Phoenix was a very unique five year old. Her mother named her Phoenix because phoenixes symbolize rebirth, beauty, and divinity. When Phoenix was only two, her mom died during a robbery that took place at her work. Her father became hooked on drugs and alcohol, and he went from being a lovable father to an abusive, sadistic father. He grew to hate Phoenix, because when his wife died, he felt an unexplainable hatred for her, like everything was his wife's fault. Phoenix looked just like her mother, too.
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I was sitting at my kitchen table eating a peanut butter sandwich I made. My father came in and roughly grabbed my arm. "I'm going to take a nap. If you wake me up, you will pay for it," he angrily yelled in my face. "I promise, Daddy!" I sounded terrified. He glared at me and let go. I swear he left a bruise mark. He stormed to his room. A single tear escaped from my left eye and rolled gently down my face. I finished eating my sandwich and I quietly went outside. I have lots of trees behind my house, almost like a mini forest. It's fun to play in there and use my imagination; it's the only escape I have from my father. I have a tree house high up in a tall tree; I go in there and play with my toys. I was playing with my favorite toy car when I heard someone calling my name. I looked down, and it was my best friend, Tony, who lived next door. Tony was a small, friendly kid with bright blue eyes and freckles. He was my only friend in my Kindergarten class. "Shhh," I put my finger to my lips. I taught him that this meant my dad was taking a nap. He nodded his head and climbed up the ladder. "How are you?" Tony whispered to me. "I'm doing good," I said. We smiled and started playing with some of my toys. "I brought one of my toys," Tony said while reaching into his overalls pocket. He pulled out a small teddy bear. It was all torn up, but it was cute. He put it into my hand. "You can have it. I don't need it anymore." he smiled as I hugged it. "I love it! Thanks, Tony!" I grinned. I picked up my toy car. "Here you go. You like cars, so you can have it," I placed it into his hand like he did to me. "Wow! Thanks, Phoenix!" Tony started making car noises and he moved the car across the floor. "Do you want to go watch Spongebob?" I asked him. "I thought your daddy was sleeping," he replied. Tony was just as scared as my father as I was. Tony witnessed me getting beat one day. He started crying and ran to his house. "He is, but if we're quite, I think we'll be okay." We climbed down the ladder and tip toed into my house. I turned the television on as quietly as I could; keeping an eye on the hallway in case my dad decided to wake up. We plopped down on the couch. Tony was silently entertaining himself with the car while I hugged the teddy bear close to my heart. About ten minutes later, I heard my dad's bedroom door open. I gasped, and me and Tony jumped up from the couch. "Phoenix! I told you to be quiet!" he yelled while stomping down the hallway. I didn't understand; we could barely hear the TV, that's how quiet it was. He glared evilly at Tony. "Get out!" he yelled at Tony. Tony ran out quicker than anything I could think of. Dad turned to me. "You're going to get it now!" He took his belt and slapped me across the face with the buckle. I screamed in pain, and then he grabbed my throat. I couldn't breathe, but I manged to choke out something. "Dad....please!" Tears wear streaming down my face. He threw me on the ground and pulled a small pistol from his pocket. I screamed as I heard the firing of the gun, and then I was gone.
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Phoenix saw you sitting alone in the park. You were very lonely and upset. Phoenix sat beside you and asked, "What's wrong?" in a sweet, caring voice. "Nothing," you mumbled back. She handed you the toy bear and placed it in your hand. "Will you be friends with me?" she asked. You looked over at her, and you were startled at first when you saw her, because you could see through her. She had a kind face, and she looked rather upset herself. "Sure," you said, and her face instantly lit up in joy.
