April, 1913
The rain poured outside her window. Lightening frightened her soul. There were bad things that happened during
the storms. Someone stood at the door of the room her sister and she shared. He
stood straight and stiff like some kind of beast. She closed her eyes tightly and called out to
her sister. “Emm, I’m frightened.”
“It is only a rain
storm, Maxine. You must be brave.” She opened one eye and glanced over to the
doorway. The tall beast still stood
there. Quickly she closed her eyes.
“Allow me to sooth
you, little Maxine.” The sound of the
voice was that of their new father, but as she stole another glance the figure
was that of the retched beast that sometimes came to their room looking as if
it was bent on destruction tonight.
“She is all
right…” Her sister called as if she
would be able to protect her. She gritted
her jaw and closed her eyes tight as she prayed silently the beast would just
go away this time.
“I didn’t ask for
you to speak Missy!” The beast spoke
again as it sat on her bed its voice was close to sounding just like its form.
“I am
al-alright.” She spoke up bravely. “You-you don’t have to sooth me,
Pa-pa-pa.” Why did it insist on being
called Papa when it came to their room?
The beast did not listen. It sat
there on her bed, and pushed her legs apart, as its claw forcefully invaded her.
“Now isn’t that
better?” She swallowed the tears and
nausea. “Tell me that’s better, little
Maxine. You know you are my very own
little Maxine.” She could not
speak. The words it wanted her to say
would not come this time. It pushed its
claw inside her worse. “Is that better?”
She tried to pull
away from it. “No, you are hurting me.”
“No… I am helping you. Your Papa loves you.” It took its claw away, and she thought it was
over before it grabbed her, pinning her shoulders down. “Let us try this…”
“Stop Papa!” Emily yelled from across the room. “Please stop this!”
The beast got up from
her bed, and she thanked God for her sister silently. It stalked her sister,
slapping her, and then Maxine watched as it pushed Emily down against the bed
and jumped on top of her. She screamed
in pain. “No more! Papa no more! No
more!”
“Maxine run, leave!
Hurry!” Her sister yelled out, but
Maxine froze in her bed. How bad would
it hurt her sister if she ran away? Was
the beast trying to kill her sister because she protected her? Instead she curled up into a little ball, and
pretended she was dead.
“No man will ever
want you when I’m through with you.” It
seethed in hellish fury. That’s what the
beast was! It had to be a demon, Maxine
decided.
“I don’t care! You cannot do this to her! She’s only eight years old!” Maxine watched as it pushed itself on her violently
with an evil leer in its eye. Her sister
screamed and began crying. It did it
again and again as her sister’s body shook.
She couldn’t let it abuse her sister further, but she did not have the
strength to end the unspeakable horror.
There was only one way she knew to make it stop.
“No, Papa…!” Maxine called in a panicked and frightened
voice. “Emm won’t say anything
anymore! You can help me! I-it does make me better.” She squeezed her eyes shut with the lie. Her Sunday school teacher told them they
should never utter falsehoods and insincerities, but she had to protect her
sister somehow. It would be better for
it just to hurt her than to hurt both of them.
She watched as he pushed himself up from Emily’s bed. Emily did not move at first. She was afraid the beast had killed her. Then it came to her bed again, and flipped
her body over. She made herself go limp
as tears welled. This must be a new
torture the beast invented. It had not
done this before. He plunged her face
into the pillows as somewhere she heard a scream and the tears started to flow
freely from her eyes. Her stomach clenched up.
Pain gripped her little body as she swallowed the screams that wanted to
escape. She knew if she screamed he
would hurt her worse. She prayed Emily
got away. She prayed she was alive. Who would take care of her if something
happened to Emily? The pain made her
breath stick inside of her and she felt as if she could not breathe. Her body became numb as the searing cuts
became unbearable. Then everything went
to nothingness and she felt no more.
Sometime
later it stopped and left her, and she became aware once more. Quiet as could be, she got up from the bed
and struggled to take the sheet and blanket off. Then she cleaned her vomit where it had
landed on the floor. The room held a
stench that made her want to throw up again.
She could not think about sleeping there anymore tonight. Tears soaked her little cheeks, but silence
over came her voice. If she made a noise
it may come harm her again. Pain racked
her body. Her back hurt so bad, and her
legs barely felt like they could move.
Still she hurried away with her bed clothing. She snuck down the steps and went outside
into the rain. She hung the sheets on
the laundry lines. Maybe the rain would make her clean. She at least had a
measure of safety out there. She stayed
out until she was shivering, then she tip toed through the kitchen door. Quietly, she pumped water into the pail and
filled the large steel tub they used sometimes in the summer for baths. The water was cold and made her feel icy
inside and out, but at the very least it cleaned away the blood the beast left
on her legs and stomach. If her mother knew what would she do? Would she stop it? She knew she would, but how hard would it be
for her mother? Would it harm her
mother too? Could it hurt women as well
as girls? She swallowed and decided it
would be better to stay quiet. It was
bad enough the beast attacked her sister.
It would be horrible if it hurt her mother! The rain was coming down so hard. Would her mother be back from the Sheldon’s
home soon? Why did they have to have another
baby born tonight? Why did she have to
be gone on a rainy night? At least when
her mother was here the beast didn’t hurt her quite as bad. It never drew blood before tonight. “God, protect Emily. Don’t let the beast hurt her again. Protect Mama, too. Please stop the beast from coming on rainy
nights. Please keep it from our home.”
“Shhh.” Emily came in the backdoor and helped her
clean away the blood. “Here, take this…” She handed her a blanket to wrap around
herself. “Go upstairs, I will clean
up.” Maxine nodded and did as her sister
bid her. She fell asleep in the chair
near their beds, but in the morning she was in a clean bed, covered with a warm
blanket. Quietly she opened her
eyes. Emily’s bed was already made, and
she was not in the room. It almost
seemed like a horrible nightmare. But if
it was she had woken up to find everything alright.
Quietly she dressed herself then went
downstairs into the dining room. Her
mother was back home and sitting down at the table. Emily was helping their housekeeper with the
breakfast entrees. Martin Westing sat at
the head of the table watching carefully.
“Emily it is time
for you to sit down.” Martin’s voice
boomed and Maxine barely kept herself from shivering. Her sister quickly did as she was told. Emily’s hair was in a looser bun than it
normally was, and more of the curls had escaped. Maxine watched her. Was last night just a horrible
nightmare? Then she noticed the purplish
markings on her sister’s neck and wrists.
She took a small breath to force away her tears. She had hoped it was just a dream, but her
sister’s bruises let her know it wasn’t.
If only she and Emily could escape.
Maxine pressed her lips together and made a quiet vow to herself. If there was ever a chance she would escape
and go back to her grandmother no matter what her mother would think. For now, though, she would do her best to
help her sister, and she would not allow herself to be afraid of the rain. Perhaps if she was not frightened the beast
would not come and hurt them.
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