She Looks Pale

The title is taken from a schoolgirl levitation ritual, practised by the mother of narrator Hannah. As a result of Meningitis at the age of six, Hannah nearly dies leading her parents to become obsessively over-protective. Her parents gradually dispose of all methods of modern communication and take Hannah out of school until one day, tortured by the evils of the world, her father ‘disappears' during the Lord's Prayer one mealtime. Hannah's mother continues the self-imposed isolation. Confined in the house, Hannah's only contact with the world is either through the window or through her mother's past.