I stared at him as his body rested on the hospital bed. He had aged so much, I thought. I could see lines around his eyes and his dropped cheek which make him look like a rooster. He looked like other ordinary old man lying around him, but no one would have guessed what he has done before he slept soundly on the bed with tubes and machines to keep him alive.
“Where is the strong wicked man? ‘I thought. Suddenly, all the memories came back uninvited…………
This man had tortured me emotionally and physically. I could remember vividly how his huge hand slapped my right face which forced me to land on the floor. I was 10 years old back then, and I was playing happily with my Barbie doll in the living room. My dad came back from casino with pungent smell of alcohol. He lost quite a lot of money, as I could hear him asking money from mum. Mum refused and they started yelling at each other fiercely. Before I knew it, a gigantic hand pulled me up from the floor and gave me deafening slap on my right face. The impact of the slap was so powerful; I flew towards the kitchen which was 20 meters from the living room.
I couldn’t feel anything or hear a word when I landed on the floor, lying against the fridge. I didn’t know how things started to turn bad. Mum ran towards me with tears on her face. I could see her panic reaction as her hands were shaking when she placed it on my face. Her pale face and teary eyes scared me. Suddenly, it was a dead silent and I passed out.
I woke up in the hospital; I didn’t know how long I have been sleeping. Mum wasn’t around, strangers were everywhere. My heart was pumping fast, I was filled with anxiety. I went down the bed and started to cry while searching for my mum. A lady in white came to me, she carried me on her arms and put me back on the bed. She was trying to tell me something as I could see her lips moving but I couldn’t hear anything. I struggled around her arms and tried to scream for my mum, but nothing came out.
Why? What has happened? Why can’t I talk? I used all my strength to try to set myself free. “I want my mum, where is my mum. Let me go!?” screamed my heart. More white ladies came, I didn’t know how many of them. They pulled me down on the bed and a man with mustache injected something in the tube on my hand. Within seconds, everything in front of me was blurring and I lost consciousness.
After a few days in the hospital, I realized that my right eardrum has torn due to the solid slap by my dad .I had to carefully use my left ear to listen. One of the white ladies, Ms Betty told me that my mum has gone to heaven with God. Dad killed her when she tried to call the police to help me. Our neighbor, Mr Smith heard mum screaming for help and he called 911.When the police arrived, mum was lying beside me, struggling to stay alive. She was certified dead on the way to the hospital. Dad was not at home when the policemen broke into the house. He was arrested in Uncle Bill’s house. Uncle Bill lived just behind the street. He used to come to our house and never fail to bring me green ice cream with vanilla flavor from the grocery stores around the corner. He was a huge man with long black beard. He has a big tattoo on his arms and a big scar on his face which made him look like a pirate.
Dad was charged with manslaughter and child abuse.He was detained by the police and would be sentence after his hearing. Ms Betty told me that the policemen had enough evidence to charge him under the law. I was devastated when I heard what she said. I hated my dad but sending him to prison meant that I would be alone since mum is with God. Where can I go?
Ms Betty sensed my grief. She placed her arms around me to assure that everything would be under control. I was horrified; I didn’t expect all these to happen. The last words I heard from my parents were their argument. I want my mummy back; I would promise her to be a good girl and finish my cereal every morning.
I was discharged from the hospital and sent to a foster home. There were a lot of children in the house. We were taught to read and write in the house by our foster mother ,Ms Ann. Ms Ann was a tall lady with oval shape face. The children in the house called her giraffe because of her tall body and long neck. I tried my best to behave myself in the house so that I would be accepted by Ms Ann. She reminded me of my mum, especially when she put her hands on her hips and yelled at the kids. Every week, all the children would be dressed nicely. There would be couples coming to the house to visit us. Those who were interested in adopting any of us would inform Ms Ann for arrangement.
Five years has passed. I was still in foster home. A lot of my friends have been adopted. I was sad to see them leaving one by one.
One Sunday morning, the phone rang loudly and woke me up. Ms Ann was making pancakes in the kitchen as I could smell the aroma of margarine. I imagined her running towards the phone, rubbing her hands on the apron and lifting up the receiver. “Yes, bingo!” My timing was right. Ms Ann was on the phone. I walked slowly down the stairs and tried to listen to Ms Ann’s conversation.
Ms Ann hung up and ran towards me. She gave me a stiff hug and asked me to change. “Where are we going? Aren’t we suppose to wait for the parents today?” asked my heart. I didn’t dare to ask Ms Ann as she was busy in the kitchen. I went up and changed to my favorite pink dress with a beige ribbon at the back. As I was choosing the socks, Ms Ann called me nervously to come down.
I went down timidly as I had no idea what was going on. I saw a policewoman in her uniform talking to Ms Ann. I was afraid, what did I do wrong? Ms Ann put her hands on my shoulder and pushed me towards the policewoman as I was sobbing quietly. The policewoman brought me to her car. Before we went in the car, she rubbed my hand gently and told me not to be afraid. She assured me that I didn’t do anything against the law and I wasn’t going to jail.
I was relieved but my heart was still tumbling fast. “Here we are! Come, let’s go down”. Before I knew it, we had arrived. I looked up the tall white building. I was at ease when I found out that I was in the hospital and not police station. The policewoman led me to a counter. She was saying something to the nurse (white lady).I couldn’t hear a word from their conversation. “Room 114” said the nurse abruptly. I was puzzled as we walked towards room 114 led by the nurse.
99…100…110…111…my heart was counting the room numbers. Anxiety filled my heart once again. “Here we are” said the policewoman. I moved my stiff neck up and saw someone on the bed. 2 policemen were standing beside the patient covered with white blanket. I couldn’t see the face, who is that?
Without warning, the patient turned his body, facing the ceiling. To my horror, it was my dad. It was him! My body stiffen, I was dumb shocked. Millions of questions filled me, but none came out from my mouth. In a split second, I thought I was dreaming, isn’t he suppose to be in jail?
