It was dark. So very dark and no one would answer her. Was anyone still here? Why couldn't they hear her? She tried again.
"Mommy?" her voice rang out weak, strained from the tears threatening to come up. She waited for a sign, any sign of human life other than her own.
Silence.
She was crying again by now. Sobbing quietly in the darkness.
Her mother had put her in this room and locked it, of course turning off the lights first.
She didn't understand why she would leave her there in the dark like that. She knew she was terrified of the dark. She sat down on the ground, she guessed, it was hard to tell.
A few hours maybe had passed. She was hungry and thirsty, and good thing she was potty trained and had learned to 'hold it'. She heard her mother calling her name.
"Namine'! Namine'?"
Namine' jumped up happily. Her mother's voice was softer than it was earlier that day.
The door creaked open and light shone into her eyes, nearly stinging from her adjusting to the dark.
"What are you doing in here all alone in the dark?" her mother asked picking her up.
Namine' didn't speak. She just hugged her mother around the neck, happy to be saved from the evil dark.
Whenever Namine' thought back on that, she saw just how naïve children were. She was glad to be saved from the darkness she feared, not realizing the darkest darkness of all was right there in the house with her.
Sometimes she had to stop and think, which is worse, the psychical abuse back then? Or the emotional abuse now?
"Namine' , can you repeat to me what the scientific name for a humoback whale?" the teacher asked with a smug expression.
Namine' gasped in surprise out of her daydreaming.
"Megaptera novaeangliae, sir." she responded quietly. The teacher's face feel.
"Very well then." he said then returned to teaching class.
Even though Namine' daydreamed a lot and was hardly ever in focus, she made sure to learn everything she could. It was the only escape she could find to help her get away from her mother. If she didn't have that then…
The bell rang and broke her from her thoughts once again. She jumped again. A habit she developed from louder noises.
She gathered her things quickly then headed out of the classroom. She had to be home in a timely manner, that is, if her mother even noticed she was gone. Sometimes she didn'tpay her any attention.
Once she got home, Namine' heard her mother on the phone yelling. She spotted her daughter standing near the door, frowned, and shooed her out of the room. She did as she was told and went into the kitchen to get some juice.
She was just taking a sip as she heard her mother ending the call.
"Who told you to get this?" her mother yelled, snatching the cup away from her.
"I-I was thristy. I just thought…" she started.
"You just THOUGHT. Yes THOUGHT. You are not to get anything in MY house without asking ME, do you understand?" her mother yelled.
Namine' fell tears coming to her eyes while she just silently nodded.
"Good. Now get in your room. Don't come out until I say so." her mother continued, walking out of the room. She glanced back at her child then threw the cup on the floor, shattering the glass.
"But clean that up first." she said with a smirk.
Once her mother left the room, Namine' let the tears slip down her face silently. She started picking up pieces of glass wondering why her mother's mood and rules change so suddenly. What had she ever done?
She wiped her eyes. It was all the same. Then and now.