"Pa..pa.." Rima whispered. She peered from around a wall at her Father, who screamed at her Mother. Slowly her socked feet took small steps across the carpet. Rima grabbed her Dad's pantleg and stared up at him with big eyes.

"Daddy..."

"QUIET! RIMA GO TO YOUR ROOM!"

Rima felt a pain in her chest and ran back to the wall. Her mother's next outburst felt like she had been struck from behind.

"DON'T TAKE THIS OUT ON HER! IT'S NOT HER FAULT!"

Those words froze her frail body, shaking her balance. She tripped and fell on the carpet. Then scrambled away, never quite standing back up, only pushing with her feet and pawing at the ground.

Rima's parents kept a neat and clean little backyard with a garden and meticulously placed rocks. Lately it had rained, causing the small patches of nearly invisible dirt to become huge mud puddles. Mud monsters to little 8 year old Rima.

There was a large willow tree in the corner of the yard and it had become Rima's hiding place. She ran that way but got her foot stuck in the soggy ground. It dragged her down and Rima fell. Slowly the dark clouds that had stayed back began to roll in. Rima sat up and sniffed. She wiped away tear after tear but they spilled from her eyes like a waterfall. Rima gave up and wailed as loudly as her small lungs could manage.

"DON'T TAKE THIS OUT ON HER! IT'S NOT HER FAULT!"

But it was, it was all her fault. If she wasn't so small, if she wasn't so fragile. Rima hated herself, she hated her body, so small and cute. Cute would get you nowhere in life.

It wasn't fair.

"STOP IT! STOP IT! STOOOOOP IITTTTTTT!" Rima began to shriek, punching the ground with her small fists. Overhead, a weak drizzle had started.

"IT'S NOT FAIR! STOP! STOP! STOP! I DON'T CARE IF I NEVER WEAR A PRETTY DRESS AGAIN JUST STOP!" Her own desperate wails echoed, not quite in her head and not quick against the garden walls. They repeated inside some kind of awful limbo.

"Stop what?" A soothing voice asked. Startled, Rima opened her eyes to a cute boy with purple hair standing over her. He had a composed and curious expression. Rima rubbed her cheek with a mud caked sleeve and tried to speak through her tears.

"F-F-Fighting-g. Th-th-they w-w-won't st-t-top, SCREAMING!"

The drizzle had become full on rain drops bouncing over the two children. Rima felt alone in that cold rain, lonely and tired and frustrated. Then a pair of warm arms circled her. The boy held his body against hers and gently stroked her hair. She was so shocked her tears ceased for a minute.

"It's okay. It'll be okay." He whispered with a comforting smile. Rima clung tightly to him and quietly sobbed into his shoulder.

"B-B-But it's m-m-my fault-t-t." She blubbered.

"No it's not. You have to be strong for me."

Rima felt like he had just gently sewn her heart back together. Every time her parents fought her father always said it was Rima's fault. Her Mother always said it wasn't, but they all knew that was a front. Every time she said it wasn't Rima's fault it was so insincere, such a lie.

This boy, but this boy had no reason to lie. There was no hesitation or mistruth in his tone. Someone believed in her.

"Rima! What are you doing out here!? And you're all muddy! Come inside so we can get you cleaned up!" Rima's Mother called from the porch.

A quick glance and the boy was nowhere to be found. Already she missed his warm arms and the way they cradled her. Not like some old porcelain doll but like a human being. Not the way she was held by her parents.

Rima wiped her tears and stood.

"Yes Mother. I won't do it again." She said lifelessly. 'Be strong.' Replayed itself over and over again in her head. 'I will.' She answered silently. 'I will.'

Rima came back inside and got cleaned up. The boy watched her from behind the willow tree as Rima disappeared behind her mother. He couldn't wait to meet with her again.


Hahaha I did not just post this online. Hope you liked and I guess some thanks is in order, the whole idea for this story was developed when I was reading a Rimahiko fanfic by an author called: TheTARDISat221B At the end of the story it says something like 'She didn't punch me or kick me or scream.' Then thought about either the 'Secret Garden' or the 'Little princess' both by Frances Hodgson Burnett. There was a scene where someone was throwing a fit and then calmed down. I think it happened in both. Anyway I wanted to put Rima in that situation, then being me I couldn't just write one chapter. So go check out that story. Thank you!