A Collection of Short/Long Stories I've Written;

The Silent Witness

Act I, Scene I:

               The morning air was crisp and fresh and the children were playing under the tall, thin, vibrant green trees. There’s only one girl who’s not enjoying recess but instead looked up at the deep grey/blue sky. Her hair was a mousey blonde which had been bleached strongly by the sun and she tucked it behind her ear as she thought. She didn’t mind the fact that she had no friends except the parrot in the very tree she was looking at. Or the fact that the cuts on her wrist stung against the heat or the bruises on her legs were hurting her. She didn’t mind the fact that she didn’t know, or celebrate her own birthday; or Christmas; or bring in the new year with smiles. The only thing she minded was the fact that she only had hours left before she had to face the thing that scared her the most: going home. 

                 Ellie looked down at the brown tinged grass as she nibbled on a sandwich, kicking her feet in the sand that was mixed among the grass. She was glad that a teacher had paid for her sandwich today because she hadn’t eaten in forty hours. She carried on nibbling as the bird chirps trailed through the light air; savouring every bite as if it were her last. That is until she was drawn from her reverie to be called to the classroom.

                 She looked back up at the parrot that had ducked his head to stare directly at Ellie and murmured a goodbye, smiling at him for always sitting with her at lunch. Then she rushed to finish her sandwich, walking away from the benches, past the sandy playing area towards the dull, bleak school that seemed so safe to her.

Act I, Scene II:

                  In the afternoon break, Ellie moved as far away from the school as she could without being noticed, well, that was kind of easy. She was alone and she felt alone as she looked on the horizon it was obvious that tears were stinging her eyes. She had been going along the day fine until the teacher had humiliated her in front of everyone. She’d screamed at Ellie and the shrill noise that filled her ears reminded her exactly of her mother’s. She touched a tiny necklace around her frail neck, feeling the little butterfly figure.  Her eyebrows crashed together, she gritted her teeth and yanked the necklace off her and from the side, dust surrounded her and clouded her eyes as her hands scraped the dry sand. She dropped her necklace inside and pushed, violently, the dirt over the top before falling on top, sobbing.

Act I, Scene III:

                    Rocks were being throw high and falling around the children. They were aiming for the parrot. Ellie hated that and anyone could see her bawl up her fists as she stepping in. It only took a second before she was shoved onto her back and they began beating her. Redefining the bruises that were already there but she didn’t care. She smiled as they beat her, watching above her as the parrot flew higher, out of harms reach.

Act I, Scene IV:

                   Reluctantly, Ellie ran to her house. She didn’t want this moment to come today, her eyes showed panic. She was late. And running from the deep euphoric colours of the outside to the dark, shaded colours and creaky floorboards of the house she lived in, she was careful not to make any noise as she shut the door. The house smelled of smoke and it layered the air around her; nothing like the crisp of the outside. As she turned around, half her face darkened by the bruises and half lit by the small ray of light coming through the gap in the wooden boards, she saw her parents, smelling of alcohol, and as her lip quivered as she held out her hand.

Act I, Scene V:

                              The corner of the box-room is where she sat, huddled up in a ball. The damp walls cuddled her for comfort, for they were both neglected. The walls were a sickly green, the television hummed in another room and her bed was wet with vodka. There was a pole in her room where my father used to lift himself up and down on; as exercise. Ellie had wanted to use it once – with her shoelace – to rid the flashes of everyone’s faces but every time she went to do that, she’d drop the shoelace after seeing the parrot. The only thing that remained would be to run away.

                              Ellie grabbed her school bag, threw her books onto her bed. Papers flew out everywhere and scattered the floor but Ellie packed the two outfits that she had and sneaked out the room. Snores were coming from the hallway, through an open door and Ellie made it to the front door, her heart beating rapidly. But then the door she’d quietly closed flew open and Ellie turned, staring at her father.

                         There was a second of silence and then she ran. She was going as fast as she could. Then her foot caught in the roots of a tree that had grown out of the ground and she fell to the ground, dust surrounding her. Her backpack lay beside her with clothes and one school book inside and as her dad ran to her corpse, the parrot watched on, as the only witness. The silent witness.