ARGYBARGY

i reawake from the monotony of a treadmill-like dream
where time has ground to a halt and stands still
i am lost in an endless cycle of repetition i can't shake off
like a stubborn cold virus
a nagging mental straitjacket
fitted and held in place by my subconscious
there is anger and frustration
there are frayed tempers and arguments
frowning faces huddled over papers around a meeting table
argybargy
the first alarm call was accidentally set by hannah elisabeth
messing around with a clock in the living room
its unfamiliar dull ring filters through the cracks in the door
like an unwanted school bell ending break time
i slowly emerge from my coma, get out of bed and extinguish the noise
but when i return
i climb straight back on to the cursed treadmill
dreamsleep reveals...what?
it evades analysis
it avoids eye contact like a demure maiden
it hides more than it reveals...
yesterday evening i arrive home tired and hungry after a long day at t'mill
the atmosphere is fraught with tension
argybargy is afoot
hannah's got a friend over
jiyoung 'onni', h's 'big sister', two years older
the kitchen table is strewn with partly consumed snacks
empty yoghurt cartons
half-eaten cream buns
gingerbread rabbits...
i groan inwardly
what i want is some nice vegan dinner on the table
not this sugary, fatty, nutrition-free muck!
suddenly all hell breaks loose
h and j are wrestling over the rights to a gingerbread rabbit
there are tears and red faces
angry recrinimations fly thick and fast in squeaky korean voices
jinny offers jiyoung the last remaining strawberry yoghurt
but h is having none of it
despite having consumed three of the wretched things already!
so the fourth yoghurt gets shared
but h doesn't even eat it
she just wants to deprive j of the pleasure
then things really come to a head
h has managed to commandeer a cream bun from jiyoung's bag
while onni is in the bathroom
a furious jiyoung emerges from WC and attempts to retrieve bun
in the red corner: hannah elisabeth (35 pounds)
in the blue corner: han jiyoung (38 pounds)
seconds out for round two
and let battle commence...!
daddy returns from the bedroom oblivious to what's been going on
like a boxing referee i rush in to break them up
i cart hannah off to her bedroom and close the door behind us
try to sit her on the bed and clam her down
reason with her like a good dad
but hannah is hysterical and just wants mummy
finally she vomits up her three yoghurts
all over herself, the floor and my change of clothes
and charges out of the room
screaming at the top of her voice
at times like these...!