The Kelpie's Cries (Completed)

Escaping Reality

As the girl cried sat on the floor hugging her knees, she could hear her parents arguing right outside of her room. She couldn't make out what they were saying thanks to her constant sniffles and small shouts of confusion. Was what she had done so bad that her father had to slap her? It wasn't even a light slap, it was one that stang and hurt both physically and mentally. She heard a bang and she could only assume that the fight outside had become more physical than verbal. Her father was the most caring and kind man she knew of so for him to have done something that bad, what she did was wrong and her mother was the one getting punished for it simply because she was trying to protect her daughter from her own father.

Her mother was crying and begging him to stop whatever it was he was doing. The sound of heavy footsteps was getting closer to the door and the girl knew it was her turn for punishment -she wanted none of that. In an attempt to save herself since her mother couldn't stop her father, she grabbed her chair and placed it against the door as a barricade before grabbing any objects she could move and placing it on it. Her attempt was successful. The man outside was wiggling the doorknob and pushing, trying to get in the room to most likely hit her but the door wouldn't budge. There was a loud bang again and the wiggling stopped. It was then that her mother assured her that she could come out, that it was safe.

The barricade was destroyed and the door opened. Her father was passed out on the floor, her mother was holding a bloody pan in one hand. She saw her mother's red face and the hand imprint on her right cheek and immediately went to hug her, ignoring what had just happened. They held one another for a minute, enjoying the presence of one another but that relief from danger was short-lived as her father began to stir. Her mum went upstairs and came back with a couple more notebooks that she stuffed in a bag along with the one her father had  and put it on her daughter's shoulders before picking her up and carrying her with hurried steps through the backdoor of the kitchen.

The sky was all shades of orange and purple, no clouds in sight and the temperature was falling by the hour. She set her daughter down and pulled off the jacket she was wearing to put it on her. The girl didn't understand right away what her mother was doing but after the jacket was hugging her small body, she understood. With tears in her eyes, her mum told her to go away, deep into the forest where no one could find her.

"There are people in there, not human but they are good. Don't go back to Henry, find those people instead", she said and fell on her knees to hug her one last time, "And whatever you do, don't let them know your real name, okay? Don't let anyone take the contents of this bag from you until you are somewhere safe and... no matter what... never stop searching for the truth".

The girl nodded and let out tears of her own that stained her mother's plain white shirt, knowing that this was their last moment together from their serious tone she had in her voice. Her father had started shouting and yelling, trying to find the two of them in the empty house. The woman pushed her towards the forest, telling her to go continuously until she finally ran at the sight of her dad nearing the backdoor with a shotgun. As she ran, she didn't look back and she only focused on picking up speed and not stumbling on her way. She didn't turn back even when she heard her mother scream for help nor when a gunshot was heard and her screams died down. She heard her father yelling at her, calling her back in an angry manner, she heard as he threatened to kill her if she left but she trusted her dead mother more than her killer. She would find those people she was talking about and keep away from her crazed father and his friend, Henry as her mother told her.

Right as a bullet went past her, missing her head for mere centimeters, the girl was out of sight, hidden by the many trees and bushes of the forest that would protect her forever. She ran until the forest's shade turned from green to a dark blue but she knew she wouldn't be safe at the entrance; her father could easily catch up to her if she didn't go in deeper. However, it was night and the moon wasn't shining like it usually did. The forest was dark and she could barely see her nose as she ran down an unknown path. Mockingbirds were croaking and mimicking the sounds of her feet colliding with the gravel path. They were a big giveaway of her location so she picked up a rock and threw it at them in an attempt of getting them to fly off. The rock never reached the high branches where the big birds were sitting, though and they only got louder.

Terrified of getting caught by her dad, she resumed running and at some point, she unknowingly strayed from the path and went in the darkest place of the forest. She curled up in a big bush, deciding to hide there until the danger had passed and the sun was up again. Heavy footsteps ran past her hiding spot and then a gunshot was heard. The girl covered her mouth to muffle any sound that came out of her mouth. Please don't let him find me!, was all she could think as her small heart beat faster than a marathon runner.

The mockingbirds started croaking, creating that familiar, terrifying roar to try and scare the man away but the only reaction they got was him shouting at them to shut up and a bullet to one's heart. The bird fell off the branch with a big thud at the man's feet, its colourful wings spread wide and its body twitching as blue blood spilled out of it like water would from a small crack in a dam. Someone else's footsteps approached and then there were hushed whispers. She could make out the voices of her father and Henry's but she couldn't understand what they were saying. They were speaking in normal volume but the ringing in her ears didn't let her hear. She only heard the end of the conversation which put another goal on the girl's bucket list.

"You go deal with the body of your wife, I'll find your daughter", Henry said and pat the other on the shoulder.
"Call her by her name if you have to, she knows too much but I have no idea if she knows about you-know-what", her father replied.
"Do you think she's around here?"
"Her tracks stop over there, she strayed from the path but she is so small, she doesn't have that much stamina to sprint kilometers away"

They exchanged goodbyes and they were off on their marry ways; her dad off to his house and Henry off to his own. Her heart had started to calm own the farther away the two men were and the adrenaline rush that allowed her to sprint so much had started to fade as well. Her eyelids were heavy like stones and before she knew it, she fell asleep in that bush.