Splash.
It felt like the water was going to consume me, but it wouldn’t, not yet. It was cold. Insanely cold. I swum deeper and deeper, I was going to find him. It was too dark for me to see, I just had to feel it. Two floppy ears, a button and gem for eyes and a few loose stitches. Was this necessary for any plush rabbit? Probably not. For Jerry? Most definitely. My lungs were on fire, I had no choice to go back up for water, because Jerry would sink far too deep into the water, so I opted for holding my breath and occasionally swallowing water. _I can keep going, just for a little longer, _my heart told myself. Just a little longer. I rubbed my eyes gently and reopened them to see a sparkle, a sparkle in the dark that I couldn’t mistake for anything else.
Jerry’s gem for an eye.
I’m nearly there.
My eyes burned. My arms were aching. My legs no better.
Swim faster. He’ll be gone forever if you don’t. __
The next thing I knew, Jerry the floppy rabbit was in my hand.
Swim lower, there’s something else here for you. You’re here for a reason. __ __ I wasn’t here for any other reason but to save Jerry and go back home.
You’ll regret it if you go back up.
I kicked my feet through the water and swam to the surface, I would finally be able to get a breath of air.
Though it never occurred to me how fast the ice would freeze over.
Sophie never stepped foot into an aquarium, you’d expect a seven year old to be fascinated by all the bright creatures swimming around you, but Sophie was never fazed. She was more reluctant than bored when it came to the topic of aquariums. Though today was a school excursion, and being a child who lives for the approval of her friends, she didn’t have much of a choice but to go.
She dragged and clunked her feet on the platform whilst sighing and groaning.
“This is kinda boring. Right, Ella?” Sophie finally mustered up the courage to speak those words, but left her friends in silence. For little bit, at least.
“No it isn’t Sophie. You’re just a scaredy-cat! Sophie’s a scaredy-cat everybody,” Ella mocked.
The truth is, Sophie was scared, she wasn’t good with people, neither was she good with many other things, including aquariums. This was all thanks to her reoccurring nightmare of glass cracking, water rushing, sharks biting and poor swimming. An accidental unlocked door or loose railing would mean that her worst decision ever would be going to an aquarium.
Sophie turned her head from the crowd to a small tank with a particularly large fish. It was a goldfish. He was bigger than all the others but still managed to swim freely. Sophie leaned against the squeaky railing and brought her head to the tank and smiled at the fish as he swam to her. She lifted her hand to the glass as the goldfish fawned over her. Sophie stepped back, her shoes now soaked and hands cold.
“Why are my shoes wet?”
Till it it her.
The accidental unlocked door.
The loose railing.
12:45 AM. July 12, 2004
I swim down to get Teddy, it’s awfully dark.
But I would even endure years of mountain climbing to protect Teddy.
I swim back up to the surface,
Though it never occurred to me how fast the ice would freeze over.
Or how long it would take to melt.
6:44 PM. January 7, 2018
It’s glistening,
Slippery,
Foggy.
How does no one know I’m here?
Person after person,
They walk prudently,
They choose this path over the grass,
I knock against the ice,
Tirelessly.
How long have I been here?
When the ice thins,
And the rain ceases,
I will escape.
Carrie sat atop the castle where she’d always escaped to when she wanted to seek solace. It felt as right as all the other times she was here, even though things had changed. She was five years older and so was the castle. It was more of a wooden platform that was situated in the middle of a now dilapidated playground, but Carrie didn’t feel any different.
The wind swept Carrie’s hair back, as she saw someone tread through the tall, thick grass that surrounded the playground. Carrie didn’t know many people, she was 13 but never felt the need to fit in, she never felt the need to have friends, and she didn’t have much family either. Her dad died from substance abuse 5 years ago and she didn’t have siblings. No aunts or uncles, grandparents or friends of family. The person approaching wasn’t her mother, it was a man.
Carrie’s experiences with men were not particularly the best but she tried her hardest to maintain composure when she was met with a man. This man was dressed in a way that kept his appearance hidden, fully covered arms and legs, a fedora, a ski mask and sunglasses. Who was this? Why were they hiding?
She’d hoped that the man had no bad intentions, especially to do with her, but Carrie had always hoped for too much and received all the wrong things. This time was one of them. This man was already approaching her. Her inhibition had always gotten the best of her and she damn sure hoped that this moment would not be one of them. Adrenaline rushed through her head as she ran and ran and ran. She made her way through a wobbly bridge and down a rock-climbing wall as the man closed in on her, but before he could, she fell.
Her head banged against the wooden pole that stood to hold up the swings, as her whole body went numb. She couldn’t feel or see much but she knew she was collapsing and her vision was darkening, darkening in bright daylight. She was in the belly of the beast and there was nothing she could do about it.
“I’m sorry baby,” she started to hear.
“I just wanted to see you again. To hold you again.”
The voice was one she knew all too well. She had only just opened her eyes and what she saw felt wrong. Impossible. Was this man a deadringer? She asked herself that, but she knew exactly who it was.
“Dad.”
“Oh baby. I’m so sorry baby, I love you so much Carrie. I’m so sorry.”
She didn’t believe it.
“I’m here to be here for you now.” Carrie’s father whispered while crying. Crying.
Carrie sat up, pushing her back up against the wall as her fingers skimmed the cold, stone ground. She looked around and only just realised she was no longer at the playground. She was in a plain, dark grey room, with one very small window at the top of the wall. Akin to a prison cell. Not only did she realise that, she saw someone else was in the room, she felt it. Tied up in a chair, subtly squealing.
“Ma.”
“Oh baby no, mama is at home.”
“What did you do?” Carrie stammered.
“Nothin’ C. It’s alright.” Carrie’s dad replied in a callous tone.
“Don’t call me C. What did you do?”
Carrie got up as fast as she could possibly get up as she tried running to the other side of the dark room. The shaking of the chair and squealing of her mother was increasing in volume as she Carrie saw the cloth in her mother’s mouth stained in sanguine.
Carrie’s father wasn’t stupid. He knew Carrie would eventually hear and he knew exactly what to do when she decided to to take action. He hastily grabbed his daughters arm and pushed her down onto the ground, throwing multiple punches to her head and shoulders. Punch after punch after kick, he did it all. What happened after? Well it sure wasn’t up to Carrie to decide.
Ignore if there are any letters after this because this app has an issue with showing the text whilst writing so There might be a few random letters and spaces.
