It was cold. Too cold for Adelaide.
Adelaide knew she shouldn't have taken the cookie from the counter. That cookie was meant for her mother. But Adelaide couldn't resist. It was calling out to her. No nine year old would be able to resist the cookie if no one told her she wasn't allowed to.
But apparently Adelaide should have known better.
And now she was trying to survive her punishment.
Adelaide was chilled to the bone. She didn't know how much longer she would survive this. She wanted to just go home. Back home to her father, back home to her brothers. She didn't want to be here with her mother any longer.
Adelaide was no longer yelling out for help. Adelaide was no longer yelling sorries to her mother.
Adelaide knew it wouldn't do anything. It wouldn't make a difference.
First, Adelaide was in the storming cold outside, whilst her mother was inside the warm home.
Second, Adelaide could barely move, whilst her mother was going from room to room.
Third, Adelaide was in the frost bitten rain, whilst her mother was in front of the fire.
Fourth, no matter how much Adelaide tried, she was stuck. Locked up. Adelaide was locked in a wooden box outside in the freezing temperatures in the rain. Her mother owned the key to the lock.
Adelaide had been inside it for the third day. It was getting insanely harder for Adelaide to stay awake.
It was getting harder and harder for Adelaide to feel pain.
When the water didn't want to leave the box, Adelaide's body decided to convulse in order to generate heat. All the while Adelaide started to lose snippets of her consciousness.
It was an insanely cold few days for Adelaide.
She just wanted to go home.