Light, Life, Lost

A faint light shone from the lamp on the bedside table. 'Another beautiful summer day', Marla thought sarcastically, wiping her eyes. Marla winced as a sharp pain shot down the side of her face. She gingerly touched her eyelid, crying out as the familiar pain of another bruise throbbed. 'Great,' Marla mumbled softly,'no amount of make-up would cover this, even if I had any. This unnerving thought provoked another torrent of salty rain from her eyes.1

She stared down at the off-white sheets on her bed, pulling her jet black hair away from her face. 'Just another afternoon in paradise', Marla thought scathingly, pulling herself into a sitting position. 2

She stared at the familiar walls of her room. Marla's room was a simple one, with four blank walls and one boarded up window. As Marla looked at her window, she remembered better times. She thought of times before her mom died, when her child-like hope was still alive. 'I loved that window back then,' Marla thought, placing her head in her hands. 'It was the only thing in this house that gave me joy and he had to take it away.' Figures. He would never let her find happiness in life.3

She dabbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. Slowly she crawled out of her bed, testing her muscles. Marla's body stung all over as she walked toward the window. ' He'll get me for this,' she thought dryly,' but what else is there to do? I have to see outside. I have to shed some light on this miserable life.' Slowly she touched her hand to the boards covering the window. Curling her fingers around the board, she wrenched loose one side. A wan light shone from the crack between the boards. Marla basked in the sun that the small opening provided. Her milky white skin shone in the warm sunlight.4

Just as Marla reached to pull away the board completely, the door of her room burst inward. A dark form flew at her, throwing her fragile body to the floor. Her lips opened to form the word 'dad', as she saw a bright flash of light, the beautiful light she was yearning for, before the world turned to black. 5