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Spectrum
Susan Fang
8
The smell of rain was in the air when he stepped outside of his
apartment that morning. The sky was a sheet of grey, and silence had
consumed the town. A raindrop fell. Droplets of rain began to fall
faster and harder, and soon, it was pouring. As he pulled the collar of
his coat above his head, ready to sprint home, he saw the girl. She
was sitting on a park bench all alone, and spreading her arms out, as
if she was embracing the rain for a warm hug. It was only when he
walked closer that he realised her face was flowered with bruises,
and her eyes were flowing with rain-mixed tears. She looked
miserable. Desperate. She nervously bit her fingernails as her body
shook furiously. The man knew she needed help. So he took her in.
“Have you seen my parents?”
The man took the girl’s hand in his as they walked into the empty
petrol station at night. He put a loaf of bread and a chocolate bar on
the counter. As he scanned the room to see if he would need
anything to live off for the rest of the week, he was alarmed by a
sudden thump near the automatic sliding doors. He slowly turned
around and gave a sigh of relief. It was just her. Hopping and
skipping in and out of the sliding doors. The two lonely beings took
their bread and sweets, and walked down the cracked concrete
pathway to his house. Her new home.
“You’re not my daddy. I want to go home.”
A thundering slap was heard, as the girl collapsed on the floor.
She sobbed quietly, in fear of being heard.
The man, feeling sorry, gave her a gesture of warmth.
A hug.
The girl smiled as the cool air hit her face. The world began
spinning around her, with the sky and ground all mixed into a blur.
She could see a whole spectrum of colours. Blue, green, white, black,
red, purple. This world was her rainbow, filled with colours of every
hue. He spun her around one more time and then placed her gently
on the soft, wet grass. Her life was perfect with him.
“Where are you going?”
She breathed heavily as she tried to run away.
“Stop right there!”
She turned back, not realising the consequences of her hesitation.
He pushed her to the ground.
“You’re mine… you’ll always be mine.”
The leaves were scattered around the lonely street, and the trees