You

I have been crying myself to sleep every night this week, silently and even during my slumber. My father hasn't hit me since Mr. Torrance's visit but he's began hitting my mother which is much worse and it is all my fault. He's drinking more and he tells me how much they didn't want me. I try to convince myself that I deserve this, that I honestly am horrible and I ruined their lives... But for once, I can't.

I'm crying for my mother but I'm also crying for me. And realizing how fucked up this is. And how I missed my chance to get out of here. I sob ever so softly and shift around in my bed.

And that's when I truly feel the otherness. When it touched me before, it was always like a soft invisible breeze; never quite there. But this time, I could feel physical arms around me as it cuddled me and allowed me to cry onto a shoulder I couldn't see. As it whispered that it was always here for me, I finally gave it a name.

I have deemed the essence with the name, 'You.'