5 years later~
Maria Hallcove was sitting at the counter, a flask of whiskey in her hand, and many empty bottles surrounding her. The smell of alcohol was heavy in the air, as that was all you would smell throughout the small house. She hiccuped once, twice, three times.
"Urghhhhh..." she groaned, right before throwing up the 2 slices of bread she had eaten earlier that day. Nose wrinkled up in disgust she yells, "Kid, come clean up over here!"
A young girl age 6 scurried over with a mop in her hand. The mop was chipped, cracked, and covered in duct tape. The small girl, knowing the drill, begun cleaning up the mess that her mother made.
As she swung the mop around, the end of the cleaning tool hit one of the many empty bottles that once held alcohol, onto the floor. As the glass made contact with the hard wood floors, it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces, sharp enough the cut those who had the misfortune of reaching for them.
"YOU STUPID CHILD-!" Maria screeched as she threw the bottle in her hand at the poor girl's face. Heavy glass came in contact with the child's already bruised face, leaving a new mark. The girl simply flinched, but knew better than to start crying. When her mother yelled, crying made it worse.
Instead of trying to do anything about the bottle thrown at her, she picked up the mop again and started cleaning up. As soon as she was finished, the young girl put the mop back in place, in the far corner of the kitchen.
"Hic, grab me another bottle brat hic," the drunk woman ordered.
The kid went into their mini fridge, and grabbed another bottle, one of the last few in there. Carefully walking over to her mother the 6 year old handed her the bottle and hurried outside after grabbing a small bag on the floor.
As there was only one bedroom in the house, the kid preferred outside, instead of braving the wrath of her mother. Reaching into a small bag she grabbed a few bandaids, as she got a few cuts from the shattered bottle. They had no broom, because it broke recently, so the girl had been forced the pick up every single tiny shard with her hands.
The kid hurried into the woods behind her house, if you were willing to call it that. The house now had weeds all over the non-existent yard, and vines climbing all over the battered walls.
Not looking back, the 6 year old carefully weaved though the trees, having memorized this path after going over it so many times. At first, it had been covered in foliage, but after her small feet going over the same path over and over again, there was a little noticeable trail to follow.
After walking for a minute or so the sound of water rushing down a stream became apparent. Finally pushing though the last of the trees, a small creek could be found. The young girl put the bandaids on a moss covered rock and knelt next to the rushing water.
She stuck out her small hands into the cold water. Wincing a little as the not fully clean water ran through her wounds, washing away the blood there.
The parts of water that had combined with the blood coming from the child's hands, turned a scarlet hue, one that this child sees often.
As the water begun to turn back to its original color, the child turned away to the moss covered rock that she had set the bandaids on earlier. Gently picking up one of the bandaids, she begun to cover up the open wounds to the best of her ability.
This has become a regular part of her life, after the death of her father. Maria has begun to lose touch with world, and was confused. However, eventually confusion turned into anger. And with nowhere to direct this constant stream of rage, she turned on her own daughter.
Losing all the love she had for the child, she never tried to name her. Despite being 6, Maria's daughter knows not how to speak nor how to read or write. She spends her time doing chores for her mother, or out by this little creek, a place that felt calm from the constant storm of her mother.
As the girl tilted her head up to the sky, she gazed at the stars. They confused her, like many things around her.
She was confused when she saw green plants.
She was confused when she heard her mother speak.
She was confused on why stars glittered in the sky, and no matter how high she reached, she could not grasp those shining lights.
After sitting out there, by the water, and the mossy rock, the child grew tired. She finally fell asleep at what would be 2 o'clock in the morning, under a shining mass of stars.
Dawn. A time where the small shining lights fade, to be replaced with one huge one. As the child felt a warmth on her face, she began to open her eyes slowly, to see the world around her.
The kid blinked once, twice, before finally pushing her body up off of the grassy ground that was below her. As she sat up she stretched her arms out, feeling her bones popping after lying down for a few hours.
As much as she wanted to stay at that little creek, the 6 year old picked herself up, and begun heading back to the house. Knowing her mother would be angry if she wasn't there when she woke up.
~
She had reached the back door as the kid sensed something off. It was almost as if there were multiple presences in the house.
More confusion.
She gently and quietly pushed the door open, as to not anger her mother. As her small bare feet gently padded inside the house, the kid made sure to also close the door behind her.
As she looked up, she saw that her hunch was correct. Instead of her mother alone (that would usually still be sleeping) she saw two men with her. One was extremely tall, and had a scruffy beard that looked like a mold growing on his face. The other was shorter and only had one ear.
They turned to look at her before continuing to speak to her mother. The girl, not knowing how to speak, couldn't understand what their conversation was about, but her mother seemed happy.
A strange phenomenon.
"So you're happy with the price?" The tall one asked.
"Of course! As long as you keep your end of the deal, I'll keep mine," Maria smiled.
"Ok then." The one without an ear reached into his pocket digging around. Finally he found what he was looking for and handed Maria a wad of cash.
The woman sat there, counting the money, with a menacing grin on her face, growing bigger with each dollar counted.
"Hehe, alright... you can take the kid." The woman said, pointing at the small girl, standing by the door.