She sat farthest from us, I knew what she was thinking; what every child in the room was. How could she have done this, how could she have the heart for this? Well I can tell you how; because she doesn’t have one, she has no heart. My mother has always been ruthless, always the one who took the risk, or in this case took the challenge. No one would have seen this coming, for all everyone knew she was just another mother with three children.
It had started with the continuous watching of movies, once my father divorced her she became a completely different person. My brother and sister both were raised like any other American family. Mother used to be compassionate, she could not stand to see an animal hurt. So why did she become the way she is now? I certainly don’t know. As I’ve said before, she started watching movies one channel in particular. Soon she started forgetting to give us dinner, she began to forget to put lunch in our lunch boxes, and soon she forgot she even had children. At first there was not much I could say, I was afraid of telling my father. I kept my mouth shut and my brother and sister did the same. I was the eldest so I tried my best to feed my siblings, at the age of eight I had to learn how to cook dinner, weekends were the best though, those were the days when I was allowed to be a kid. I once asked my father if he could teach me to cook, when he asked why I made the lame excuse that I wanted to become a chef. My dad was ignorant of the things that were going on at home.
Weeks became months and months became years. My mother kept her charade on the outside, but once inside she was the only nightmare I had, the only monster I knew, the boogyman was a kitten next to her. She kept me from feeding my siblings, and kept them from ever seeing me. She knew that I would keep them strong, and she knew that they kept me and my hope alive. She would leave early in he day to drop them off to elementary school, I had to leave an hour after that. She would have them locked in a room, and I could freely walk the halls, but what good did that do, she had the key, and if I ever tried to open any of them they would be the ones who suffered. Unfortunately I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Once my sister asked her why she did what she did, and my mom answered “Because I can,” her sick answer was that. The worst part was that she laughed when causing them pain, after smoking a cigarette she would call my brother or sister only to rub the burning end of it in their palms. I’d hear the shrieks of pain and agony, and all I could do was stand there and watch, as I gripped the closest thing I had.
My sister was once close on leading social services on my mom, after a teacher saw the scars of cigarette she called the principal and my mom to a meeting. My mom put on her charade, and my sister had to play along. She lied about how she found my sister with a cigarette in her hands, and how she told her to put it down but my sister disobeyed and ended up burning herself. Of course if my sister would have had more scars that excuse wouldn’t have been enough, but that’s why my mom was careful, she always burned them in the same place. By this time you would have asked why I didn’t tell, and I have to tell you the option crossed my mind, and when threatening my mom she put on her sweetest voice and said “Simple honey, you tell and I kill. Got that?” I wouldn’t and didn’t test her on that. Soon my mom discovered that if she kept sending us with father he would notice, so one day she was all packed up, she had our things packed op outside and ready to go. Once in our new home she told us about how we wouldn’t be going to school anymore, and how we wouldn’t see our dad ever again.
My mother was cruel but not stupid, she kept us on the basement, never seeing the sky’s light nor dark. How did she keep people from noticing us? I had no idea, the only good part in it was that I was with my brother and sister. They were almost strangers to me, I haven’t seen them in five years, I was at about fourteen and they were around ten and eight. Once I saw them hey came running to me at the same time I was, they cried in my shoulders, I tried my best to sooth them, but I was exhausted from everything. I was exhausted at the fact that I wanted to be freed, I wanted hope and energy and strength. I had to keep my strength but I wanted my sister and brother to live more than I wanted anything. When mother bought down food I only ate a fruit and gave the rest to my sister and brother. I began to exercise, at first I was a failure, I was only a fourteen year old boy with the meal of a three fruits a day. Soon I grew gained more weight, all muscle, which I felt proud of, but the terrorizing thought o my mother was still there.
One day my mother came down her face hard and angry, I quickly pushed my sister and brother out of the way and behind me. She grabbed the first thing she saw and threw it at me, then she grabbed me and started pounding me in the face, from the corner of my eye I saw my siblings recoil from her and made themselves into a little ball in the corner, good I thought, they were being smart. I felt her hands smash my skull into the wall, she punched my in the stomach, and when it was all too much I stumbled down into the floor. That didn’t stop her though; she kept on kicking me for two hours straight. When she ended I was unconscious. I only felt something rubbing gently in my face, I felt into a dreamless sleep.
When I woke up the firs thing I saw was my sisters hands on my face, and her sleeping body draped over me. My brother to my surprise was trying to do pushups, which made me smile a bit. “What are you doing?” I was surprised at my own voice, it was deep and…scary.
I saw my brother stop relentlessly, I scared him. “Nothing,” I raised my eyebrow “did I do good?” My poor brother sounded terrified, his voice was sweet in my ears. I needed to find a way to get them out.
“You did great, but why are you doing that. You don’t need to worry, as long as I can help it she won’t hurt you.” I saw a tear fall from his face.
“I could have stopped her, but I’m weak.”
I motioned him to sit by me, he quickly walked his way to me. “Don worry about me, Ill do, need you to worry about you and her,” I nodded my head toward my sister who was now sleeping peacefully in my lap. “Should I tell you my secret?” I whispered, he nodded his eyes intent, “As long as you have hope, and as long as you believe, you’re a stronger person than a guy with fifty pounds of muscles.” He looked at me with questioning eyes, but decided to believe me. “Now its time to sleep, you can keep on doing exercise tomorrow.” Unless it already was tomorrow, there was no way of knowing.
Later I heard footsteps, I was scared but something in me was also hoping, and maybe someone found her out. Then I saw the same boots that had kicked me, and hope left me. She grabbed us by the shirt and dragged us out. Once I saw the night sky I was stunned by its beauty, I nudged my brother and sister, and they too stopped to enjoy the beauty of the night.
What I found out later on was that we were moving once again. This time mother had something planned I could see it. She locked us in the basement once again. We fell into the sleep of nothingness. I woke at the sound of the creaking of the door, this time I didn’t see the boots, but rather high heels, I insistently got up, hope haven’t left me I thought. Only to my disappointment and horror did I see what really was going on. My mother had kidnapped someone. I saw the women struggle to free herself, but I knew it was worthless, my mother outweigh her by several pounds. She had her hands tied and her mouth covered, her eyes widened when she saw me.
After mother left I quickly went to untie the women, she was in her early twenties. Her face was still frightened, I wondered how I looked to her. ‘Are you Micheal?’ I abruptly stopped dead, how did she know my name? I nodded. “You father has been looking for you.”
“How do you know my name?” I asked, once again surprised by my voice.
“I’m a reporter, and I have been researching your case. Well yours and your brother’s and sister’s. Was that women your mother? How many years have you been here?”
I laughed bitterly. “Yes she’s my mother, and I don know how much time I’ve been here, we move form place to place. Whew am I?”
She looked at me with pity, and frightened eyes. What was with this woman? Was she scared of me? “You’re in Seattle, and it’s been about six years since you were reported missing. How did you get from New Jersey to Seattle?”
Im in Seattle? How did that happen? “I don’t know, I’ve moved about three times, I’m not even sure about m age.”
“We need to find a way out. You’re fifteen by the way.” She started walking around the room looking for things and ways that would help her out. Suddenly she snapped her head up. “Someone will notice, I left all the clues in my office, they’ll notice I’m sure.” Yet she kept on looking for some loophole, which I knew she wouldn’t find.
Days passed, and the lady got frightened more and more. I for one didn’t believe she was being so weak. I couldn’t believe she gave up so fast, she spent hours knocking on the walls, for what I didn’t know. She kept looking at me and my siblings with watery eyes, I had enough of that my self, I didn’t need her to cry for me.
Mother came down the stairs her face hard and angry, I had sudden déjà vu I’ve seen that face once, so had my brother and sister, they quickly walked to a corner again, my brother hesitated, but I managed to convince him to go. As for the women she had no idea what was happening, I gave her a warning look. She kept back, when I suddenly felt my shirt being tugged. Of course she would go for the first person she saw. She punched me, this time I felt her hands working with more force, but then she suddenly let me go, and I saw the reason behind it. The lady had tried to push her, which I knew would result in a bad way. She knocked her head in the wall, and the lady obviously went unconscious. She walked out and I heard her mutter “it was all your fault, now they know, you stupid b****.” Who knew, what had she done? I didn’t dare ask though. I saw my sister grab a cloth and wet it, she went to try to heal the lady’s head, and I looked at her with sad eyes, how can a creature like that ever go through what she goes and still care for others. My brother just stood there with alarmed eyes.
The lady and my sister had developed a special relationship, I saw the way my sister looked at her, she adored her. My brother took some time to become used to her, but he soon gave in to her love as well, I didn’t want to have to care for another person. One day when my sister and brother were sleeping both between us, she asked “How did you handle them, why do they have scars in their hands?”
“My mother burnt them, and as for your first question, I love them, that’s all I need.”
“You’re a very bright man, I have a sister your age, she’s a piece of work. I think she’d like you, you’re very attractive.”
I felt heat in my face, but I didn’t really care about her or her sister. I decided to instead fall into the hopes and dreams of my sleep.
There was a racket upstairs, I heard shouting and heavy footsteps. I got up and woke up the lady. She was confused but then she heard what I had heard, she ran up the stairs and started kicking screaming and shouting to someone outside. I only watched her, for I knew she was going to get it bad. Though I was confused my self, my moms footsteps were lighter, she didn’t like noise herself.
I saw the door open, and a flashlight. It was a man with a police patch, was this guy really a police man? Was I finally getting out of this personal hell? He walked down the stairs turning the light on his way. My brother and sister both woke and squinted at the light, I went and grabbed them by the hand. The lady smiled at the same time as the officer said “You’re free.”
I hugged my brother and sister, and they hugged my back, crying. This time I was glad, because I knew they were tears of joy.
Once out side I saw the light, the sins hopeful and beautiful light. There were people outside, all looking at me and the two kids beside me. Some were crying, others were too shocked to do anything. I on the other hand pressed my feet on the solid grass feeling its warmth under my toes. We were free.