(Page 1 of 3) The Escape by Querus Abuttu
 (10 ratings)
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SUMMARY: A young boy finds a way to escape an abusive home."It hurts you, doesn't it?"
The boy nodded, looking around from where he was seated. Surprised, he saw no one was there. He leaned back once again on the Willow. This was HIS spot. No one else came here. Not ever.
A few feet away, the cool green water of a brook meandered by. It gurgled slowly like a soft lullaby. The emerald rushes and reeds clustered together along the edge of the bank, whispering gently in the August breeze. For him, this was paradise.
No pain could touch him here. No anger, no threats. There was simply the sweet dream of peace and the pillowy air of silence. That's all that filled this place. This spot was his entrance to a world of quiet magic. Here, he was anything he wanted to be. Here, he was free.
The willow felt solid, yet comforting, against his back. She...(he always thought of her as she)...fluttered her long, wispy branches around him, caressing his face with her leaves.
"Sleep, my young Jarin" an airy voice murmured inside his head. "Sleep and dream with me".
Jarin started to turn once again to see who had spoken, but felt too tired to move his small, slim body. Smiling, contented and calm, he fell into a restful slumber.
_______
George slammed the door to the front of the apartment as he lumbered into the tiny living room. It smelled awful in there, like a combination of stale beer, dog piss and month old garbage.
"Ella!", his impatient voice boomed.
Ella stuck her head out of the doorway, which led to the kitchen.
"Yeah George, what do you want?" She paused to snap a piece of chewing gum between her coffee stained teeth. "I'm on the phone!"
George moved his large body a little further into the room, shifting his fat beer belly to the left so he could put down his tool box. He wiped his greasy hands on his pants and barked, "Have you seen Jarin? The little shit was supposed to help me fix Dunbar's Vet this morning."
"Saw him earlier," Ella replied, covering her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone, "... but the brat ran off like a bat out of Hell. Don't know where he went." Ella resumed talking on the phone, leaving George to stand fuming in the middle of the room for a minute or two.
Finally, he shrugged his shoulders, and pounded his feet towards the kitchen, popping Ella on the behind as he passed her in the doorway. She glared at him.
"What'd you do to scare him off this time?" George questioned. He opened up the fridge and pulled out a long neck Bud.
"Damn it! Hold on a minute, Carol," she said covering the phone once again. "What do you mean, what did I do to him? Everything that kid gets, he deserves! Just so happens he started bugging me about what happened to his real mamma. This time, I told him."
"What'd you say?" George asked, pulling a long sip out of the bottle, enjoying the way it fizzled coldly against the back of his throat.
"I told him his mamma was a whore bitch that gave him up, and probably OD'd on drugs soon after" Ella snapped. She gave George a long hard look, and began talking on the phone again.
Probably slapped the crap out of him too, just for asking, George thought.
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