“Elsa…”
“Elsa!”
They won’t have me.
Not again.
Never again.
I hit at his chest with both fists. His arms surround me, making me nauseous. I swore I’d never let him put his hands on me anymore.
Not again.
Not this time.
“Maaa!” I screech.
She can help me. She has to help me. That’s what mothers do, right? They save their children from them monsters.
“Ma, help —”
My voice and my breathing cut off.
I’m thrown into water. Dark, murky, bottomless water.
I gasp, but only water fills my throat, my lungs… all of me.
Thrashing, I try to surface, to find refuge from them monsters.
A hand holds my head underwater. It’s suffocating. It fills my nostrils, my mouth, and my frantic eyes.
I can’t breathe.
Please, Ma.
Please, Da.
P-please, help me.
Cold shocks my skin and my limbs turn numb.
I’m floating, drifting…
It’s useless to fight it.
Maybe the one who shall not be named fought it, too. Maybe that’s why his name isn’t spoken anymore.
Maybe I’ll be like him.
Through the foggy haze, someone calls my name with an edge to their voice.
He’s calling my name.
I won’t be like the one who shall not be named.
He knows my name.
“Can you see me behind them monsters?” I ask in my head.