PG: Parental Guide

Morning

It was 4.30 am when I woke. With a desert-like throat I was thirsting. As I got up I felt someone's presence in the room. I knew my mom was sleeping with us so it wasn't my mother whom I felt. I knew who it was, I had a nightmare about him. I also knew that he wasn't there, just a memory, one that is etched. With a shiver down my spine I felt him fade out and finally decided to complete what I planned to do before returning to bed.

I rise from my bed, swing myself over to the edge and push my tush off the cushioned surface. I leave my room and walk towards the water cooler. The glasses were neatly placed next to them. As I walked towards the cooler I tried my best to avert my eyes from the spiral staircase to my left leading up to the second storey of the house. It was the single most frightening thing a child could see especially one who loved the thrill of watching horror films, but would almost die of the terror that followed. It had been 10 years since anyone had ever gone up to that part of the house. My mother wouldn't allow us as it housed my uncles' belongings. Those uncles who had abandoned everything they had in this country to live a better life in America.

As a response we abandoned the second storey, it was more like an eye for an eye tactic, as they had also abandoned us in this black hole of a place.  Please understand that I'm not bitter. My sister and I could care less about what they do or who they are. We just find it tragic that they abandoned their brother. My grandmother too had abandoned him. No calls, no birthday wishes nor gifts. He was left alone. It must be a terrifying thought being so alone. And Maybe that's why...

I was just about done replenishing myself when the door knob turns at 4.42 am. I'm startled by the soft sound and sent into a panic. Who could it be at this hour, I wonder. Preparing for the worst I clutch the glass held in my hand that swings ever so slightly to the back in a stance that would allow me to gain momentum as I throw my glass at the direction of the unknown intruder. The door opens at the count of my skipping heartbeat, and once it's open wide enough to see the individual that comes walking through my body relaxes. I let out a sigh of relief as I recognize my father, with disheveled hair and a groggy look on his face he walks through the entrance.

He looks up and makes eye contact with me, soon after, a look of disgust replaces his groggy disposition. I greet him while receiving the look one gives to filth. He scrunches his nose as if he smelt a whiff of my horrid breath from the 9 foot distance we shared. Outwardly I stand tall, undeterred, and politely as a daughter should; inside I'm just cud, formless, incomplete and useless to others. We exchange looks for a millisecond or less before he ignores my greeting, walks past me with out a word; with a hard shove, to head towards his room at the opposite end of this massive house.

The rough contact took me to an unpleasant place where he, whom I mentioned earlier, comes back. Creeping up from my back, he places his hands on my shoulders holding me down. He bows his slithery body so that he may be levelled to my ear and allows his wet lips, slimy tongue, and hot breath imprint upon me as he whispers 'you'll always have me.'

As soon as the words are spoken, heard would be more appropriate, he vanishes. With the damage done he needn't stay long. Now I stand, frozen looking straight ahead feeling mostly tired than anything. The dry mouth and throat threatening its return. I look back at the cooler and place the used glass on the tray designated for its kind. Fearing any sort of moistening would signal for his return. I let out a heavy sigh and turn around to return back to my bedroom, this time not worrying about the staircase to my right but only looking for solace in my bed. I mean I had very little time to sleep now that the clock read 5 am.