Maria, age 12, loved to climb the majestic mountains of Salzburg. She'd go up as often as she could, especially ever since her parents had met an tragic end in an automobile accident just outside of Austria. Her parents had left her to her father's brother, her uncle Amadeus. Maria was grateful to him, but she very much hated him. He was usually a very kind man, but when he drank (which was quite often since the accident), he became violent. Filled with a rage unexplainable to anyone, he'd often take it out on defenseless, innocent Maria.
Often, getting lost in the secret world only she knew of, Maria would lose track of the time when she was in the mountains. Her uncle was many things, but understanding was not one of them. If she was late again...
Realizing how dark the skies had grown, Maria frantically ran back to the village. Dark clouds began to threaten the skies, only making her run faster.
Finally, she reached the door of the house, taking a few deep breaths before opening the door, not wanting her uncle to hear her enter the house.
Slowly, she turned the doorknob and carefully pushed it open, trying not to let it creak. She did the same when closing it, then began the journey that seemed like a mile, but was only a few yards.
"Well, well, well..." she heard a familiar voice grumble as a shadowy figure rose from the living room couch.
"Welcome home. So glad to have you back, Maria. Come here...and let me show you how much you've been missed..." his words slurred, as he advanced towards her, backhanding her across the face, following with a brutal kick to the shin.
Maria collapsed to the ground, now trembling in fear. As she felt another round of kicks to her stomach and chest, her mother's voice entered her head repeating one thing over and over: "Get out of there."
Maria mustered up the strength she needed so desperately now and reached for a nearby baseball bat, hitting her uncle on the foot with it, and then over the head when he'd doubled over from the pain. That knocked him out long enough for the young girl to escape. \
Maria didn't know where she was running, but she didn't care.