Nightingale

CHAPTER ONE

His face was red. His eyes bloodshot. He was sweating like a pig and breathing heavily. This was a common look Harper had gotten from her father. He was always furious with her for some reason. This time, Harper had forgotten to get him his beer with dinner. He cherished his beer more than he cherished his own daughter. "What the hell is wrong with you, Harper?" He declared. "I-I'm sorry father. It will never happen again. I'm so sorry." Harper said with fear in her voice. Harper was continuously scared of her father. She never knew when he was going to freak out and hit her, like he always had. "Go on and check on your mother. She's been sleeping all day." He said. Harper obeyed her father's orders and did as she was told.

Harper's mother wasn't much different from her father. Besides the fact that she would never lay a finger on her daughter. No matter how mad, or drunk, she was. Harper opened the door to her mother's bedroom and all she could smell was vodka. That was what her mother had always drank. She didn't bother using a cup half of the time. That would be too much work for her to walk to the kitchen, take a cup from the cupboard, and pour. There her mother lies. On her firm, springy bed that she has had since Harper had been two. The bed wreaked of alcohol and cigarette smoke. The had been little spots on the bed where her parents had lit out their cigarette buds. "Mom?" Harper spoke softly and and shook her with ease. "Mom? Wake up. It's dinner time." Nothing. "Mom, come on wake up. You've been sleeping all day." She began to move around and yawn. "Oh God. Harper go get me some shit for my hangover." Harper knew exactly what to get her since she had had to do this almost every single day. She came back with some Tylenol and a glass of water. "Here you go, Mom." Harper handed her mother the medicine and water and sat down next to her on the bed. Her mother laid back down and went to sleep. Harper sighed and went to her room to work on her homework. She had missed school a lot lately to take care of her mother. Harper loves school and loves to read. She has a lot of books that her parents have bought her in the past. She has read all of them already so she enjoys writing notes in the margins and re-reading them. Her favorite book is one about birds from when she was little. Her favorite bird was the Nightingale. The Nightingale makes beautiful noises that no bird or person could ever repeat. Harper was amazed by their beautiful voices and stunning feathers. She had always taken walks in the forest, where she feels most comfortable. The birds speak to her with their chirping, and the breeze of the wind tickles her with it's embrace. She hasn't seen a Nightingale yet, but she hopes to one day.