Piebald

piebald 

1. composed of incongruous parts
2. of different colors; especially : spotted or blotched with black and white

 

Lacey clutched her quilt tightly, pulling it up to her chubby chin. It was tattered in a few places, but for the most part, Grandma Neelie’s quilt was holding up, standing strong against the rough sleeping patterns of a 7 year old.

The quilt was actually Lacey’s favorite thing.

In the winter, she could be found wrapped in the piebald construction, shuffling from room to room, looking more like a burrito with a portion of the tortilla trailing behind her, than a child pretending to be a queen wrapped in royal garb. In the summer months she was often stretched out on the tapestry that spoke of her grandmother’s handiwork, her mother’s taste in clothing, and Lacey’s rough nature.

What never crossed Lacey’s happy mind was the obvious poverty that necessitated the making of the quilt from scraps of her mother’s clothing. Instead, she lived and slept in the quilt and expected it would be that way her entire life.

Her mother was less appreciative of what she mentally called “the monstrosity.”

It had been Lacey’s idea to bring it home after visiting her grandmother and since that day the child had not wanted to part with it.

The quilt had quickly become Lacey’s shadow. And although the child was jubilant, all her mother could see was an uncomfortable history of canned food, children’s taunts, and ragged clothing.

In Lacey’s hands the quilt was reborn into something of comfort and joy– that was the only reason it wasn’t taken away. One touch from her daughter had brought about a miraculous restoration, a revival of sorts. Lacey’s joy and smile outshone the history her mother tried to forget and what she silently abhorred.

To her only child, the cobbled together pieces of cloth provided a companion and everyone involved was content to let it be that way, as Lacey took another regal stroll around the living room coffee table, bringing a slight smile to her mother’s face.

 

 

*This post was inspired by Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day, because they updated their their webpage first.