The Truth Untold

Chapter 11

YOUNG AND MOVING ON!

It was Tuesday.
Chiara could not have attended school, due to an abundance of chores.
The house was not a mansion, but, it seemed that way to her.
She toiled through her days as the walls of doom, seemed to be closing in on her.
Tormented eyes!
Face without expression!
Yet, her mom never seemed to notice her.
There she was, on a bright and sunny school day, bending her fragile back to attend to the laundry. No school for her!
Chiara toiled on and on, just to avoid the wrath of Mr. Awkward.
Chiara was never the recipient of birthday gifts nor Christmas toys.
No nice clothing as "Cutie in Rags" grew into " Pretty Girl in Rags."

Without a single sign of outward rebellion, Chiara blended into a trap which was embellished with toppings of fear.
The storm raged on internally, battering at her ribs for release, while her stepdad's words echoed in her brain;
"Why is your mother sending you to school?
These will suit you better!"
With those utterances, he had thrown a magazine at her. As it fell at her feet, the pages fluttered open.
Chiara glanced down!
Gasping with horror, she forced the bile from erupting through her mouth, for there on the floor, exposed in full glossy colour, were pictures of nude men and women!
Seeing the expression on her face, Mr Awkward ambled off, chuckling with satisfaction.
Seizing the books by the tip of one of the pages, Chiara ran to the bin, ripped it into  pieces and threw the contaminated bits into the bin.
Like the poison it was.
That was the minute, the time, the day when Chiara decided that she would leave and never look back.
Having herself for consolation, she walked to the mirror.
Looking at herself she gasped.
Her hair was unkempt.
Her face looked gaunt and tired.
The clothes which she wore was oversized and hanging loosely on her shoulders.
Her collarbones were protruding like a hangar, holding up both sides of the dress.
Gulping back more tears, Chiara raised her chin.
"Think of your future Chiara!" She admonished herself as she continued
"You must survive this!"
Deciding to defy the odds, Chiara threw back her shoulders and like a lioness, she went in pursuit of her fate.
There were chores to complete.

One would have viewed Chiara's maturity as ordinary, but nothing was ordinary in Chiara's life!
Back and forth, her emotions went as she pondered about her life and how to escape.
All Chiara found in her reverie, was an alley, barely dimmed by thinly spaced anemic lamps. Flickering, vanishing for an instant, then reappearing, only to reverse direction and continue with the ( Awkward) game of despair, which cocooned her soul.