It had been a normal night. Until the screams came. They came from upstairs. Where their 2 week old daughter was. P.T. wasn't home, so Charity went up alone. A pale woman was outside the window screaming. She stopped when she caught sight of Charity. "It is no longer safe for the child. No longer safe for the child. For the child." Her voice was chilling. Then she was gone. Charity couldn't help herself. She began to cry, for fear of losing her daughter. The child laughed, unaware of anything wrong. Charity picked up her daughter and held her close. She took off her hat to reveal her daughter's curly black-brown hair. She was making all kinds of happy sounds. She had always been very vocal. Charity thought she might have a future in singing. But now her future was uncertain. Charity knew that she had to leave her daughter in the hands of someone else.
15 years later
"Oh, for God's sake, girl, will you ever shut up!?" the harsh cry rang out through the building. It was clearly hard in the next room over, where 15 year old Lettie Lutz was singing. Lettie sighed. "Why does Mama hate my singing so much?" she asked herself. "Fine then." she shouted back. "If you don't want to hear me, I'll just go somewhere else to sing." she could hear Mama laugh. "Good, my ears need a break." with that, Lettie stormed out of the house. She made her way to the woods, then sat down under a tree with her head in her hands. She looked up when she heard a yip. She saw a small hairless dog running toward her. "Hey Melody." she said, scratching the dog behind the ears. Lettie tended to gravitate toward beings with differences, maybe because it was like her. She had been diagnosed at birth with a disease that would someday cause her to grow facial hair. In some ways, Lettie related with the dog that she had named Melody. "In three years, Melody. In three years, I'll be free from Mama."