Louise was hiding in the corner of the room next to the dresser, praying that the bad man wouldn’t find her. She could hear his boots as he made his way up the stairs and down the hall. They stopped outside her door as they had so many times before. A single tear escaped the corner of her eye as the handle on the door began to turn slowly. Closing her eyes tight she imagined she was a little bird, perched on the windowsill, ready to take flight…like the one her momma made for her from a sheet of paper the other day. He entered the room and closed the door softly behind him. No need for the girl’s momma to hear and come start with him again. Looking around the room, he finally spotted her skirt in the shadows. In three steps he was standing over her, a wicked grin upon his face as he saw the terror written on her face. How he loved to see that look. Reaching down, he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the middle of the room. Eyes narrowing he growled for her to look up at him. She shook her head, the motion almost imperceptible. He noticed it however and shook her hard. He hated to be disobeyed and this slip of a thing was NOT going to ignore his demands. His right hand lifted high above her, pausing so she would know it was coming, giving her ample time to be afraid and cringe. The child looked up defiantly, not saying a word, lips thin in a solemn line. She knew what was coming and let her mind drift off to where she was that little bird perched for flight. When he full force of his hand struck her, she bit her tongue to keep from crying out. As he repeatedly hit her, she kept her eyes shut tight, flying high above the fields behind the house, where nothing bad could happen to her. She was free from the pain that the bad man caused when he beat her, free to live in the sunshine. Not satisfied with the reaction he had not gotten from the child, the man shoved her away from him. When he turned he knocked the paper bird off the dresser and it was crushed under his boot as he went in search of more amusing prey. Once he had left her alone, Louise picked herself up from the floor where he had thrown her. Touching her lip she felt pain where it had been split. Her cheek stung from the repeated slaps also. What hurt the most though was when she noticed her bird, the bird that gave her freedom from the pain, lying crushed upon the floor. Kneeling down to pick it up, she cradled it in her hands, tears falling from her eyes. She shook her head, wondering how she could have thought that paper wings could set her free… Drop me a note and let me know what you thought!