Fallen Tears

• Nicole Dowsing, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2008

Tears bled from her bright green eyes, and ran down her cheeks. She didn’t understand, and she didn’t want to.
He left the girl in her room, and stumbled down the hall. She heard his footsteps grow softer and softer, and then his thudding feet on the stairs as he descended below.
She sank to the floor of her room, and clutched her side which was in immense pain. Her breathing came in slow, painful gasps, as if each would be her last. This is not the first time that this has happened, and she knew that it wouldn’t be the last.
The girl gingerly touched her black-blue cheek, which was wet from her fallen tears. She looked towards the doorway and groaned softly, so no one would hear. Her tears continued to fall silently, as they often did, and she shook violently in the cold of the night. Footsteps came up the old staircase, as rain began to run down the window. The sound seemed to echo through the silent house. ‘No’ she pleaded, ‘Please…No’
His rough, cruel face appeared in the doorway, with the smell of alcohol lingering around him. A soft mumbling came from his foul mouth as he staggered forward. He had to stop and lean against the wall, in order to prevent him falling to the ground.
“You…stupid…little…” the man grumbled as he ran his hard hand through his dark hair. A gurgling sound came from deep inside of him, and he vomited all over the floor.
The once motionless girl was now up and out of the door, and running down the hall as fast as her sore and tired legs would carry her.
A loud rumble of a voice came from behind her, but she didn’t look back. A loud thudding was coming down the hall just as she began descending down the creaking staircase.
Her boney body was weak, and she knew that his muscular and drunken body would soon be upon her. She needed to hide; she needed to feel safe again. If only she could be with her older brother, he would keep her safe, and he would look after her. But the law was unfortunately against her.
She jumped the last stair, and landed hard on the wooden floor. “Stop…you…” came the dreaded voice from behind her at the top of the staircase. She turned around, to face the man who was not fit to be classified as human. He lifted his foot, and as he lowered it to the top stair, he stumbled, and fell down the stairs.
The girl got out of the way in time, but the motionless body lay before her, and she was speechless. Her face became wet with freshly fallen tears, as she cried aloud. She was free, but was she truly free? She had no where to go, but she knew that anywhere couldn’t be worse, than what her own father had put her through.