Concrete Angel

I quietly climbed out of bed so that I wouldn’t wake up mommy, and silently walked down stairs praying that she didn’t hear me get up. I made it into the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief as I looked for some clothes to change into. Mom hadn’t done any washing so I decided to wear the summer dress that I had worn yesterday, hopefully nobody would notice. The dress reached down to my knees and the arms reached my elbows; unfortunately the bruises on my arms were still slightly on show so I slipped a cardigan on over the top.

I know my mommy loves me, but she just gets angry sometimes because I am naughty, like last night. I had been reading to my dolls in my bedroom when I dropped the book on the floor; it must have made a noise downstairs because mommy came up and punished me.

After I had folded my pyjamas and placed them neatly in the laundry room, I went back into the kitchen to make my lunch. The bread was stale as usual, but thankfully it had no mould on it. I made some simple peanut sandwiches and placed them quietly in my lunch bag along with an apple, some water and some chips. I brushed my hair quickly, had a drink of water and left for school.

My shoes were uncomfortable as I think they were getting a little small for me; but mommy says that only good girls get new things and I’m not a good girl. I skipped along the sidewalk, kicking piles of leaves as I went along. I saw one of the girls from my class standing on the sidewalk with her mommy; she is never a good girl at school so why doesn’t her mommy punish her? I walked past as fast as I could so that she wouldn’t pull faces at me like she always does.

I was a little early for school but it was okay because I needed to finish my homework so I headed to the library. The librarian smiled at me as I walked in and I smiled back; I always felt happy in the library because the librarian always said that I was a good girl. I set to work on my homework and was almost finished when the bell rang; I grabbed my things quickly and ran for my classroom.

School was the same as usual. First we did some math, then some English, then some art before dinner. My teacher kept walking past me and looking at me like she wanted to say something to me, but she didn’t. At lunch I took my bag outside and sat at one of the tables to eat; alone as usual but that didn’t bother me as I always imagined that the boys and girls from books were my friends and were sat with me. I smiled to myself and began imagining that I was a brave warrior fighting the evil queen, but I had been attacked with a forgetful spell so I couldn’t remember who the evil queen was! Oh no! Lunch was over, but in my head I was still a strong warrior fighting.

When school was finished I walked home sullenly; mom was going to be angry with me because I hadn’t left her clothes out for her which was my job to do every morning. I reached my front gate and sighed.

“Hi mommy.” I said as I walked inside the door and slipped my shoes off.

“What the hell did you think you were doing this morning?! You didn’t leave me any clothes out, you made so much noise I thought you were landing a fucking plane and you left a dirty glass on the counter! You disgusting little child! You are filth!” Mommy yelled loudly in my face.

“I’m sorry mommy, I really am. I promise I will never happen again” I cried helplessly.

“No I won’t!” With that mommy hand hit my face and I fell to the ground. The warrior was defeated.

After mommy had finished yelling at me, I tiptoed upstairs where I was free to become the warrior once again.

The evil queen laughed menacingly as I, the great warrior, walked into the castle. I bowed my head and then lunged forward with my sword. The queen simply moved to the side to avoid my attack. Not defeated I lunged again, but this time I pretended to go left when really I was going right. My sword struck the queen through her heart and she was defeated!
The people in the city celebrated and I was crowned the new queen! Yaay!

Suddenly I heard a bang outside of my door; it must have been mommy because a few seconds later she burst through my door with an angry look on her face. I could smell alcohol on her, but I was afraid to even wrinkle my nose.

“What have I told you about making a noise?! You stupid little brat!” Mommy spat as she walked closer to me.

I looked down in fear.

A hand smashed into my face, and then another into my chest and then another.

She grabbed a hold of my arms tightly “You’re a selfish little bitch!” and threw me to the floor.

Her foot crushed my ribs as it connected. I was picked up and shoved against a wall. Tears mixed with the blood as they flowed down my face and splashed on my dress.

I saw the neighbours lights go off in the house and heard the sound of windows being shut.

“Don’t look out there; nobody out there wants to help you, you pathetic child!” Mommy’s words were slurred as she continued to beat me.

My nose was hurting, and I was sure the screeching sound was me but my mind couldn’t quite connect to my body; although I could feel every blow.

Suddenly everything went dark, and I felt no pain what-so-ever. I felt like I was floating. Soon everything cleared and I could see myself lying on the floor, bloody and broken, but at the same time it wasn’t me. My mom had gone down stairs and was finishing off her bottle of Jack Daniels.

After a few hours I saw my mom go upstairs to look at my body. She screamed.

Twenty minutes later flashing lights appeared in the distance, and my mom was gone.

I watched the paramedics wheel my body out of the house, and the police tie yellow tape around the house.

I felt happy. I was safe and I knew that I had friends waiting for me.

**__**__**
Only teachers from Lilly’s school and the librarian attended her funeral. They had all seen the bruises, but nobody had said anything. Now the angel was at peace. A single lilly was placed against the Concrete Angel.