Ginger

How the hate came to be

I got to my apartment and brushed aside my black hair. I wiped my face free of the make-up that covered my freckles as well as any blood and tears that I had gotten on my face.as I stood there looking in the mirror I realized that  I missed the fire red hair that was mine by birth. I missed my skin free and open to the world, without harsh make-up to cover everything that was natural about me. I hated having to hide who I really was. I sighed, but it cannot be helped I told myself. I hated looking into mirrors.

Ever since those freaks had killed my twin when we were just little, toddlers even. We barely knew we lived let alone that we were different. We had a Mother and a Father who loved us. I think we had a father anyways, it was long ago and I don’t remember much past the horrific day that is seared into my brain. The day my Mum and brother had been killed is the only day that if I live to be a million years old will always stay with me.

I sighed lost in the memory as I undressed.

I had been young, maybe three when they had come. Mama had just given me a bath and set me on the couch in a pink dress with blue birds on it. In my hair was the ribbon I insisted she put in my hair all the time. Green my favourite colour. She picked up my brother to carry to the tub and entered the room. She sang to him. The door hit the wall and I sat terrified on the couch as they ran through the house. Mama held my brother whose hair was the colour of my own, fire engine red. Mama always says it’s because we’re always running like there’s a fire. They grabbed Mama and my brother taking them outside while I sat frozen on the couch. Two loud noises went off. I started to scream as a man in his later years picked me up one hand around my leg the other my chest. He strode out the door not caring as I screamed and screamed.

'You. Is this child another one of them? One of the evil soulless beings?' He spit on the ground with the final word.to my neighbour, a middle aged man; of about 32 who had never had kids or married. My neighbor looked at me, unsure of what to say, I looked up at him, scared. My eyes large, I had seen him before and knew that he had to be better than the man who was hurting me.

'No. she is not. Her hair is brown.' He lied, as the man who had grabbed me thrust me towards him.

'Then you shall take her.' The neighbor grabbed me and cussed at the rough man who was fat and had hurt me.

'Lookit! You bruised her! There was no need to be so rough! She's just a kid!' The man swung around and pointed his gun at my neighbour as the man yelled and took a step towards the officer shoving me behind him.

'You shut up! Or I will shoot you and make this child my bed mate!' My neighbor bit his tongue and gulped clearly angry but knowing a three year old was at risk and he couldn’t go after the man like he wanted to. He had me to figure out yet and he knew that if the officer spent much more time he would realize that he had lied. My neighbour pulled me into his apartment. He spoke softly to me, as he dressed to run to the store leaving me alone. I hid under the bed until he got home. He shouted and looked for me everywhere finally sitting on the floor beside the bed and gazing under.

“Come here please” He asked me. I shook my head. “I won’t hurt you little Rawr” Still I refused to budge. For over an hour he stayed beside the bed trying to coax me out from under it. I fell asleep there and he sat beside the bed the whole night. In the morning I crawled out from under the bed, he had fallen asleep. I crawled over to him and curled up beside him, staring at his tired face. He awoke slowly and made pancakes for me. He latter sat me down on a chair in the kitchen and started to dye my hair.

'I'm sorry honey, your hair is so beautiful, I hate to have to do this, and you're so young...' I noticed he wiped a tear from his eyes. 'Listen honey, you're not evil. No matter what they say. You are a lovely beautiful good child! Ignore the rumours. I'm sorry, but after tonight I cannot keep you'

I came back to myself, my grown self as I wiped tears from my eyes. Still feeling the pain I had felt as a child having lost my Mama and brother and the person who had saved me hadn’t want me. I still remember how scared and alone I felt. Nobody wanted me. There had to be a reason, so even though my neighbour had told me I was not, I felt evil. Even now I felt that day like a fresh knife cut on my skin.