Silence

Her chest was heaving. All around her leaves danced in the wind. Before her a massive oak provided the only safety. She cautiously approached the tree. Slowly she began to climb, grabbing a hold of the branches that dangled above her head. When she felt she was a fair distance up the tree, she stopped.

Unsatisfied with her hiding place, she began to look around. Above her head, she noticed a small nook where the branches met the tree. She nestled herself in the nook and, with leaves blowing about her face, she listened. Below her she could hear his staggered footsteps, she could almost feel his breath on her face again, rank and sour; she could feel his hands tighten around her pinned arms.

Shuddering, she pushed the thoughts out of her head and slowly, as not to draw attention to herself, she hugged her knees to her chest and let her head fall into her arms. Directly below her a branch snapped, sending shivers down her spine. The sound of shoes scraping against bark rang in her ears making her inhale sharply. She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed her body tighter against the rough bark. Her breathing now came in struggled gasps, her heart was pounding furiously in her chest; he had found her and she knew it.

A hand tightly clutched her arm and she was torn away from her hidden perch. Leaves scattered everywhere as she hit the ground. The fall was so hard that the wind was jolted from her lungs. The mixture of pain and fear paralized her. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move.

He was over her now, hissing threats in her face. She tried to hold her breath but the smell of alcohol pierced her nostrils. She turned her head and tried to ignore him but that was a big mistake. He raised his hand and brought it down hard. The impact of his fist on her face turned her head violently to the side. She tried to scream but her jaw was now locked. She couldn't scream, couldn't yell at him, say the mean things she wanted; she couldn't even open her mouth. Hot tears spilled down over her cheeks; tears of hatred and anger. Feelings of rage and fury brewed in her heart towards this man she thought she once knew, a man she was supposed to love.

Relief struck her when he stumbled to his feet and turned his back on her. He was muttering something, maybe cursing. She didn't know which because the wind had once again picked up and carried his words away from her ears.

With great effort, she pushed herself into sitting position. In front of her, her bare and bruised legs quivered in the October cold and scraps of her torn t-shirt danced in the wind like the leaves on the trees. She drew her legs nearer to her and wrapped her arms around her knees. She stared intensely at the back of his head, silently willing his to fall down dead where he stood. The dark figure turned toward her, shadows moved across his face. His eyes, like her own, were a cold, icy blue.

She turned away from his stare and looked down at the leaves on the forest floor. Suddenly she was jerked into the air. He had her by her torn shirt and was dragging her deeper into the forest. She had just decided to resist when he dropped her. She slowly stood up, trying to gain some sense of balance on the uneven ground beneath her bare, bleeding feet. He grabbed her shoulders and slammed her down hard. He pinned her arms with his hands and put one leg on either side of her until she was completely pinned down. He situated himself so her hands were now undreneath his knees and he was straddling her stomach. He reached into the front pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. Staring down into her eyes he lit it and took a drag off it, blowing the smoke into her face.

She pushed her head back into the moist leaves and closed her eyes. Thoughts of her mother and younger brother and sister crept into her mind like a thick fog. The Christmas they would all share in a couple of months warmed her for a moment, but the man above her moved suddenly, drawing her back to reality. She opened her eyes and looked into a set of dull blue eyes, eyes so much like her very own. Their stares locked for a moment, then she again broke the gaze. He moved his hands to her shoulders and situated his legs inbetween hers. She could hear him fumble with his zipper and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. He pressed his face so close to hers she could feel the stubble on his cheek. He didn't say anything, he didn't move.

He kissed her cheek then slowly moved to her ear. She silently prayed to God to not let it happen again but it was too late. She could already feel him. He was ready and he was going to take what he claimed was his. He moved her torn shirt and ripped away her underpants and raped her. When he was done he laid his face close to hers. He blew into her ear, barely brushing his lips against her skin. He hovered there a moment then whispered. His voice was startling as he spoke. She didn't quite hear him the first time. He then got closer to her ear and in a louder, raspy voiced hissed, "run."

He got off her and grabbed her, slinging her to her feet. She was free. She scrambled away from him, starting painfully slow towards the house. Her feet, which now seemed clumsy due to the cold, struck every rock and snagged every root causing her to stumble and fall every few steps. The aches all over her body due to him having his way with her made it increasingly painful to get up and go on. After a fall that seemed to tear the very last breath from her chest, she stopped. She pulled herself to her feet and turned around; her only mistake.

Her eyes were wide with fear as they locked onto the shiny object gripped tightly in his hand. He stood facing her with a gun pointed at her head. She watched his hand, watched his finger move ever-so-slowly to the trigger. A smile spread across his lips before he whispered the words, "good bye."

Bang . . . The shot rang through the night. All at once the wind died, the leaves were still, and her breath was released. She opened her eyes and realized she wasn't dead. Where had the shot gone? Ahead of her she saw the man fall to the ground. She heard the thud of his body, the leaves scattering away from him. She could see the blood on the side of his head. She was free.

She turned and slowly made her way to her home. She needed her mother, her brother and sister. She needed to tell them he was gone and they would never have to worry about him again. After all, mother could re-marry.