The first light of a new dawn came with a lovely color of red in the sky.... & so did her feet.
“She loves me. That’s why she's doing this...”
An eerie scream of her eldest sister woke up little baby Daisy startled.
“LOOK WHAT YOUVE DONE! Its crying all thanks to you. Shut it up or those feet won't be the only ones-”
“Please. I'm so sorry. I'll take care of her right away, mother”
Atara carries the 8-month-old in her arms & sings her lullabies till little Daisy falls asleep. It wasn’t anything new...The pain of waking up to a pipe held by an abusive mother lashing unto the sole of your feet till it bleeds on a daily basis. Yet Atara willingly endures so no one else had to.
Hoping someday, something changes.
Little did she know that the change she was hoping for was sound asleep in her arms.
"Im done!”
said Cora stepping out from the shower wrapped in a pink floral towel.
“Benjamin finish up your breakfast. Cora, put on your uniform first. And don’t forget to pour warm water into the milk bottle.”
Atara showers quick and puts on the school uniform.
Meanwhile, Cora does her hair & packs her books right after cleaning up toys belonging to her little brother & sister. Benjamin watches while eating his special prepared breakfast by mother- like every other school morning. The 10-year-old grew up faster than most of the kids her age. While everyone else plays with dolls & sings rhymes, Cora accepted the fact that since she was tanned, everyone treated her a little differently. Her own mother despised her & made her believe the only way to earn the “good girl” tag was by cooking, cleaning and most importantly pleasing her unpleasable mother.
“Got your bags & lunch?”
Both Cora & Ben nodded as their big sister got unto the old rusty bicycle.
Ben sits Infront of Ara while Cora hugs her sister tightly from behind as she starts paddling.
This was their favorite part of their day. It felt so- relieving. As if one can breathe at last.
“This feeling is so freeing. Why can't we keep going like this? So we don’t have to go back anymore...”
Cora was always the dreamer.
Little did she know her dreams will take her far away some day very soon.
Far from home.
YOU ARE READING
LILY IN THE VALLEY
Teen Fiction"It was a crazy journey, but it was worth it. Cuz at the moments of deepest pain is where I sought you most & found you in every lil detail..." ~Lula Rose Nolan
