New Beginnnings

• Dominique Atley, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2010

Glass and pain. Those were the young girls clearest memories of the night that changed her life. Even though the pictures were clearly swirling around in her memory, Elinor Guild could never truly recall her exact experience for those who were kind enough to ask. The young girl had never been able to manage the prospect of repeating the night of her sixteenth birthday, even if everyday since it had replayed numerous times in her head. The teenager could still distinguish her screams from the laughs of those who she could not loathe as deeply as the year she had spent in a hospital bed. Even three years subsequent to the awful night, Elinor could never eliminate the horrendous piercing of her skin that the shards of glass produced. Rippling pain that could only be rivaled if the attacker had equal satisfaction to John Ryder. The memory of the pleasure he demonstrated from etching jagged lines into her back still brought up the bile from her throat. With the scars still clearly evident on her body, Elinor had never truly recovered mentally after the midnight attack. Fortunately she was a good actor. Even after all the therapy sessions and trips to shrink, Elinor still felt wrapped up in that tight cocoon of her own making. No friends or family could begin to understand the horror of discovering that your future may involve the possibility of losing the ability to walk, so she didn’t bother explaining. They tried to help, but every time Elinor received a scared of afraid look from someone in the public, her determination to heal her body on her own grew. She persisted with the therapy and finally, finally after three demanding years on Elinor’s body the young girl could confidently work her way up the white marble stairs of Australia’s high court. With the young girls ability to walk slowly returning, the anger and self hatred threads of her cocoon were gradually unwinding.
One simple smile -three years after the night that changed not only her own life, but the lives of those around her- was the first of many things that brought her mother to tears that first time she finally recalled her side to the horrific story. The effort of re-surfacing the feelings she had tried so hard to bury those years ago was a long a grueling task. However after she took that last breath, indicating that her story was told, Elinor could finally breathe deeply again. The young girl could smile and laugh without having that dark shadow of fear hovering over her shoulder, she could live again.

Elinor’s hand subconsciously gravitated towards her left arm scar as the young girl approached the large wooden doors that would open up to a new start. Even though justice meant the end for some, it was only the beginning for Elinor. With that last thought she pushed the two doors apart and stepped into the court, ready for anything.