Page 4 - CHASING A DREAM

This went on for three years, Tala being in the closet,

hugging herself, with no one to protect her and no one she

could defend, she was all alone. Another night came; this

meant another fight was about to break out. When this

started, Tala hid in her closet once again. She heard her

mother scream all her father’s faults out when she abruptly

turned quiet. By this time, Tala was already close to sleep

and chose to ignore it, thinking that she would be woken

up by her mother once again when the next morning

came. But morning came, and no one woke her up. She got

out of the closet to find her mother. That was when her

whole world collapsed; she saw her mother lying on the

floor with a pool of blood surrounding her and her father’s

nowhere to be found. Her knees felt shaky and weak as she

slid down to the floor; silent tears started falling down her

cheeks, but she did not cry loudly. She sat beside her

mother and stared at her lifeless body.

For a twelve-year-old, this would be the most horrifying

thing in the world, but Tala couldn’t bring herself to scream

bloody murder and ask for help. All she could think of was

why she wasn’t there when her father murdered her

mother. Why did Tala have to stay in the closet when she

could have prevented her father from killing her mother.

Regret and guilt flowed through her system. It was her

fault; this would not have happened if she didn’t hide in

the closet, but she was a coward.