Medicine | King Baldwin

23

"I told you! Didn't I tell you not to touch it?" Isabel's father shouted angrily at the black-haired little girl.

She stood in the corner, trembling and gazing at her father with a look of fear. Her eyes were wide and brimming with tears, which slowly trickled down her cheeks as she tried to hold back her sobs.

Her father, towering over her with a stern expression, seemed oblivious to the effect his words were having on her.

"I warned you so many times." he continued, his voice echoing through the room. "You never listen, do you?" Her small frame shook with silent sobs as she struggled to find her voice.

"I'm sorry, Papa." she whispered, barely audible. "I didn't mean to.." But her father cut her off, his face contorted with frustration.

The man, with a simple motion, loosened his leather belt, the sound of which made Isabel burst into loud sobs and beg him to leave her alone.

"Please, don't!" she cried, her voice trembling with fear. But her father, with a malicious grin spreading across his face, pulled the belt from his waist. The leather slid through the belt loops with a chilling hiss before he snapped it together, the sharp, cracking sound echoing through the room.

She flinched violently, her small body shaking with terror as her father's eyes bore into her, cold and unyielding.

"You brought this on yourself, kid." he said, his tone devoid of any warmth or sympathy. He took a step closer, and Isabel instinctively pressed herself against the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible.

Suddenly, the rickety wooden door flew open, and Isabel's mother stepped in, momentarily stopping the man.

"Rob, that's enough!" she shouted, her voice trembling with emotion.

Rob froze, his hand suspended in the air with the raised belt. A mix of anger crossed his face as he looked at his wife.

"This isn't your business, woman!" he said with firmness in his voice.

"It is my business when it comes to my daughter!" she stepped closer, her eyes blazing with anger and fear. "I won't let you hurt her."

"Then you'll be the first." the burly man shouted, his voice booming in the small room. With a swift and forceful motion, he advanced towards his wife, the belt whistling through the air before landing with a harsh crack against her back.

The mother cried out in agony, the impact sending waves of pain coursing through her body as she recoiled from the blow.

Isabel, witnessing the brutal assault on her mother, felt a surge of fear and anger welling up inside her. Ignoring her own trembling limbs, she mustered up her courage and stepped forward, determined to intervene and protect her mother.

But before she could reach her mother, her father turned towards her with a fierce glare. With a powerful shove, he sent Isabel stumbling backward, her small frame colliding with the unforgiving wall with a sickening thud.

The girl gasped as pain shot through her body, the impact stealing her breath away. Tears stung her eyes as she struggled to stay upright, her head spinning. She reached out a trembling hand, trying to steady herself as she watched in horror as her mother continued to endure the brutal onslaught.

Isabel woke with a loud gasp from her nightmare, her nightgown drenched in sweat. Her hair was tangled and disheveled, and dried tear streaks marked her face. She sat up in bed, her heart pounding and her breathing heavy, trying to shake off the remnants of the terrifying dream that had jolted her awake.