Thoughts of Escape
Another argument, another day. Kaoru held her swollen cheek, trying to push back the tears
threatening to spill. Her futile attempts at changing her father's mind ended with another
beating. But things had not always been this way. There was a time when laughter walked
freely around the house, hand in hand with happiness. But the death of her mother unleashed
a monster that was lying dormant in Koshijiro. Having his only child be a daughter was a
thorn at his side. The fact that she was one of the most beautiful women in Japan didn't make
his shame of a girl child abate at all. It only surged him further to mar her face with dark
bruises and split lips. Kaoru moved around the kitchen, searching for cold meat for her new
bruise. But all the food had been eaten and money for food had gone straight into gambling.
Her hungry stomach growled and she clenched it tight. She sat on an old stool but it broke
from ill use and Kaoru held a bruised cheek along with a sore rump. She felt like giving up
right then. Time after time she would try to persuade her father to get a decent job. But he
refused to leave the gang of thieves called the Black Fists. His ambition to rise high overcame
any shame in robbing people. At nighttime gang meetings would occur, which consisted of
drinking, swearing, and picking which noble to rob next. Kaoru hid herself in the small barn
outside to stay out of the sight of the gangleader's lusty eyes. Those eyes terrified her
every time she saw them. She would draw her thin and torn shawl closer around her and tried
to find some errand outside to do. He had never tried to do anything yet, but the look of
those eyes cemented a promise for the future. Kaoru was starting to cry when her father
lumbered into the kitchen.
"Stupid girl, why are you crying! Useless piece of dung! Go make me dinner!"
"There's no food, father."
He slapped her on the cheek sharply.
"It's all your fault we're starving in this dump. If you didn't eat so much we would have
enough food to feed the gang!"
"Please, father, maybe if you tried to get a job at the-"
This time it was a hard punch onto her recent bruise. He started swearing under his breath
and stomped outside to look for the gang. Kaoru was almost frozen in fear and pain. The
swelling on her cheek inflamed her whole face with agony. More tears dropped as she realized
that dusk had come and that there would soon be a meeting. She slowly started to get up and
made her way to her usual hiding place. She melted into a dark corner in the barn and buried
her face in her hands. She tried to muffle the sobs as quietly as she could, but someone heard
them and opened the barn door. She looked up and whimpered with fear. It was the gang
leader and he had an evil glint in his eyes. He entered the barn and shut the door tightly
behind him. Kaoru pressed her body in the corner, trying to put as much distance as she
could between them. He grabbed her and threw her onto the small pile of hay. He started to
chuckle as he lowered his pants.
"I've been waiting a long time for this. You're such a temptress, you know that?"
Kaoru could feel her arm blindly reaching for something, anything. Her hand caught hold of
a wooden stick. Just as he began to lower himself down she grabbed the stick and thrust it
into his chest. To her horror, the wooden stick was a rake with four sharp tips which was now
protruding out of the leader's back. His mouth was opening and closing like a fish and Kaoru
quickly let go of the rake. He fell and the rake was push up even further. Kaoru backed away
with her hands on her face. *What have I done? What have I done? I've killed somebody!
What am I going to do? Father will kill me now!* Kaoru could feel her whole body trembling.
She knew that if Koshijiro and the gang found out about this, he would kill her. And he
wouldn't just kill her quickly but would make it last. She knew what she had to do, she had to
run away. She didn't know where but she had to leave this place. She wiped the tears on her
eyes and tried calm down her frantic body. Taking deep and even breaths she opened the
barn door and walked to the back door of the house. She crept in through the kitchen but
froze in her tracks as she heard Koshijiro asking where the leader was. She quickened her
pace and made it to her room with no one spotting her. She quickly put her long, thick hair
up and smashed an old farming hat on. She took a long cotton scarf and wrapped it around
her face. She was aware that many men paid close attention to her whenever she came out of
the house. If she wanted to escape with nobody noticing her, she would have to hide her face.
She had no other clothes except what she had on and no other possessions. She could hear
someone walking about the kitchen, her way out was blocked! Then she felt a cool breeze
coming from her window. *The window! I can slip out through there!* The steps that were in
the kitchen started to go towards her room. She climbed out of the window as quietly as she
could and pressed herself against the wall beneath her window. Her heart was beating so loud
she felt that the whole world could hear it.
"Damn girl, where did she go?"
Her father's words were slurred and she could hear him going through her things. After an
eternity she hear him leave and breathed a sigh of relief. She crept out the yard and started to
jog for the dense forest that surrounded her village. Japan was big and Kaoru didn't know
where to go. But if any place could hide her from her father, then she would blindly step out
into a new world.
*please review, this is an idea that just popped into my head and I'm wondering how it's doing
Another argument, another day. Kaoru held her swollen cheek, trying to push back the tears
threatening to spill. Her futile attempts at changing her father's mind ended with another
beating. But things had not always been this way. There was a time when laughter walked
freely around the house, hand in hand with happiness. But the death of her mother unleashed
a monster that was lying dormant in Koshijiro. Having his only child be a daughter was a
thorn at his side. The fact that she was one of the most beautiful women in Japan didn't make
his shame of a girl child abate at all. It only surged him further to mar her face with dark
bruises and split lips. Kaoru moved around the kitchen, searching for cold meat for her new
bruise. But all the food had been eaten and money for food had gone straight into gambling.
Her hungry stomach growled and she clenched it tight. She sat on an old stool but it broke
from ill use and Kaoru held a bruised cheek along with a sore rump. She felt like giving up
right then. Time after time she would try to persuade her father to get a decent job. But he
refused to leave the gang of thieves called the Black Fists. His ambition to rise high overcame
any shame in robbing people. At nighttime gang meetings would occur, which consisted of
drinking, swearing, and picking which noble to rob next. Kaoru hid herself in the small barn
outside to stay out of the sight of the gangleader's lusty eyes. Those eyes terrified her
every time she saw them. She would draw her thin and torn shawl closer around her and tried
to find some errand outside to do. He had never tried to do anything yet, but the look of
those eyes cemented a promise for the future. Kaoru was starting to cry when her father
lumbered into the kitchen.
"Stupid girl, why are you crying! Useless piece of dung! Go make me dinner!"
"There's no food, father."
He slapped her on the cheek sharply.
"It's all your fault we're starving in this dump. If you didn't eat so much we would have
enough food to feed the gang!"
"Please, father, maybe if you tried to get a job at the-"
This time it was a hard punch onto her recent bruise. He started swearing under his breath
and stomped outside to look for the gang. Kaoru was almost frozen in fear and pain. The
swelling on her cheek inflamed her whole face with agony. More tears dropped as she realized
that dusk had come and that there would soon be a meeting. She slowly started to get up and
made her way to her usual hiding place. She melted into a dark corner in the barn and buried
her face in her hands. She tried to muffle the sobs as quietly as she could, but someone heard
them and opened the barn door. She looked up and whimpered with fear. It was the gang
leader and he had an evil glint in his eyes. He entered the barn and shut the door tightly
behind him. Kaoru pressed her body in the corner, trying to put as much distance as she
could between them. He grabbed her and threw her onto the small pile of hay. He started to
chuckle as he lowered his pants.
"I've been waiting a long time for this. You're such a temptress, you know that?"
Kaoru could feel her arm blindly reaching for something, anything. Her hand caught hold of
a wooden stick. Just as he began to lower himself down she grabbed the stick and thrust it
into his chest. To her horror, the wooden stick was a rake with four sharp tips which was now
protruding out of the leader's back. His mouth was opening and closing like a fish and Kaoru
quickly let go of the rake. He fell and the rake was push up even further. Kaoru backed away
with her hands on her face. *What have I done? What have I done? I've killed somebody!
What am I going to do? Father will kill me now!* Kaoru could feel her whole body trembling.
She knew that if Koshijiro and the gang found out about this, he would kill her. And he
wouldn't just kill her quickly but would make it last. She knew what she had to do, she had to
run away. She didn't know where but she had to leave this place. She wiped the tears on her
eyes and tried calm down her frantic body. Taking deep and even breaths she opened the
barn door and walked to the back door of the house. She crept in through the kitchen but
froze in her tracks as she heard Koshijiro asking where the leader was. She quickened her
pace and made it to her room with no one spotting her. She quickly put her long, thick hair
up and smashed an old farming hat on. She took a long cotton scarf and wrapped it around
her face. She was aware that many men paid close attention to her whenever she came out of
the house. If she wanted to escape with nobody noticing her, she would have to hide her face.
She had no other clothes except what she had on and no other possessions. She could hear
someone walking about the kitchen, her way out was blocked! Then she felt a cool breeze
coming from her window. *The window! I can slip out through there!* The steps that were in
the kitchen started to go towards her room. She climbed out of the window as quietly as she
could and pressed herself against the wall beneath her window. Her heart was beating so loud
she felt that the whole world could hear it.
"Damn girl, where did she go?"
Her father's words were slurred and she could hear him going through her things. After an
eternity she hear him leave and breathed a sigh of relief. She crept out the yard and started to
jog for the dense forest that surrounded her village. Japan was big and Kaoru didn't know
where to go. But if any place could hide her from her father, then she would blindly step out
into a new world.
*please review, this is an idea that just popped into my head and I'm wondering how it's doing