A Big Happy Family - Part 2

So there you go. Just the beginning of the end of my care-free childhood. Whenever I think back to it, I know this was the spark of the best thing that ever happened to me, even though sometimes it's hard to believe. See, the truth is, writing comes from somewhere inside you. But a lot of times, when you have to let your readers feel your character's pain, you have to know the pain too.

Surprisingly, this isn't even the part of my family drama that gets to me. But that's an entirely different story.

Mom runs down the stairs. I freeze, not knowing what to think. There is nothing to think. Dad becomes the monster of my life. The creature to check for hiding in my closet or under my bed. His shouts are curses Every word stings, and I know this is the end.

Buttons on the phone dial while I stand in place. I can only question what's going on. But there is no answer. I'm confused. I'm scared. This can't be the end. We are supposed to be a family. A whole family. The lucky ones who love each other unconditionally. A tear slips down my face.

Some mutters on the phone are followed by Mom speaking clearly. She unlocks the front door first so they can get in. Then she opens the back door, letting the monster in. He strikes her. He's furious. He hates her for sending him out of their home. There's no more love between the two of them.

My brother taps me on the shoulder, signalling to hide under the bed. I'm snapped back into reality and I slide under, covering my eyes.

Dad walks towards the bedroom, and we're all ready to scream. To run. To leave. To start over. The world that we once knew disintegrates into a mess of dust. He pulls her up the stairs, dragging her by her hair. I can't control the tears. I know I should help her but I wouldn't know what to do. We're all frozen in fear.

They reach the top floor of the house, and we can hear the sirons. They got here quickly, but they should have been faster. The police. They can't save us. It's a monster now. It's not Dad. And the monster was ready to kill Mom.

He threatened to end her life. He beat her, and the police screamed through the door. Mom screamed, and I heard her scream for her life. It haunts me. To think about the women who protects me each and every day in danger sends shivers down my spine. It can still make me cry.

The police break through the door, and they try and handle the monster. They try and take him away but he'll never leave us alone. He didn't go away the first time, what makes this any different. By now, I have my eyes closed. I'm only listening. I'm not sure of anything. And I don't know what happened.

Footsteps. Coming towards the door. Just a slow walk. Firm, steady steps towards the door. I fear it's the monster coming to finish us off too. But it's a police officer. He enters the room telling us that it'll be okay.

It'll never be okay. It's wrong. This shouldn't happen. Not on Christmas.

But it did.

My happiness is gone. I can't think, I can only cry. My brother and sister both hug me, but I know they're thinking the same thing. They didn't cry, but they didn't realize where this was going. They didn't understand that my eyes had never been opened to this new world.

From that moment on, I knew true emotion. And even though that was the end of my early life, it was the beginning of my journey as a writer.