One Hundred Words
Escape
Curled up in a ball, Michelle sat in the corner of her room with tears streaming down her face as she listened to the argument occurring down the hall. Silent shaking accompanied her tears, each movement irritating a bruise somewhere on her body. The purple discoloration was only too obvious against her pale skin.
She cringed at the sound of glass breaking echoing down the hallway. It would only be a matter of time before the man who recently became her stepfather got tired of her mother and returned. He never beat Michelle’s mother. No, he saved that pleasure for her and her alone.
Michelle couldn’t bear the thought of his hands touching her one more time, but her mother merely turned a blind eye to the bruises, insisting that Michelle shouldn’t be so clumsy.
A small bird chirping outside the window captured Michelle’s attention. The light, melodic sound called to her, beckoning Michelle through the window to the pain-free world beyond. Could she leave her mother? The answer came all too quickly, and with one quick, hesitant glance back at her bedroom door, Michelle stole out of the window, running towards the horizon and never looking back.
She cringed at the sound of glass breaking echoing down the hallway. It would only be a matter of time before the man who recently became her stepfather got tired of her mother and returned. He never beat Michelle’s mother. No, he saved that pleasure for her and her alone.
Michelle couldn’t bear the thought of his hands touching her one more time, but her mother merely turned a blind eye to the bruises, insisting that Michelle shouldn’t be so clumsy.
A small bird chirping outside the window captured Michelle’s attention. The light, melodic sound called to her, beckoning Michelle through the window to the pain-free world beyond. Could she leave her mother? The answer came all too quickly, and with one quick, hesitant glance back at her bedroom door, Michelle stole out of the window, running towards the horizon and never looking back.