Abbi Hanford

Waking up early each morning by the chimes of the distant church bells from the dulect, mellow, DING.. indicated the beginning of once again another day, the church is lovely, but the screaming from my mother and farther drowns out the pure chimes. "ABBY, GET MY BREAKFAST! NOW!" Each morning, it's the same over and over. I cook their breakfast, lunch, and dinner and bring it up to them in bed. "Here you are, mother, farther." "What are you doing?" my farther said in a husk subdued tone after I placed their soup on their bed tables "em, I'm just" "GET OUT!" my mother whined while spooning food into her mouth, spewing saliva into her soup with a swift SPLASH! my father was the quiet type who's words were always hushed, faint, still ,quiet almost inaudible while my mother was very much the antithesis of him, the shrill type with a long arching neck that had a sizable hump as if her head was too heavy and gravity was winning as it looked as if her head were to fall off at any moment. My mother had too much neck but my farther had close to none as his head sat comfortably on his shoulders with a coller of bulging skin, he was a short man with a bulbous middle that drooped above his waist band like a waterfall that ended and restarted again. my feet hit the ground softly as I briskly walked out of their huge bedroom to get away from more screaming. the room was decorated handsomly with drapes on the windows and gold pannels oozing off the walls. In the centere of the room stood a grand bed big enough for a whole family to lay in.however they took the liberty of having too much bed for "comfort" The bed fit the room with its high walls and drapes remarkably, and mother and farther both knew it.the room was circular and had many doors and cupboards full with all sorts of designer clothes they haven't yet worn twice. the floor was bullet glass with a watery pool underneath that inhabited all sorts of fish, including a black tipped shark. the water made shimmery reflections that leaped around the room unpredictability it always scared me as a young child, especially when mother and farther threatened to throw me in with them, but i soon learned they wouldn't do that I knew they wouldn't because who would they have to clean for them? or to cook? or to do whatever they wanted? I exited the bedroom and pulled the door too leaving a small crack open and walking away tenderly, minding my foot placement as I desended down the steps, careful not to step on the CREECKY steps. the house we lived in was antique, and it looked it. some people who live in old victorian houses have cute gates, pretty arches, paths leading up to the frount door or even gates leading down a path leading up to the frount door with a arch shielding the door from sunlight my house had all of this, but keeping it tip top was a challenge as the plants and flowers had to be grown with magic and magic I do not have I love my mother and farther, but they don't seem to love me back, always putting me to work, always giving me chore after chore but I brush it off as I'm sure someone else has it harder than me yeah, that's it I'm sure and it kept me busy. I went into my bedroom a dark and gloomy cavelike area with a dull sofa for a bed and a chandler full of cobwebs and I'm sure many spiders magic doesn't reach up here so if I want light a match will do it not illuminating but just about to the flame danced around happily as if it was calling out to me, trying to leave the wick and jump off, but like me, it is stuck, trapped to an invisible jail cell with no key tethered to a ball and chain weighing me down the longer I go on another day comes by but today feels different and for once its actually a good feeling I hear the church bells but for the first time I hear the whole of the chime all the way threw mother and farther Don call out to me waking me from my slumber I step out of bed and walk out of my room towards the grand staircase to my parents room as I assend the steps I accidently step on the creeky step but nothing happens nothing no noise no dip nothing I carry on towards mother and farther room and knock on the door but there was no answer I push the door too and peer in the bed was empty. mother and farther weren't there. where could they be? they never left bed before 10:00. What was different about today? surely I hadn't forgotten anything sending my parents into a mad spiral no, I'm sure I hadn't but at that moment I hurd a huge clattering from downstairs in the kitchen I ran down the stairs balancing the tray in my two hands not wanting to spill any of my hard work I had made only a few minutes ago as I got closer and closer to the kitchen all sorts of scenarios ran through my head wasbit burgerlers? was it a stray animal? could it be my imagination, am I actually going crazy? but then as I thought it I saw my mother and farther In the kitchen preparing food. for all of us Mother? Farther? what's,what's going on? my father spoke up oh honey, we're making you dinner. What else, dear? my father was one thing, and it was not nice he never called me names like honey or dear. Those were reserved only for my mother then my mother spoke love, come here and waist this what? I said in astonishment (This was all I wanted, and now I was getting it) I followed my mother's instructions and stepped quickly. The pie was delicious, and I forgot about all my stress "Here honey," my farther said to me as he smiled and and passed me a glasss of what looked like lemonade then raising his glass soon raised his glass to cheers I had never seen my farther smile to me before it was a nice warm smile that made his skin group together and the smile didn't go away quickly. my mother and I raised our glasses to my farthers, and they all clinked together I took the glass to my lips but noticed mother and farther watching me intently as if something were to happen it sprung alarm bells in my mind, nothing like the peaceful sort I heard this morning "Thank you, but I'm not thirsty," my mother spoke up "But you have to drink a bit after glasses touch!" let's do it again. Shall we, my farther, said a bit louder than usual. mother and farther rose there glasses simultaneously, and before allowing the glasses to touch, they paused and looked at me smiling I gasped quietly and rose my glass, clinked it to their glasses I then took it to my lips and lifted the bottom of the glass, tipping some flzzy liquid into my mouth it made my mouth burn, but it was a nice burn how is it Abbi ? my mother asked it's nice. I like it "Good," my father said back to his quiet way my eyes became heavy. I tried to keep them open, but it was almost impossible I shouldn't have drank the dri- I was out unconscious, and I had no idea what was happening