Hannibal

Penelope was laying in her crib. She was put down for a nap, but couldn't sleep. She was staring at the ceiling and she could smell grilled cheese being cooked downstairs.
The smell reminded her of her real parents. They used to have lunch as a family when she was young. The older she got, the less they did it. They eventually stopped all together. It made Penny miserable. Everyone grew apart. They used to be so happy. She had to make school lunches for her two younger siblings and help them get out the door so they could make it to school. She was only ten. Her parents were absent. They stayed up late a lot and drank a lot.
She felt so lonely. Her parents were harsh and they forced her to grow up, she never really got a childhood.
She remembers laying in her bed at 7 years old. She was waiting for he mom or dad to tuck her in. They never came. She stayed awake until the morning and she had to get herself ready for school. There was a time when she didn't have to wake herself up. She didn't have to get herself ready. Her mom was always there. Her mom always cared. Penelope wondered when that stopped.
She grew up so fast. Her mom wouldn't let her get a job, stating she had to help with the kids.
Penelope grew to despise her parents and the way they treated her. She grew colder. Grew distant. Rarely talked to anyone. When she graduated she didn't have anyone there to congratulate her. She was so alone in the world. Her dad left when she was 11. She remembered that clear as day. Her mother was throwing things and pushing him out the door.
"Get out of here you bastard!" Her mother's voice rang in her ears.
"If you make me leave I'll never come back!" Her father shouted.
And he never did come back. He left and that was the last time Penny saw him. She always wondered where he had gone and what he was doing with himself now. She wondered how her siblings were managing now that she was also gone.
Did they hate her? Did they care? Did her mother even care when Penelope wasn't there that next morning.
She remembered the way her father always smelled like mints and her mother always smelled like cigarettes and coconut. It was an odd combination. Penelope grew to hate those smells.
Penelope wondered how Theo and Hannibal knew she wanted out.
Maybe they had been following her.
She sat up and grabbed her stuffed Panda.
She never had stuffed animals. She found one once, her mother made her give it to her sister, claiming she didn't need toys. Toys were for children. Penelope was only 8 at the time.
Penelope squeezed on the panda that was in her arms, scared it would disappear if she didn't clutch it tightly.
She hasn't realized she had been crying. She wanted Theo, he would know what to say. She wanted someone to just erase all the memories from her brain. She turned and faced the window. It was raining outside. The sound of rain used to pull her into sleep.
Sleep was her escape from her cruel world. It was her only way to get away. She imagined being outside, splashing in puddles. Her mother never allowed that either. It was another thing that her mother claimed to be for children. She stood up and tried to get a better view out the window. There was puddles in the front yard and she wanted to be outside. She knew she was supposed to be sleeping, but her mind got the best of her.
She shouldn't be little. She doesn't deserve a do over. Her mother wanted her to grow up. Be tough cause life is rough.
She wanted her children to be little adults. Take the world seriously. If you didn't take the world seriously then the world wouldn't take you seriously. Her life wasn't fun, but she was still living. She hoped her siblings found escapes from that hell of a home. She wanted them to be okay. She wanted to write her sister a letter, telling her that her sister was okay. She wanted her sister to find her. She wanted her brother to get a nice job and a nice wife. She had such big hopes for them. Her head was hurting now. Thinking of the past hurt.
She imagined her mother being nice like she used to be. She imagined her father coming back and making homemade mac n cheese. She imagined them tucking her in again. She imagined a world where she never had to grow up.
She looked around at the room and smiled. She got a second chance and that made her think about how she would be okay.