“Footprints I have not heard “Footprints, “ and I have learned to hear everything. I have had to for survival. Maybe it was just a hunter or a hiker. These woods are beautiful, but I am so far away from anything or anyone, which was purposely done to protect me. Has he found me? Please, don’t let it be. There is only one person I need to find me, and he would knock, not creep around. Was he inside the house? Now that I look closer, the footprints are coming out of the house, not just outside the home. Has he been inside while I was upstairs? Now I’m really scared, with all the bad weather this week, the phone lines are dead. What do I do? The only person I feel safe to come to rescue me is now not reachable.

Honestly, am I sitting here pretending everything is ok? I feel like I do not fit in even though we are family. I am envious of my cousins, especially of the life they have had compared to mine. I am a great pretender, and very few people know the fear and pain I live with daily. My grandparents have shielded me growing up, but the monster who is my dad is always present. This is torture I want to run not sit here and smile. I should be thankful for my grandparents and what they have given me.,which is a good life, but there is so much I have missed out on. Why can someone not resue me?