Just A Bow

Part 2

It was hard for me to focus on my nightly trance. Usually, I had no issue with clearing my head, with letting go of what everyone had said to me during the day. I usually didn't feel many feelings anyways, but tonight was different. I knew Lensa was tired of this and I certainly was too. I wanted more than anything to stop this abuse. It was always continuous. Always forcing its way back into our lives when we deeply wished it wouldn't. I'm sure the younger ones wanted for our parents to stop fighting and maybe fall back in love, to rekindle their love for each other. I didn't believe our parents ever loved each other. How could the love you have for someone, the deep and true love for someone, turn into such anger and hatred and abuse? I'd never understand.

In the early morning hours, I heard our father roaming the woods, screaming for Lensa and I. He'd done this every time before, so we didn't even flinch when he began yelling. 

I peered out of the hole in the tree, looking for Lensa. She too had poked her head out of her tree to see me. I pointed to myself and she nodded. I had essentially told her I'd stay awake, and make sure nothing bad happened. I couldn't focus on my trance anyways. I had too many thoughts in my head... which I didn't even think was possible. I rarely had deep feelings like this, taking control of me, forcing me to stay conscious. I hated it. I hated my parents for filling me with these feelings and this horrible need to secure and care for my siblings.

I peeked from my tree, looking for father as he shouted. He must've been drunk or something, stumbling through the woods like he was. I finally spotted him, closer to our house and where the woods crept up to and around our little shack. He had just began walking into the woods looking for us. He wouldn't succeed, just as the many times before. He never found us. That was the brilliance of our hiding spots. Still, I watched like a hunter stalking it's prey. I watched him stumble over the rocks and roots of the forest with his bottle of ale, looking left and right for us. He and mother knew we went to the forest, but they never knew where exactly and we were determined to keep it that way. 

Arel stirred in his trance, twitching a little and speaking softly. Perhaps he couldn't quite process everything that had happened. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one who couldn't focus or relax. 

When the suns of Dah rose in the morning, everyone was already awake. Arel had been the first in our tree to wake up and he and I chatted lightly until the others woke up. I wanted to tell him about what had happened with Ithil yesterday but I couldn't form the words. I couldn't imagine how Arel would respond to me telling him, or if he'd understand why I was even telling him. It wasn't that important anyways. I'd shooed Ithil off and ditched him, so there was nothing more to say or do about it.

Lensa and I prepared some of the food we'd hidden in the trees and we feasted like kings. Even if our parents treated us badly, at least we had good food to distract us from the growing concern and stress of our abusive and dangerous parents. 

After everyone had finished eating, Lensa and I stuck our heads out of the trees. She and I both looked in the direction of the house and all around the ground, searching for any movement. Movement meant a possible breach of security and safety if we came down, so we had to be extra sure. 

When we cleared the area, I decided I'd go. I was the least emotional of Lensa and I, so I could fight for a fair treatment and resolution. I stepped out with Lensa watching, just in case, and grabbed onto a lower hanging branch. I proceeded to jump from branch to branch, making my way lower and lower until I planted my feet on the ground. I looked around and it seemed to be safe, so I proceeded forward. 

The air felt different, like we'd been gone too long and there was a sort of staleness to it, despite the ripe trees and bushes that surrounded the area. 

I had always had extraordinary hearing, like that of a bird, hearing a dying rodent ready for the taking. I could easily hear the loud sobs from our mother, despite being as far from the house as we were. As I sneaked closer to the house, I crept from tree to tree, looking for a sign of one of our parents nearby, but I only heard the cries. 

It was more frightening than the mornings that one of us would show up and hear silence. We always heard silence, it was like that was a sign that they were okay and they'd fallen asleep eventually, that our father had soon passed out drunk and they were okay.

But the cries frightened even me, and I was incredibly fearful about looking through the windows once more. 

The closer I got to the house, the more my heart raced and my body tensed, but I needed to know what happened. The house looked the same as always, and it seemed that nothing had been touched, at least, on the outside. 

When I peeked in, my mother was on the floor, holding her hands to her head. I couldn't tell what had happened in any sort of way. She looked as though she'd been crying for hours, like she'd been sobbing herself away all night with no hope for an end. 

I saw no sign of our father. I thought he might be passed out on the bed like he usually was.

I continued watching, waiting for something to happen, for any kind of explanation. I received nothing of the sort. I decided against better judgement to go inside. 

My mother was barely fazed that I'd just walked inside after being gone all night. It was worrisome. I looked around the room and saw a mess, a tragedy of a house. I peeked into my father's room and he wasn't in there. I had so many questions and nowhere to start.

I kneeled beside my sobbing mother and put my arm around her. I wasn't, by any means, good at contact with others, especially upset beings. I wasn't sure what to do and how to handle her sadness. I stared at her until she spoke, which was a good couple of uncomfortable minutes.

"Your father left." 

An ant bite. No. A bee sting. No. A wasp sting. No. A million wasps. All at once. All hurting my heart.