Left Out (English Version)

Time to go

    When Denny Frank just got home from work, suddenly he told Sally and Jenny, his daughters to pack up their stuff as he passed the living room. Sally was reading a novel and Jenny was drawing. Sally put her book down and said, "Where are we going, Dad? It's Thursday." but he did not answer. He just passed her and put his work bag down on his desk in his office room that across the dining room. "Dad, answer me!" she said, curious as she followed him to his bedroom back and forth. He can't help himself as if he was being followed by a five years old girl asking for candy. But finally, he said gently, "Just do what I say, okay?"

    Sally stopped and wondering where they will go. Her father was already acted weird since her mother, Jenna Frank, left them all. But it was different than usual. He was calm, not even getting home late as if something made his day, which is good by the way. However, she couldn't against her father and just did what her father told her as if she was a robot.

    Sally didn't seem too surprised with her father behavior that day or the days before. She got used to it, even though it never across her mind as long as it doesn't hurt anybody. But still, she missed her mom. They both did. Sally found out about weeks ago when her mother still in one roof with him. They were fighting. It was midnight when it's all happened. She could hear from her room upstairs. They're yelling and shouting. But she couldn't understand what they were talking about. She walked out of her room to see what happen and saw Jenny was already there, sitting on the stairs. She walked slowly and gathered Jenny softly with her white thin arm. "It's alright. Everything is going to be fine." Sally said. Jenny was leaned her head to Sally's shoulder. Sally rubbed her hand, calming her down even though Jenny didn't seem scared or cry. But Sally knew Jenny must be scared. She was just ten years old, though.

    As they sat there hearing the fight, Sally still didn't really understand what they were talking about. All she could hear was just the yelling and baby's screaming. There was a long and short silence once in a while. Dad's drunk that day and she thought he said what he wanted to say even they could hurt mom because mom's voice seemed to sound like crying right now. Jenny was already going to bed before the fight became a small war. Sally told her to try to get some sleep. Clyde started crying out loud in her parent's bedroom and nobody's seemed cared about him. Then, the small war became a gun fire war. Jenna threw away everything in the living room and finally walked to the bedroom and calm Clyde down by bumping him up and down. After that, the war became a silent hill as if the atom bomb has been dropped above them and cleared all the fight away. Denny saw Sally was sitting on the stairs. She looked pale being caught. Her skin was actually shaking a bit. "Go to your room, Sally!" He said. He thought Sally was there all the time, hearing all the fight. She heard it but didn't move. "I said go, young lady!" he shouted this time, looking down and then looked up and staring at her. Sally was startled for a second. Their eyes were looking straight at each other as if they were talking each other. Then she stood up and made loud footsteps as she walked to her room and slammed the door as hard as she could. Sally heard doors slammed twice from downstairs--the first one really loud and the second one almost like a distance--as she lied on the bed.

    The next morning, Sally didn't hear anything. The house was quite. Too quite for a lovely Saturday morning. No baby's cry or anything, no bang sounds between plates in the kitchen or even sounds of television. Something is wrong. She walked downstairs to find out and found herself staring at the living room with a big surprise in her eyes. What a mess! She thought. A white floor lamp beside the couch was fell down and broken. It's transparent broken thin glasses were spread everywhere on the floor until near the stairs. The color was almost the same as the floor and makes hard to see. She tried to walk very slowly and try not to step a piece of glasses--she knew it could hurt her soles feet--into the master bedroom next to the office room. The door was half open and her father is still sleeping. She tried to open the door wider so she could see if her mom was there and stop when the door started quaking. But her mom wasn't around and Clyde wasn't in the baby crib as well. Mom left, that's the thing that flowing inside her mind when she remembered the sound of the slamming door last night. But where were they go?