I was sitting in my room, looking out my window at all of the beautiful things my front yard had to offer: The big oak tree swaying side to side, fighting with the wind; The clouds in the sky moving slowly as the breeze blew them away, revealing the bright sun that soon lit up my bedroom; My neighbors playing in their yard with the happiest expressions I had always wanted my family to have around me. Around anything, really. My family wasn't the type to show their love for me or their feelings. That's the one thing I have in common with them. My whole life I didn't show my true emotions. I didn't show happiness. I didn't show sadness. I didn't even show love. But I did show anger. That was the emotion that got me in trouble a lot. My mother and father were very abusive towards me so when they would hit me or tell me I wasn't good enough, (which they did quite often) the next day, I would pull a small, yet harmful enough prank on them. After I did that, they would lock me in my room without any meals for weeks. I hated them. I didn't even do anything to them. I mean yes, I did pull a prank on them but only because they hit me first.
Suddenly, in the corner of my eye, I catch a woman staring at me. Not just a regular woman. A woman dressed in big robes. She looked like she was trying to hide behind a tree but when she saw I was looking, she waved at me. I waved back politely but couldn't help tilting my head in a confused manor. The woman just smiled softly at me, almost apologetically, and gave me a small nod. My cat, Penny, suddenly jumps out of my window and runs to the woman. I quickly jump out after her and run to the both of them where the woman is kindly petting Penny.
"Good afternoon madam." The woman says.
"Hi, um, hello. Good afternoon." I say a bit flustered. I'm a little socially awkward. Maybe more than 'a little.'
If you don't mind my asking, were you watching me?"
"Oh, of course not. I was just passing by when you noticed me." The woman said kindly. "My name is Minerva." She held out her hand.
I took her hand and shook it. As I let go I said, "Im Taylor. Taylor Haren."
"It's nice to see you again, Taylor." Minerva paused. "I mean it's nice to meet you. I must be leaving. I have my work to attend to. I hope to see you again." And with that, she practically ran down the street until she was out of my view.
"Weird, eh?" I said picking up Penny. "She was nice though."
I walked back down to my bedroom window and climbed through it. I set Penny on my bed and opened my door carefully and slowly as to not make a sound. My mum was home and she was the one to mentally abuse me. Never physically but with my dad, that was a different story.
I crept down the hallway, passed my parents room, and down the stairs to the kitchen. When I walked in, I saw two of the woman I loath the most.
Mum and the next door neighbor.
All of my other neighbors were great but this one was my aunt. She was exactly like my mum. They were identical twins but it wasn't just their looks that labeled them as uncanny. They would both push me into the dirt. Figuratively and literally. I was once walking with my mum and aunt. I was minding my own business when suddenly, I fell. I looked up and my eyes met my aunt's smug face. She had tripped me but pretended like she hadn't done anything.
"You still got this one, eh?" My aunt said, waking me up from my thoughts.
"Afraid so." My mother said.
I walk over to the fridge and grab an apple. I get some peanut butter as well as a knife.
"What are you doing with that?" My mother snapped as I cut up my apple.
"I'm eating an apple. What, you don't like the color? There are green apples too. Not just red." I chuckled.
My mother sat up from her seat quickly, looking taken back by my 'disrespectful' remark. My aunt did the same.
"That is not how you talk to your elders!" She yelled.
"You got the elders part right." I said under my breath as I continued to cut my apple. The bad part is, my aunt had heard me.
She suddenly gets up, out of her seat and walks over to me. She raises her hand and... slaps me. Hard. I bring my hand up to my stinging cheek and feel my eyes start to water from the pain. I look up at her challengingly, not daring to let a tear fall. I notice my mother looking surprised yet satisfied.
"You can eat when we tell you to eat. Now go!" My aunt yells.
I grab a piece of my apple, not taking my eyes off of my aunt's, and put it in my mouth slowly.
I chew it and swallow. I then grab my plate with the rest of my food and peanut butter and walk out of the kitchen and into my room. I sit on my bed next to Penny and give her some of my apple. She eats it gratefully, as do I.
That was... awesome. I had never been so rebellious with them. I mean she did hit me but I won. I won. Sure, it stung like hell but it's not like I couldn't handle a little pain. I had my whole life.
Now that I was alone, I allowed a tear to fall from my eye. I may have let more than one drop. Quite a few, actually. In seconds, I was practically sobbing. Sobbing like there was no tomorrow. In my case, there wasn't a need for a tomorrow. The days seemed to have started to pile up and become one. I hadn't realized that it was almost the end of summer. August 2th. I went to the worst secondary school ever. Ellen Wilkinson school for girls was the name. I had gotten sexually assaulted there more than once by the male teachers. I only had one year left and I was so ready to get it over with. I'm 17 years old but my birthday was almost here. I was born on March 31st. I was almost delivered on the 1st of April. Literally only a minute later and I would have. I guess my mum just wanted me out. I did too.
I get up from my bed after I was done eating and grab a book.
'THE HANDMAIDS TALE.'
It was my favorite. I had heard it had become a movie or a tv show but I wasn't able to watch it since I wasn't allowed on the television.
My favorite place to read was always the living room. People were usually around me but I had learned to tune them out. I open my door and walk out into the living room. I ignored my aunt and mother and sit on the couch. Before I start reading, I look at the clock on the wall.
6:00 PM
The sun had started to go down and I was left with the light of the lamp that sat next to me on a small in-table. I take my book mark out of the hundreds of pages and begin to read. But before I could even see the first letter of the first word on the top of the page, my front door to my house bursts open, revealing a tall man and woman.
"Taylor. Nice to see you again."