She permitted herself one last tearful glance at the house, as she walked away. Dead in the night, only illumination coming from the street lamps,she stood there - backpack strapped, dressed in that baggy red shirt, and those faded, torn pair of old jeans of hers her mom always resented. She was ready. Ready to face the world, ready to take on a challenge - tougher than anything else thus far.

But she did not regret this decision. This was right. This was what she needed to do. She could no longer bear the suffocating atmosphere of their household.

Everything she did was wrong. Everything she knew was useless. Everything she wanted to do was against ‘the honor and tradition of their respected family’.

Please, please forgive me,
But I won't be home again.
Maybe someday you'll look up,
And, barely conscious, you'll say to no one:
"Isn't something missing?"

She tried, she tried – god knows – she tried so hard, so many times. She sacrificed all her dreams, every one of her ambitions, her interests.

And she did it all

for her family. Her family. She tried. She dressed as they wanted her to, spoke as the wanted her to, behaved as they wanted her to. She took up the

activities they wanted her to, enrolled in all those classes they wanted her to, took up those subjects which they wanted her to, made friends with only the ones they wanted her to. All that to make her parents happy.

She tried to change, but it wouldn’t work. She couldn’t sacrifice her identity.

-“Can’t you hear me? I’m sick! I’m tired of this! You’re killing me!”

-“Quiet, young lady! This is certainly an improper and insolent manner of talking to your parents!”

-“Go to hell! All of you! All because of you - I’m not me any more! Get me? I’M NOT ME ANY MORE!”

-“That’s it! We’ll tolerate no more from you! Go to your room!”

-“I’M NOT ME! Mom, Dad! Can’t you see? All I am now is a puppet! A robot!”

-“Anna, GO TO YOUR ROOM!”

-“NOTHING MORE THAN A MADE-UP, DOLLED-UP, SUGAR COATED VERSION OF ME - YOU ALWAYS WANTED - BUT WHICH I NEVER WANTED TO BE!!”

-“ANNA! ENOUGH! GO.. TO… YOUR.. ROOM!”

She wiped off tears welling up in her eyes, and moved on, towards the gate.

Her needs, her aspirations, her interests, were always secondary for her parents. Tertiary even. All they wanted her to be, was more of something that would

Fit their aristocratic, cultured, snobbish family background. More like her sister. Obnoxious, high-and-mighty, arrogant, head up in the clouds……

….and a total *****. – she added as an afterthought, a grin crossing her lips.

She swung open the gate and stepped forward, into the street.

You won't cry for my absence, I know -
You forgot me long ago.
Am I that unimportant...?
Am I so insignificant...?
Isn't something missing?
Isn’t someone missing me?

This evening. She had just returned after a trip with her friends.

-“Who were those?”

-“My friends. Who else?”

-“Friends? My dear Anna, you really shouldn’t mix with riff-raff like that.”

-“Excuse me? Riff-raff? Those are my friends.”

-“They aren’t exactly, what you’d call, desirable company.”

-“I don’t care, mom. They’re the only ones who understand me now, only ones who care for me. Not like you guys!”

-“Anna! Do not exhibit your insolence further !”

-“No! I think I should, Dad! Let me give you a piece of my mind!”

-“Melissa isn’t like you! Thank god we have a child we can relate to, unlike you!”

The words stung deep…..deeper than anything else. But she continued on.

“Oh that’s right! Melissa ! The wonder child…Melissa, Melissa, and Melissa! That’s all I hear, all day! Couldn’t you just accept me for what I am? And let me be myself? “

-“NO! We want you to be MORE like Melissa!”

-“Then BLOW OFF! I CAN’T, AND I DON’T WANT TO BE LIKE THAT *****!”

The slap was resounding.

It threw her to the floor.

-“One more word out of your mouth, and you’re out of this house!”

She got up, silently. No retorts, no angry comebacks this time. She started going up the stairs.

-“It’s time I thought if I really WANT to stay here.”

-“Is it? “ - her father fumed. “Go then. Go wherever you like. It’s not like you’ve got anywhere else to go! You’re bound to come back here!”

No dad. You’ve misjudged my strength.

Even though I'm the sacrifice,
You won't try for me, not now.
Though I'd die just to know you love me,
I'm all alone.

Isn’t something missing?
Isn't someone missing me?

She walked on through the deserted streets, along the pavement.

Alone.

And if I bleed, I'll bleed,
Knowing you don't care.

Her cellphone rang.

It was Kyra. One of her best friends.

“Kyra?”

“Hey girl!! Wassup?”

“Hey…nothing.”

“Nah?..I just called to check up on ya…your folks seemed pretty upset when we dropped you off at your home this evening…”

She fought back tears.

Her friends cared for her.

She knew that, always.

”Hey..Kyra?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I….tell you…something?”

“Sure girl! Anything! We hear ya!”

“Well…it’s like this…

Keyword: Missing abusive abuse parents control control freak escape sad girl house people missing

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Comments (13)

Posted by lemon 2008-05-28 12:15:44 .... I liked how her thoughts were like little poems mixed into your story. I thought this was good.. I felt for Anna when her parents were being obnoxious, but she was kind of a smart-ass, and I think I'd feel more for her if she wasn't. but then... that could just be the mother in me talking lol. Good story. Keep posting.:) + Report this comment
Posted by resistanceisfreedom 2008-05-28 15:13:44 .... it's been awhile since you have posted new material, so i was eager to read this. i thought this was a good story and i definitely felt for Anna. i don't think she was being a bitch at all. her parents obviously tried to control every single aspect of her life and that's unacceptable. no one should think they have the authority to "control" any other human being. + Report this comment
Posted by Something Indecent 2008-05-29 02:26:17 .... I liked this. One suggestion though would be to show more of her parents controlling behavior in the past. You could easily do this by adding a line after each controlling factor when you list them off. But what do I know? You did a good job of showing how her parents don't seem to care for her and how Anna was depressed and lonely. That was a nice lift at the end. Brief but good. + Report this comment
Posted by JJtyler 2008-05-31 22:37:00 Growing Up is hard to do. Being a teen-ager is never easy, and I think you captured a big part of that: the freedom of becoming an adult vs. still being a child in your parents' home. Good job, keep writing. + Report this comment
Posted by sTiCkFiGuRe 2008-06-01 15:00:09 .... Something is missing from this story...oh, its the title. Ok story. + Report this comment
Posted by dingfriesaredone 2008-06-02 14:30:42 ... please don't tell me that's the end + Report this comment
Posted by Dirkin 2008-06-02 17:46:01 .... That was alright. There were these strange format errors throughout the story: or is that how it looks to me only? I loved this line: BLOW OFF! made me laugh for some reason. Its hard when you want so much for your kids that they dont want. + Report this comment
Posted by prithwish.nath 2008-06-03 11:39:00 .... @ dingfriesaredone - I'm sorry..but yeah - that's the end I guess :P @ Dirkin - format errors?? O__o It looks okay to me.. + Report this comment
Posted by d.dasgupta 2008-06-09 05:42:28 .... Good story. Don't know where she is headed, but her decision made sense. The part of the story that sounded very real was the one where her mom compares her with the sister. That can hurt more than anything else. Whether her reaction should have drawn a slap is worth thinking over, unless the mom or the dad were pshycopaths. But, as I said, the tale contains deep truth. Such a world exists. + Report this comment
Posted by strawberrywino 2008-06-12 02:17:35 ...... i felt like you repeated to much. + Report this comment
Posted by D.A. Ross 2008-06-12 14:41:25 RE: missing I liked the story, but i felt it was rushed. I would have liked to hear more of why her parents hated the person she was, in contrast to the person they wanted her to be. some closure would have been good also. + Report this comment
Posted by sockbasher 2008-06-12 19:41:48 .... i did feel for anna. in a way i can relate her back to me. everything i did was to make my parents happy. i did classes that they wanted me to do...i went to yr 12 coz they wanted me too. i also hav to change my whole personality around mum. N im always compared to my younger sister. anyway great story very emotional. the ending was perfect + Report this comment
Posted by nishant1500 2008-07-06 00:51:12 .... Not your best, but still excellent. I like your style, and structure. + Report this comment

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