's Pie

My mother’s name was Allison Claire and she was famous for her Shepherd's Pie. She owned a renowned bakery. It was Christmas eve, the whole ‘Claire’ family got together. The ‘get together’ was at my mother’s house. We had a large wooden dining table on which a Shepherd's Pie, red wine, a large turkey and sweet rum balls were placed. We had a chandelier, which belonged to my great-grandmother.  It was hung in the dining room.
 My father had died by suicide. He slit his wrists and died. My mother went into depression after his death. She even had a miscarriage. After two months she finally had the courage and opened a bakery to fulfil our money requirements. Our home was very far from the city.

 One day I was coming back from a party and it was very late. A bald man came running towards me, dodged me and kept running. I found that bizarre. But I moved on. After two three days I heard a scratching sound on the main door. I was hesitant but I went to check. I opened the door carefully and saw a cute black dog. I gave it some biscuits. That day at night I heard some crows cawing. Within seconds many crows banged on my window. I was petrified. I told my mother about this incident. She said that they must be blind!! I did not agree with her opinion. A single bird can be blind but not an entire flock! I was dismayed but Chip, the black dog subdued my mood.

 One day I took it for a walk and it started barking. It yanked my skirt and took me to a forsaken site. There I saw a tombstone that had worms wriggling on it. On the tombstone, the writing had become unclear but was perceptible. It was inscribed, ‘In the memory of our Dear Allison Claire, Died by Suicide.’ I was disturbed and concerned. I went home and saw my mother hanging from the ceiling. I screamed and all of a sudden I saw her shouting at me, “IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!! YOUR FAULT!” and then I saw that I was just sitting on a deserted ground. I was crying so I wiped my tears and went home running hoping that this was just a dream. I reached and I saw my mother reading her favourite novel. I was alleviated. I was happy and thankful that it was just a vision. After this day Chip stopped coming to my house and my mother stopped going to her renowned bakery. She just kept wandering in the house as if she was strayed in her counterfeit world. 

One night I heard her talking to someone. It seemed like a man. I spied and saw that there was no one to be seen. It was very peculiar. I asked about the strange event but she ignored me. After three days my mother was found hanging from the ceiling of the dining room. She had also committed suicide. It was like I saw the future or someone was forewarning me. Till, today I have these questions in my mind that did my father convinced her to do such a horrendous thing? Was my mother still depressed? After the incident, I started living at my Aunt’s house. Now I am a successful engineer and I am also running the bakery side-by-side. Sometimes, when I make the Shepherd’s Pie, I still see her wandering in the bakery……..