Goldilocks and The Three Scares
Goldilocks awoke to the sound of plates smashing downstairs. She got out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror. No visible signs of bruising, no hair cut, just plain, gaunt, skeletal Goldilocks looking back at herself.
She turned and went to put on her dressing gown, when she heard her mother scream and a pounding of footsteps. She gasped and ran to the space underneath her bed, she hurried under the bed and quickly removed floorboards.
Her heart was ponding as she put the last floorboard in place behind her. She heard the closet door shut and knew her father would be coming near, getting angrier every second. He looked under the bed, but to no avail. "Where is that girl?" he shouted. 'He never calls me by my name' she thought 'he never calls mum his wife either.'
He walked out the room and down the stairs. Goldilocks heard her mother pleading with her father, closely followed by her screeching and screaming in pain. 'He'd have done that to me if he'd found me' she thought, and she automatically touched her abdomen to comfort the pain she was remembering.
Goldilocks dressed as quickly and quietly as she could. All she could find was a tutu-like, purple skirt, a pink t-shirt with a heart on it and a pair of white, fluffy ugg boots. Not the best outfit to wear when trying to escape your abusive father.
She tiptoed the window of the bathroom the was joined to her room because that window had a drain pipe attached to it. She opened the window and climbed onto the sill. She then reached across towards the drain pipe and grabbed hold. She tried to keep control of her grip, but she ended up sliding most of the way down.
She looked around the back garden, she could go around to the front of the house - and risk being seen, or go for a walk in the woods at the back of the garden.
She walked towards the path leading into the woods, when the back door opened with a crash against the wall. Her mother ran out of the house screaming, her ripped, open shirt billowing behind her like a macabre cape covered in blood and dirt. Her face showed no signs of the loving mother the young Goldilocks was used to. She had a huge, swollen left eye. Her bare legs, protruding from her skirt were red, scratched and bruised. It was a wonder she could walk, never mind run at full speed from a man who wanted kill you.
She ran past the bush that Goldilocks was now hiding in. Goldilocks started at the roar that came from within the house. Her father, face red with rage, ran out of the back door. He ran slower than her mum, as he was unbuckling his belt. "Get back here woman!" he roared. "Don't you dare run away from me!"
Goldilocks mother didn't here him, or pretended not to. She carried on running, and was disappearing out of sight when her husband was just entering the woods.
Goldilocks now changed her mind about the walk in the woods and instead made her way to the front of the house. She wandered the streets until it was turning dark. But by now, she had walked a few miles from her house and hunger pains had started crippling her stomach.
Goldilocks sat on the curb. She watched the well light windows of the house opposite. The front room had a female silhouette cleaning the room. The top right window had the silhouette of a girl dancing. And the top left had two silhouettes, a man and a boy, who seemed to be making a model.
She watched for what seemed hours, until a black car pulled up in front of her, blocking her view of the perfect house. The back door of the car on the opposite side to Goldilocks opened and a tall, lanky man emerged from the car, a dark twist on the clowns coming out of the taxi gag Goldilocks had seen on TV.
"What's a beautiful girl like you doing out so late on your own?" he asked. His accent wasn't from around there, possibly London or Kent.
Goldilocks looked puzzled, How could she be called beautiful? Her hair was matted and unwashed, her stick like arms were bruised and cut. Her outfit was un-coordinated and very childish. She hadn't cleaned her face or teeth that morning. Her gaunt face was a mere shadow of what Goldilocks at age ten should look.
"Are you not going to answer me?" he asked. He tried to make his voice nice and soothing, but it sounded menacing and devilish to Goldilocks. "I think I'll need you," he said into the car.
The driver's door opened and out came a fairly tall, stocky man. Then the back door nearest Goldilocks opened and out came a small, bald man. They all came near Goldilocks and she tried to get up to run, but as she rose the stocky man picked her up and carried her to the back of the car. The tall man opened the trunk and Goldilocks was thrown inside. All the time, Goldilocks was screaming. The family in the house opposite, however, didn't hear her as they had all sat down and were immersed in deep conversation.
"Have a nice trip" said the tall man, and he closed the lid.
Goldilocks continued to scream, but as she heard the engine start, she stopped. There was no point in carrying on, and there was little oxygen in the trunk. Why waste it on screaming? Also the fumes coming from the engine were making Goldilocks drowsy, and she started to fall into a noxious sleep...