You sit on your bed, tears streaming down your face as your stepfather reprimands you for the small stain on the wall. That wasn’t even your fault! Your stepfather is yelling now, and you try to meet his gaze, but it’s difficult.
“You don’t understand, girl! That was ten-thousand-dollar wallpaper you got a stain on! So tell me what it is right now!”
“I don’t- I don’t know,” you stammer.
“YOU VERY MUCH KNOW! YOU DID IT! DON’T YOU DARE SAY YOU DIDN’T DO IT BECAUSE WHO ELSE COULD HAVE DONE IT!? SO TELL ME WHAT THE F#CK IT IS OR YOU WON’T BE SEEING ANOTHER SOUL FOR THE NEXT YEAR!”
At this point, not seeing another soul for a whole year sounds just fine, and you hesitate to respond. After a bit more yelling and threatening, your stepfather storms out of your room. As he slams the door, it flies off its hinges and falls to the floor feet from your bed.
You lay back on your bed, finally allowing the tears to fall freely. You hear a knock at the front door, then your father speaking to somebody. That somebody has a girl’s voice, perhaps a girl your age. But it’s hard to tell.
Eventually, you hear light footsteps coming up the stairs. You don’t respond at first as there’s a gentle knock at the door frame.
“Hey. Can I come in?” she calls to you.
Her voice is kind, and you decide to see what she has to say. You pull yourself into a crosslegged sitting position. Standing in the doorway is a girl of about fifteen. She wears a black dress with orange flame designs around the hem. Her hair is mid-length, and a lucious dark brown. She watches you with curious eyes that fade from gray to blue to gray and back again in a hypnotizing loop.
“Yes, come in,” you say after a moment.
“Thank you. My name is Gracyelia. I was sent to bring you to somewhere safer,” she tells you as she steps into your room.
You blink at her for a moment. You notice how light her footsteps are, and how she doesn’t need to look down to skirt carefully around the fallen door. Then you absorb what she’s said and you become confused.
“Safer…? What do you mean…?”
“Come with me, and I can show you.”
“You don’t understand, girl! That was ten-thousand-dollar wallpaper you got a stain on! So tell me what it is right now!”
“I don’t- I don’t know,” you stammer.
“YOU VERY MUCH KNOW! YOU DID IT! DON’T YOU DARE SAY YOU DIDN’T DO IT BECAUSE WHO ELSE COULD HAVE DONE IT!? SO TELL ME WHAT THE F#CK IT IS OR YOU WON’T BE SEEING ANOTHER SOUL FOR THE NEXT YEAR!”
At this point, not seeing another soul for a whole year sounds just fine, and you hesitate to respond. After a bit more yelling and threatening, your stepfather storms out of your room. As he slams the door, it flies off its hinges and falls to the floor feet from your bed.
You lay back on your bed, finally allowing the tears to fall freely. You hear a knock at the front door, then your father speaking to somebody. That somebody has a girl’s voice, perhaps a girl your age. But it’s hard to tell.
Eventually, you hear light footsteps coming up the stairs. You don’t respond at first as there’s a gentle knock at the door frame.
“Hey. Can I come in?” she calls to you.
Her voice is kind, and you decide to see what she has to say. You pull yourself into a crosslegged sitting position. Standing in the doorway is a girl of about fifteen. She wears a black dress with orange flame designs around the hem. Her hair is mid-length, and a lucious dark brown. She watches you with curious eyes that fade from gray to blue to gray and back again in a hypnotizing loop.
“Yes, come in,” you say after a moment.
“Thank you. My name is Gracyelia. I was sent to bring you to somewhere safer,” she tells you as she steps into your room.
You blink at her for a moment. You notice how light her footsteps are, and how she doesn’t need to look down to skirt carefully around the fallen door. Then you absorb what she’s said and you become confused.
“Safer…? What do you mean…?”
“Come with me, and I can show you.”
