Poems And Other Works

Chicken Soup (An emotional story I written for class)

I wasn't awake to hear the sirens. Not awake to hear my step-dad leave. Not awake to see my mother walk in the door, covered in blood. I was not awake the night I almost lost my mother. Asleep, while red and blue flashed across the windows.

When I did wake, no one was home. My siblings stood confused in the living room. Only Lori knew what had happened, for she saw mother walk in. Our grandmother walked downstairs, eyes red. And that's when I found out my mother was almost killed.

The police never caught the guy. They only had one suspect too. My dad. The only guy with the motive. My mother's side would say he did it, my dad's say otherwise. After the divorce, my mom and dad split, and I was given to my mother. I was only a toddler. After more custody wars, mom won again and life steadied itself. Or so I thought.

The story goes like this: My mother working third shift at a local store in Prospect Park left around ten at night. The car wouldn't start so she began walking home. A block or two from home, she was pulled in an alley and stabbed 22 times. She walked the rest of the way home and into the door, bleeding.

Court cases followed. My dad went to jail. The police had launched an investigation and found more attempts to kill mom. The car was tampered with so that it wouldn't start. The use of bug spray to fill the car interior would suffocate anyone who stayed too long. The police figured the attacker had watched to see if his job worked and when it didn't, followed her home.

Months afterward, my dad was found innocent and released from prison. I still wonder if I should trust him. But I also wonder why the police didn't investigate further for other suspects. The person is still walking today, and I hope he or she is brought to justice. The scar on my mother's neck reminds me every day. Even after almost six years. That same cut that almost killed someone I love. I hope that one day they will restart their investigation and catch whoever did this. For a coworker, friend, and most of all, my mother, so she can live in peace, instead of fear, of the killer lurking in the streets.