The Struggle {ON PERMANENT HIATUS}

Chapter One, 'It's a date!'

Twenty years ago...

Mother and I walked out of the restaurant, smiling and laughing. 

“Mama, where’s our car?” I asked her, fiddling with my new necklace, holding my mother’s hand with the free one.

“I don’t know, butterfly. Let’s walk to the apartment instead of going home tonight, yeah? We’ll have a proper mother-daughter night.”

I nodded, beaming up at her, and we started walking along the street. My mother was dressed up more than she normally was tonight. After all, it was my birthday, and my mother and I always spent my birthday’s dressed up. My mother was the most beautiful woman I had seen; with her red hair and flawless skin, and pretty green eyes. I was an exact copy of my mother.

I let go of my mother’s hand and skipped ahead, ignoring her protests. I didn’t see the man, covered from head to toe in tatty black thermals, who waited just at the mouth of a dark alleyway, not until he stretched out his arms, and snatched me.

I screamed. I screamed and struggled and kicked at the stranger, as he took me deeper into the alleyway. I heard my mother’s heels clacking furiously against the pavement as she followed us. The man threw me down so I landed on trash bags, which broke my fall. He turned round and faced my mother as she skidded to a stop.

“Give me back my daughter!” She hissed at the masked man.

“I only wanted you anyway. Another name on my list. And such a pretty face too. It’ll be a shame.” He growled, lunging at my mother, who was staring at me. 

“Butterfly, run!” She said, as he grabbed her.

“Don’t move, kid. Or I’ll gut your mother like a fish!” He yelled at me.

I couldn’t move anyway. I was paralysed with fear. My whole body was frozen. I couldn’t even scream anymore. I watched as the man sexually assaulted my mother, crying as I didn’t understand what was happening to her.

“Let my daughter go! You’ve already scarred her for life, and ruined me. Just let her go! She’s only six! She’s just a baby! Her father will kill you!” My mother cried, tears streaming down her face, ruining her make-up.

“She can go. Once she watches this.” He said, holding up a knife, and then plunging it into my mother’s chest. I finally screamed, and this time someone heard me. I heard someone at the end of the alleyway, talking hurriedly to the police. The masked man pulled the knife from my mothers chest and stabbed down again…once….twice….three times more, before taking the bloody knife, and dragging it slowly across my mother’s throat.

Police siren’s sounded in the distance, and the man dropped his weapon, and ran down the alley, making a turn so that he disappeared. I crawled over to my mother, feeling a wetness on my knees. My white tights were stained red. I put a tiny hand onto my mother’s face, which was painted red too. Her head lolled towards me, and I rubbed my hand on her face.

“Wake up, Momma. Wake up.” I cried. Men started running down the alley, and one pulled me away.