"You are not a little girl anymore"
Rose woke up from a deep sleep to find snow falling outside her window. " Today is the day I become a teenager!" she said to herself as she rubbed her eyes. She got out of her large bed, knowing full well that she would get into trouble if caught. As she was watching the snow fall, she became enthralled by it, oblivious to the fact that her mother, Ruth had walked in. "Ah, Rose, you're up." She had said. Rose thought she would have been scolded, but today was different; for today was her thirteenth birthday, a big day. Rose sat back down on her bed, next to her mother. "Rose, today is a very big day for you. Thirteen is a big year, I know it was for me. Why don't you go downstairs to have breakfast? I'll be downstairs in a few minutes." Ruth said as she kissed her daughter on the cheek. Rose donned her house coat and walked down the stairs. "Hello, Rose." her father, Samuel said from the head of the table. "Good morning father." Rose said in a happy tone. She sat down gently and placed her napkin on her lap; Ruth's training had been helping her become a proper young lady.
About halfway through breakfast, Ruth joined them in the dining room. "Rose, I understand that you are having an important birthday today. You are thirteen, and you are becoming a woman. You are not a little girl anymore." Ruth said. Rose understood this, and somewhat knew what her mother was talking about. As of late, Rose was told more and more to wear her hair up and to stop calling Ruth mama. "I'm sorry I cannot stay and celebrate with you Rose, but I have to go to work. Happy birthday." Samuel hugged his daughter and left. By now, Rose was finished with her breakfast, and went to her room to get dressed for the day. Normally, Rose's dressing routine was this: wear a loose fitting undergarment and a pair of drawers. She picked out a slip for herself and slipped it over her head, next she put her knickers on, and finally, her bloomers. She was set. Ruth entered the room. "Rose? Rose? Could you put a hold to your dressing for a few moments?" Rose complied. "This isn't going to be easy. Hell, I regret having to do this to her today, especially, when she is in a good mood. I might destroy our relationship because of this. She IS my little girl." Ruth thought to herself. "Rose, because you are now thirteen, you must dress like a woman; that means you must carry yourself like one." Rose blankly stared at her mother.
Rose knew what she was talking about, but pretended not to know; a group of her friends had already began to train, but none of them complained. She had seen her mother in a state of undress and knew that it might be uncomfortable, but nonetheless, her mother wanted her to wear it. "Rose, from this day forward, you will wear a corset, plain and simple." Rose felt her heart sink to the depths of her abdomen. "No. I do not wish to wear a corset, they are painful and I'm afraid I might be hurt." Ruth, shot a small look of disapproval, and told Rose "Rose, I had the same fears as you do, and in fact I cried on my maid's shoulder because my mother would have none of it. I am not like that Rose, I love you, I love you with all of my heart. I love you more than I love your father." Rose was taken aback by this, she casually replied to her mother "I don't think you love me like you say you do, I think sometimes you have trouble saying 'I love you'." Ruth turned her attention away from this, and thought to herself "You see, this is what would happen. I told you this is what would happen, but you didn't believe me. Oh god, I've failed as a mother." Ruth turned to her daughter, but she found Rose wasn't happy anymore. Tears began to roll down Ruth's face. "Rose? I'm sorry, but I have to do this to you. I wish you could remain a child, but no, you're becoming a woman, and you must wear this corset." Ruth sobbed. Rose opened the box, and sure enough there it was. It felt foreign to her; the rough coutil fabric and the scalloped lace edges seemed so odd to the girl.
"Rose, if you could stand next to your bed please." Ruth said in a quick tone. Ruth opened the corset and placed it around her daughter. She closed the hook and eye enclosures, and began to pull on the laces in the back. Rose, all the while trying to hold back the tears, finally broke down. She sobbed in pain and sadness. She was sad because, while she was still a child, she wouldn't be allowed to act like one. She was in pain because the feeling of the corset being tightened around her was a scary feeling. What seemed like an eternity was finally over. Ruth left the room composed, but Rose could tell that this affected her mother in a great way. As soon as the door was shut, she collapsed on her bed in a flood of tears. Even this was of no use; the boning bit into her side. All Rose could call out was "mama" Ruth, while she could hear these sobs, could do nothing. "I hurt her. I hurt MY little girl! Oh god. Oh God." She thought to herself, while in the process of slamming her door. Like Rose, Ruth collapsed into a heap onto her bed. To Ruth, this was worse than the time she struck her mother after getting into a trivial argument with her. Meanwhile, Rose sat on her floor still in a state of undress playing with her doll, whom she had named Sarah. "Sarah, why is my mother crying? Did she hurt me?" She asked the doll, but the doll gave her a blank stare. Finally, she pulled on the white dress that she was going to wear in the first place. She put a bow in her hair, and left the room.
She entered her mother's room to find Ruth at the desk writing a letter. "Mother?" She asked. "Yes, darling? I'm over here." Rose walked over, her arms outstretched. She hugged her mother and apologized for her outburst. "I'm sorry mother. I do love you." Ruth simply said "I know you do." She bent down to fix Rose's skirt, as it had ridden up, showing her slip. "Mother? Can you come downstairs with me?" She asked. Ruth replied "Yes. This letter can just lie where it is. You know dear, we'll need to get you some new clothes, and that bow in your hair will have to come out. She brushed a few stray hairs from Rose's face, and the two walked down the stairs. "Rose, I'm sorry for the way I acted. It's just what you had said really struck my heart, because I once had doubts about my own mother's love. She told me that she loved me, but would always give more attention to my younger sisters." She said. Ruth kissed Rose on the forehead, and they moved into the parlor. "Rose,your father is coming home early today. You might wish to change your dress. I will help you with your corset." Rose looked in disgust. "Rose, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wear it, besides your hair needs brushing, and I will brush your hair." Ruth handed Rose a small box. "What is it mama?" Ruth answered; "Open it, and you will see." Rose opened the locket and saw the pictures of Ruth and Samuel. "I have one and it contains pictures of you and your father." Ruth pulled Rose's dress over her daughter's head, and untied the laces of the corset, only to give a reinforcing tug and a tighter knot. Rose did not cry out, for she knew there would be trouble if that happened.
Samuel came home to find his daughter with a new waist size and a new necklace around her neck. "Rose, you look wonderful." He said. She curtsied and moved over to the couch. Ruth came over to Samuel and kissed him on the lips. If only Samuel knew about the fight that mother and daughter had that day, he would have ordered Rose to remove the corset, and for Ruth to remove the devilish thing entirely. He hated corsets, and the sight of Ruth being laced into one daily was painful for him to watch. That evening, promptly at 8:30 when Rose was sent to bed, Ruth helped her out of her corset and into her nightgown. A quick kiss goodnight, and finally, Rose was off to the dreamworld. Since their rooms were connected, her parents could check on her at night. Later that night, Samuel snuck into her room, and took the corset from the trunk at the foot of her bed, and went downstairs with it. "What does it feel like? I want to know!" he thought to himself. He put it around his waist and enclosed the hook and eye enclosures, and pulled at the laces in the back. "Oh my god this feels good. I feel as though I'm a child again." he had said tom himself quietly, as the maids might see him. Suddenly, he heard a small ripping sound. One of the eyelets had ripped a small hole into the coutil. Samuel rushed back into Rose's room and put the corset onto the trunk. He climbed back into bed and went to sleep.