BitterSweet Freedom.

It was dark. The streetlights were the only light for miles around. Even the houses seemed dead and Kristen stood below one, cigarette in hand. The smoke was fuming strange and beautiful patterns. She looked around the quiet street thinking of how she came to be here, what brought her here... 1

    God knows 2

    If he exists 3

    She slid down the lamppost and sat on the cold stone pavement, with her legs curled under her nose. A silent tear rolled down her cheek. Usually she would be quietly praying her father wouldn't come outside and catch her smoking, she knew that if she was caught, she would have another bruise to show, another prize for doing something else wrong. But tonight she didn't care. She knew that this was it... her life. 4

    Her mother left about five years ago, ran for her life, didn't have enough time to rescue the children and Kristen hated her for it, but was somehow happy for her, that she had escaped the hellish reality that was home. "I guess I'm just jealous" she thought to herself as she wiped one of her unseen tears. She stared unto the starry cloudless night, and winced as the bruises around her thighs began to throb. It seemed to become routine... 5

    For as long as she can remember, her father was a salesman. He sold some kind of door-to-door product, like she cared, but he would get up, kiss her goodbye, then her little sister, pick up his briefcase and go to work, leaving Kristen and Penny to go to school by themselves. Most of the time they wouldn't go, they were too scared the teachers would ask questions again, but sometimes they were scared the teachers would talk to their father. At five every night, sometimes later, if he had gone to the pub after work, he would come home, drunk as fuck and this was when the worst part began. He cooked them some kind of disgusting, mal-nutritious meal, which would usually end up smashed against the wall by his hand. Then, they would go upstairs. First it would be Kristen, as she was the eldest. He would pin her to the bed, didn't give a shit that he was hurting her, and he would force himself into her and rape her, with Penny in the corner of the room to watch, or sometimes hiding under the bed or in the wardrobe. Then, when he was done, he'd brush down Kristen, throw her against the wall and she would do all she could to protect Penny, but try as she might, he would always overpower her, throw her in the corner, tell her to shut her fat gob and then he would start on Penny, pinning her to the bed and repeating his atrocity. 6

    One day, Kristen and Penny stayed home from school. They made a plan. They hid this time, under the bed of their fathers room, thinking he wouldn't look there of all places. 7

    He stormed into the house, after a day of work and drinking and started to shout after he couldn't find his two daughters. Penny started shaking, she was only twelve, small, skinny, pale with silky long dusty brown hair and a couple of freckles sprinkled over her small nose. A tear rolled down her cheek. She knew what was going to happen but was determined to make sure it wouldn't. Kristen held her, comforted her. 8

    "I will not let this happen again, I can't let her go through this again!" The thought raced through her mind. 9

    "Come on, ya wee bitches!! Weer tha fek are ye? Yar gonna get it if ya dunnie come oot noo. WEER THA FEK ARE YE??!!" 10

    His shouts became louder and then they heard the door of his bedroom crash open. Then an arm shot from outside the bed, and grabbed onto Kristen's ankle, and she tried to stay quiet, as Penny was screaming as loudly as anyone could. She thought if he thought it was her screaming her sister might be safe. Again, she was pinned to the bed, her wrists aching and he raped her another time. All the time through it, she just wished for her sister's safety, prayed to anyone who might be listening. But, try as she might, her sister was still found, she was thrown onto the floor and her sister was pinned to the bed, the next victim of the night. 11

    After he had finished, he smacked them both around the face and told them never to hide from him again or he would kill them both. 12

    Once the day had ended and they retired to bed, they cried and held each other, the sisters, they were all each other had. No mother. No father. No other friends. No possessions other than some clothes and a teddy. The father kept all the money he made, and he was pretty well off, but never would he give anything to the children, except bruises and tears. 13

    One Thursday afternoon, the father arrived, and the sisters were sitting in the kitchen. He was more drunk than usual, slurred speech and blurry eyes, he reached for Penny, and tried to rip off her clothing, and in this slow, drunken moment, Kristen took advantage and reached for the first thing she could grab her hands on... A frying pan. She loved her sister more than anything and she just wanted this nightmare to stop. She took a second to prepare herself, raised the frying pan above her head and brought it down with all her might, hitting her father over the head. He looked up at her, swaying with the drink and the blow, as a trickle of blood formed on the side of his forehead and slowly made its way down to his chin. He tried with all his might to stand up and fight back, to injure her, kill her maybe, but she was more alert and ready than he was. 14

    BAM! 15

    The frying pan came down a second time, at which point, Penny joined in, as she grabbed another pan and hit him. Kristen came down a third time, this time, it stuck in his skull, splitting it. 16

    "That was for mum, me and my little sister. Bastard!" 17

    He wavered one last time, stretched out his hand to his two girls and fell to the ground. Kristen spat on his corpse. The girls embraced, crying freely.  It was over.18

    They didn't know how long they had been there, crying, hugging, when the police came in. They tasted freedom for a few bittersweet minutes and the policewoman took them away. 19

    Kristen and Penny were sentenced to eight years in a juvenile centre. Even thought their father was abusing them, they had still killed someone and they still said they had to be punished. But they had already been punished for something they didn't do, they were abused, that's punishment enough. 20

    Kristen often spoke of admitting to the murder herself, that Penny only witnessed it, and didn't take part, but they wanted to stay together, they had to, they had nothing else. 21

    They tasted freedom for a few bittersweet moments, and minutes later, it was taken away from them.22