Emmeline

There once was a young girl that was loved by her parents...  at least that's how she remembers it.  She had 4 brother and sister, Jason, Justin, Michael, Erik, and Tia.  At times, they were cruel to her as any older siblings could be, tricking her out of Halloween candy or calling her 'gorilla hair' and 'beaver teeth', but she still found herself loving them.  1

One day, she never saw Michael or Tia again, for they had lied in court, claiming that their father beat and molested them.  Of course, she did not know this, and blamed their absence on herself.  2

Now she was alone, for her remaining brothers did not wish to play with a little girl and there were no neighbor children, but this was all to change, for she was going to pre-school.  3

Sadly though, none of the children wanted to be around her.  They sensed that something was wrong with her, so they kept their distance.  What was different with her though, that wasn't known yet.  4

Eventually, her parents noticed that this was only harming her, because she developed a nervous habit of vomiting when placed around other children.  They decided to wait to introduce her back to other children for a while.  5

When it was finally time, they decided to place her into a small private school, for they thought that it would be best.  Unfortunately, the same thing happened as it did in pre-school.  She was treated as a leper, cast out from their groups of friends.  She placated all of this loneliness by absorbing herself into books.  She spent most of her time now alone in her room, hiding in her insecurities in fantasies like Dahl, Baum, and Burnett.  6

Excelling in school, she was praised by her teachers, but they worried about her seeming antisocial or even autistic.  They knew she had a high IQ, and would be able to skip a couple grades, but they worried that she would never develop the social skills necessary for success.  Her father stopped all of this thinking though, because he wanted his daughter to at least experience a somewhat normal childhood, despite the nervous vomiting.  7

Finally, she met a girl that would accept her, be her friend, who would play with her at recess and invite her to birthday parties.  Her name was Taylor.  The teachers now thought that they problem was ended.  The vomiting stopped, and she was now more friendly.  Taylor encouraged her to play with the other children, take part in their games, just to live.  8

They were friends until third grade, when Taylor suddenly moved away to Ohio, without even telling her.  She was now alone again, and resorted back to her former self.  9

At this time, things took a turn for the worse.  Her father was sick and her mother was suing for divorce.  But Taylor had made a mark on her still.  She did not take the blame upon herself, and accepted it as her parents choice.  Unfortunately, something even worse was yet to come.  10

Her brother, Justin was lately having 'emotional' problems, her mother said.  He was often sent away to Charter, or would run away.  He had a intimate relationship with an 11 year old girl.  11

One late night in July, when she fell asleep on the couch, she was awakened by rancid breath, a tongue slipping into her mouth, the covers being pulled down, and her clothes being slipped down.  She then felt fingers...  touching her were she went to the to the bathroom.  She looked up and saw...  it was Justin!  He finally stopped, and went back upstairs, while she laid there confused on what just happened, and pulled the blanket over her head the rest of the night.  12

The next morning, she told her mother what he had done, but her mother told her Justin never would do such a thing.  That she was dreaming.  Since her own mother didn't believe her, she figured there was no use in trying to tell anyone else.  13

The act continued through the following year, never a word being passed while it was implemented, but during daylight hours, he constantly threatened to, 'shove a butcher knife up her ass'.  14

Her parents were still going through divorce, and her mother now decided that her child was 'cured', so she sent her to the public schools.  There, she continued to do well, but no interaction with other children followed.  She carried that secret, not telling anyone in fear that no one would like her if they knew.  15

One night though, a half miracle occurred.  Justin attempted killing her father, which got him sent away, but this lead to her father leaving 2 months later.  16

After that, Justin came back...  but now the nights weren't the same.  He now heaved himself above her, pulling down her clothes completely, and pushed something hard into her body.  She was mostly in shock, and in pain, but she laid there silent, as she always had before.  17

Insomnia took over her little body.  She stayed up all night, in fear that he would come back.  She held it in, scared to admit the truth.  18

But the walls came crumbling down anyway.  All those nights of staying up...  unable to sleep.  Her senses became slow, and children would scream at her to move in line.  Finally, one day, she couldn't take it anymore.  Why didn't they understand that she just couldn't move faster because she was exhausted?  She screamed, 'You would be tired, too, if you had to stay up all night because someone would otherwise come into your room!'  19

The teacher then pulled her away, dragging her into the counselor's office, a room she had seen many times before.  They started talking about what she just said, mentioning words such as 'sexual abuse' and 'molestation'.  They asked her what happened, and she broke down and told them what had occurred the following year.  20

They forced her to tell her story to the police, and they called her mother.  Her mother then came in, false tears in her eyes, crying, 'I never knew'.  And inside her head, she screamed, 'Oh, mother, you knew, I told you and you refused to listen'.  21

They brought her to be psychologically examined in a building in the next town.  They asked her what happened, and she told them in her ignorant, young way.  They often asked her if were someone else than her brother, was it her father or another brother?  She replied, adamantly, 'My brother is the tallest man in the house, my other ones are shorter.  It could not be my father, for he does not have rancid breath like he does, and besides, when they both left, it stopped, but when only Justin came back, it started again'.  22

In her mind, she constantly pondered why they didn't understand it was just her brother, not anyone else.  But one day, the visits to the building stopped, and it was never mentioned again.  23

Why, she didn't know, but her mother told her that if she ever told her father about what happened, he would think her a whore and would want to sleep with her.  24

Now the other children knew her secret, and she was an outcast more than before.  25

And the little girl was lost within herself.26