-+-What is Love?-+-
Galinda leaned against her mother's shoulder. "Mommy, what is love?" She asked, all that five year old innocence escaping from her voice.
Her mother smiled and looked down at her. "Love, my sweet girl, is when someone really enjoys someone's presence, or rather in some cases dislikes their presence. You can never tell at first." She knew this wasn't the full answer, but she adored the child's innocence and wished to keep it...
"Do you love me?" The little girl asked.
"Of course, my sweet." Her mother kissed the little girl's forehead and tucked her in bed. "And I will love you forever, my sweet."
---
Galinda slammed the door behind her as she rushed into her bedroom. She locked the door and pressed her body against it to prevent the killer from getting in. The killer was her father. "OPEN THIS DOOR!" He roared.
"No!" Galinda cried. How could he? He had stabbed her, right in the heart. Her mother was dead and there was nothing she could do about it.
"I'LL TEAR IT DOWN IF YOU DON'T!" Galinda closed her eyes and prayed to the Unnamed God something - someone would save her. As the doorknob jiggled, she was afraid he might just be able to.
"Daddy, no!" She wailed, hoping he still had a bit of sanity or heart yet. "Daddy, please! I love you!" She wailed. The jiggling stopped and Galinda sobbed into her skirt. It had worked. Those three little words had saved her life, but for how long she wasn't sure.
"I... I love you, too, sweetheart..." Her father said after a while.
Galinda just cried. In all her eight years of being punished by her father she'd never seen him so upset. The worst he'd ever done was whip her with a belt. He'd never gotten a knife before. Her blond curls were mixing with her bloody arms, a result of failed attempts at a stab. She couldn't feel it, but she knew it must hurt. Galinda crawled weakly into her bed and tucked herself in. She whispered those words her mother always had, "And I will love you forever, my sweet..."
---
It was her eighteenth birthday. She was almost afraid to go near her father. It seemed everything she did made him angry. She feared it must be because of her looks. She looked exactly like her mother. Beautiful blue eyes, flaxen hair. Whenever she looked in the mirror she cried. Her father would point out every reason she'd never be loved, and she'd have to assure herself that her mother did love her. She always will wherever she went after her death. Galinda threw herself at boys. Those boys loved her; they told her they did. The next morning though they didn't. She was unloved again. Galinda was a popular young girl. She had everything in the world, friends, and boys waiting on her hand and foot. She was a gemstone of perfection that everyone wished to steal. Galinda thought they loved her. They all enjoyed her presence, right? Her mother hadn't explained much more about love. She just figured she had loved everyone and that everyone loved her. Now she wasn't so sure the definition was appropriate. Galinda closed her eyes and bit her lip opening the mailbox. Could there be an envelope from Shiz? She had worked so hard to get in. Of course, she would never tell anyone she was a studyholic brainiac. That would ruin everything. Galinda would say her father pulled some strings. "I have to get the letter first!" She giggled. Her mother had gone to Shiz. She fell in love. It wasn't her fault her love was a psychopath. The love had merely died.
Skimming the mail she found an envelope with her name typed in small print. "Miss Glinda," it said. She frowned a bit at the mistake but nearly squealed with joy that she would be in Shiz in just a few weeks. "Galinda, hurry up with the mail!" Her father called and she scurried inside, handing her father the many envelopes of bills. "Now get to your room."
"Yes, Popsicle." The blond ran up the stairs to pack. Though she only really had seven dresses and two pairs of shoes, Galinda needed to make the impression that she had a million outfits. She would leave that night. Why tonight? It's not like her father would take her, and it was a hard journey to get to Shiz on her own. Taking the old bloody dress she had ten years ago to wear, she chuckled sadly. It was hard to believe she could still fit in it. How little she'd grown made her realize why the world seemed so big. Leaving a note for her father, she hopped out the window. The note had said, "I'm sorry, Popsicle. I love you." Underneath was her signature. That was when Galinda left forever.