It was close to morning.
Dawn was breaking the shadows in Adelaide's room. But Adelaide couldn't register that in her mind. Her body was tired, her mind was at its wits end.
Her shoulders had already popped out of their sockets, painfully, hours ago.
It was the last bit of pain that Adelaide could take in reality.
She wished she could just disappear. She wished that she would cease to exist, if only to take away the pain.
Her back was still screaming. Even when no one was hurting her anymore.
Candace just had to complete her artwork of Adelaide's back.
The room for some reason still smelt like a bad case of burned chicken.
Adelaide did not understand why her mother loved to burn her skin.
And the way she did it.
The words engraved in her back would forever be her nightmare.
T R A S H
U N W A N T E D
U S E L E S S
W O R T H L E S S
I N S O L E N T
U N L O V E D
Every word was burned into her skin. Word for word. Letter by letter.
One letter at a time. It was at the second hour that Adelaide could no longer scream. No voice was left to scream with. There were no more tears left to fall.
The only constant that was there, was the burning of skin, the scent of burned chicken and her mothers screeching voice and satanic laughter.
Her mother stopped her artwork at a certain point and Adelaide thought that she would leave and let Adelaide finally sleep.
But sleep would be far from the agenda.
For the burning that had finally ceased for a little bit, was sparked back to life like a flicker of fire would be enlarged by gasoline.
Candace poured buckets of salt water onto Adelaide's back. Forever engraving the words into her skin like ugly scars.
Candace left Adelaide hanging from the chains of the ceiling for the rest of the night.
And the next two days.
Me opening a door: Oh, Candace, could you come here for just a second honey?
Candace: Sure...
Me creepily closing the door behind us: We need to have a little chat.....
Love Sarah