Girl Unnoticed

Girl Unnoticed [1]

One

The train ride was as horrible as it could’ve been. Babies were crying and old men almost coughed up their lungs on other passengers. I remained in my seat beside the window, watching as the trees brushed past and the entire scenery changed from one to another.

“Harlow sweetheart, would you like anything to eat or drink? It will take two more hours to reach our destination,” my mother asked, sitting in the plush bench in front of me.

I shook my head and held my face in the palm of my hand, trying to keep my attention on what was happening outside the window. It was just a rectangular piece of glass holding me back from freedom, from vanishing into thin air and never coming back. We weren’t moving to a new city because of what had happened to me for years that almost led to my undoing. We were moving because it was better for my parents’ job. My father worked as a trade officer in the most prestigious company of the state. He had achieved to build a new railroad that could reach to the next city in our former hometown. My mother was a consular officer who worked long hours helping citizens with their day-to-day national problems. The most popular case she dealt with was lost passports and she would have to work long hours and get in touch with several people to deal with the problem.

Since they both had diplomatic jobs we were looked at as a prestigious family who was invited to many important events. My parents traveled to Washington more times than I could keep count. They were invited to political meetings and assemblies. They paid more attention to their job and the people they helped instead of their own daughter. In the beginning I couldn’t understand why they had a child with so little time in their hands. As I grew older my mother had confessed that I wasn’t planned, it was a night filled with drunken mistakes and I was conceived. I didn’t know what broke my heart the most, the confession that I was a mistake or the blank look in my mother’s eyes that held no remorse in her choice of words.

I dug into my bag, taking out the iPod and plugging the earphones in my ears to block out my surroundings with music. It was my escape, at least for the few hours left of being confined in a piece of moving metal. I hoped that by moving someplace new that all the abuse would be behind me. I would no longer be afraid of showing up to school or walking down the sidewalk on my own. It was amazing how more than three years could shatter the feeling of security I felt and made me shiver even with the slightest touch. I could even count the couple of bruises that still stained my skin that were inflicted less than a week ago.

The train finally stopped in the station of our destination. A black car was already waiting for us outside with a chauffer coming out of the driver’s side and taking our bags to put them in the trunk. The three of us sat in the backseat of the car, much to my discomfort. The drive to the new house was never-ending and at one point I considered jumping out of the moving car and onto the street filled with cars. Dad had arranged for the movers to take all our belongings to the new house a week before we had to travel. According to him, the house was all set up and since it was recently fixed everything was almost new.

The driver stopped the car on the curb beside the two-story Mediterranean style house. It was painted a light brown that highlighted the six white-framed windows on the second floor. The garage section had two sliding dark brown doors that were separated for the different cars. A black gate closed off the front door and beside it was a large window. Above the front door were an iron-made balcony and a small door that led to it. The green grass looked like it was recently cut and the pathway of flowers to the entrance recently made. The inside wasn’t too chaotic, all the walls were painted a light yellow and closed off in sections. The living room had an old leather couch before the white chimney and a rustic rug was placed underneath it. Above the chimney hung a small plasma television and two bookcases stood to the sides, filled with vases and books. The kitchen was on the other side made of steel appliances and granite counters. It was big enough to have a dining table on the other side of the room, which was quite practical.