No One Like Me

(1.) When he left..

It all started ten years ago.. Thirteen years old with a life slowly taking a turn for the worse.

I woke up on a cold Saturday morning in late November and went into the bathroom it start my daily routine.

I stared unhappily at the reflexion I myself in the mirror; the bags that lay under my maple brown eyes, the dryness covering my large full lips, the untamed stands of my curly hat that didn't seem to enjoy the sweet comfort of my hair band.

Was there a sight more unpleasant ?

I opened the cold water tap and splashed water into my face and then brushed my teeth.

I undressed myself and turned on the water so I could take a long bubble bath.

Even with no one around, i still felt as if everyone around me had their eyes on me,...their piercing eyes burning holes through my body.

Filling the bath with my rose water bubble bath, I stepped into the hot water.. Sinking in.. Slowly.

At that moment I felt at one with the world, at peace with everything, my nirvana. Nothing on earth could alter my happiness.

But then I heard her scream. Screeching in pain at the top of her lungs.

I jumped out of the bath and rapidly dried myself. I ran into my room putting on my PJ bottoms and a loose fitting top. Sprinting out to find my mother bawled up on the corner of the kitchen in uncontrollable tears.

The palm of her hand covered the side if her soft face..as my father stood towering over her.

He had hit her

Even a blind man could tell he'd hit her. Again. It hadn't been the first time he had hit since he had lost his job and was drinking himself into a world of anger. He had directed his anger towards my mother, and on one occasion if it wasn't for my mother jumping in front of me, It would have been directed to me.

I watched as my father stood there trying his best to keep his balance.

Drunk.

Drunk.

Drunk.

"That's what you g-get to ungrateful little bitch. How dare you dis-disrespect me?" He slurred.

"You deserve everything you get given"

He stumbled out of the kitchen.

At that moment, anger and utter disgust filled my body. Every nerve, vessel, and cell only wanted to make him feel the same pain she felt.

I ran toward her, taking her hand off her face only, to reveal the deep red inflammation across her cheek. I gently rubbed my hand across her face.

She winced in pain.

"Mom, let me get you some ice"

She nodded, unable to even formulate any type of speech.

I stood up and paced towards the freezer and got out some peas before wrapping the bag in a light napkin. I went back to her gently placing the bag to her face until she was able to find stretch of any sort to hold it by herself.

Why would he hit her?

Even after he had promised us both never to lay a finger on us ever again, he had went back on the promise he had made to us and did just that.

I even questioned the reality of what I had just witnessed, but to see my mother sobbing beside me only made me realise this wasn't merely a dream, instead reality.

I looked at the pain in her eyes. The pain that he put there.

When she felt pain , so did I.

She continued to cry into my chest, and I noticed that tears also fell down my face.

Seeing your mother cry is something that no one ever wants to see ..

We both heard the front door slam shut. We knew he was gone.