As usual, I waited to hear father leaving the house.
Bang! That was the sound the door made whenever he left. As soon as i heard it, it was time.
I rushed out of aunt's house and into my old home. Opening the door, I was greeted by the usual unease. The house seemed to never change, the same rough orange paint, the same messy rooms, and the unforgettable smell of alcohol.
I went back to his room and searched it once more, nothing. I sat on the mattress to think but it wasn't sitting properly on the bed. Trying to adjust it, i noticed there was something keeping the mattress from sitting on the bed.
What was it? Could he have hidden something there.
Heart racing i slid my hand beneath the mattress. I felt something, paper. Carefully,i pulled it out, trying not to tear the fragile sheet. It was an old ownership letter for a job at a bakery. The name at the bottom was slightly torn, but the beginning read "Eric". I scanned the other documents, hoping to find the rest of the name, but it was pointless.
"Eric, huh,", "So that's my dad's name. At least I've learned something."
From the document, it seemed he once owned a large bakery and earned a lot of money. But the life he lived now was so different from what the papers described. could my father be secretly rich? Was that why he never seemed to run out of alcohol?
More importantly, if he had that kind of money, why was he living here, like this, alone?
It didn't make sense.
Every single document told the same story.
"This isn't going anywhere,"
what was I supposed to do with what I had just discovered? Did it even matter?.
I took the ring out of the tiny pocket on my gown, how can something so little cause me so much trouble?
"Imagine me... the little poor girl who lives in the woods, the girl who barely ate each day, the girl who knew nothing about her parents, not even her own name until recently. A witch… with a rich father."
I smiled softly , reflecting on my life, from the time in father's house to the time in aunt's. Everything i had discovered, I had done so on my own.
Time slipped away. It was almost as if i had fallen into a trance, wandering through another world in my mind.
By the time i came back to my senses, it was already night.
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. How could I make such a big mistake. The whole place is a mess.
"I have to put everything back in place". As quickly as I possibly could I stuffed the documents back, moved the mattress, put the clothes in the wardrobe and made my way out of the room.
Ok, I'm done, I need to leave immediately. I made my way to the living room and reached for the handle but the door swung open.
My hands froze, my heart pounding . Standing there was a figure i knew all too well, one i had hoped to avoid.
It was him.
Father.
Our eyes locked for a few seconds, I stumbled back, crashing into the small table behind me. I tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. After all, what was there to say? My usually drunken father looked quite sober today, but he still reeked of alcohol.
"You!" he screamed.
breaking the intense silence. He stared at me for some time as if trying to confirm his sanity. Then he spoke,
"You wretched witch, why are you here?"
I looked up at him a bit surprised "So you knew?"
He sighed and looked away, evading my question.
"Why didn't you tell me? You knew everything, didn't you? And you just let me suffer?"
"You look just like her," he responded, his eyes softening.
"Just like who?"
"You don't need to know," he answered.
"It's Mother, isn't it? I look just like Mother,"
His eyes widened. "How did you", "Never mind. It's not like I care."
"How long have you known, and why didn't you say anything?"
"Say what, you ungrateful witch? After all I've done for you?"
"For me?" I asked, tears now falling from my eyes. "What exactly have you done for me?
"Oh, I know, you starved me, you tortured me, you left me at home alone, you never told me anything. Is that what you've done for me?"
His eyes softened for a moment. Just for a moment, he looked like he might say something, but he didn't.
I finally asked the question on my mind
"Where is she?"
He gave her a confused look.
"Where is Mom? What did you do to her?"
The pain was evident in his eyes.
"Me?", what did i do to her? he asked.
"Yes, you, who else? Don't tell me you… you killed her."
In a fit of rage, he screamed, "No! I didn't! I would never!"
"But you would torture your own daughter, isn't that right, Eric?"
"How do you know that name? Who told you that?" he asked.
I stared in silence.
"You went through my things,"
he said in anger, pushing me back violently.
I fell to the ground, the ring falling out of my pocket.
He noticed it, his eyes full of rage.
"How dare you, you brat!.
He rushed to grab the ring, but i picked it up first.
"Give it back!" he shouted.
"No, not until you answer my questions,"
His face looked like that of a beast ready to attack its prey.
"I said give it to me!"
"No."
I was trembling with fear, but I stood my ground. There was no point running anymore.
"I have nothing to say to you," he replied.
"I won't repeat myself. Give me the ring. If you don't, you know what comes next."
What?, you'll beat me? Or maybe turn me into a punching bag. "I'm not the same little girl you used to treat like an animal."