Young Writers Society

I am posting the edited version, but the end is the same. I can't really think of anything nice so I'd let my reviewers help me. Thanks a lot in advance.

There are some mistakes grammatically on purpose. I think that even though I've tried to make this simple and make it read like a 6 year old's thing, I have failed. So, please be free to rip it into shreds.

Demons Are Bad!

I know God will scare away the demon who has entered into my Daddy’s body. That awful green slimy thing would scamper away when God will yell at him for making Claire’s, that’s me, daddy behave so badly.

I say prayers to myself as the creepy dark shadows play over the walls. I see my mother’s dark shadow flying, her bouncing back as a taller shadow springs at her. For someone else, it might look like a dance show, but I know the truth. That is my daddy and mommy fighting.

My daddy is pretty bad now. It’s not my daddy, I know. It’s just the demon. But he looks like my daddy. I don’t know why he comes only to my house every night. Can’t he find some other girl or boy to scare?

Mommy shouts, I think she’s scared too. Daddy, demon that is, screams and it looks like a lion voice. I watch tee-vee with mommy every day and light brown lions roar like this.

I sob, which makes me hiccup. Diana is not supposed to see this fight-she’s too small for that. I close my doll’s eyes so she doesn’t have to feel the pain. Mommy’s supposed to protect their kids, my mommy said and as I am Diana’s mommy I have to protect her.

A glass breaks and I step back in fear. The shadows have gone away but I still hear voices. The room is burning dark, and the outlines of the furniture are the only things I see. I am scared, but I can’t let Diana know. She’s too small for that, you see. She can’t let her mommy be worrying.

I put in my pinky finger inside my mouth and start sucking it and that makes me feel better. I ask the tears to go back to their home but they don’t. They are just zooming out of my eyes like my friend Kevin’s cars do on race tracks. Oh, I miss Kevin. I wish he were home. Then I could have run to his house like Saturday nights. That is when Daddy’s really bad. I would have to play GI Joes with Kevin, but it would have been better than this. But he had to be at that stupid Clinton’s birthday ‘bash’ wearing that ugly Spiderman costume while Demon troubled me and mommy.

Demon isn’t going away. God, help me. I pull out the pinky and join my hands with Diana leaning close to my chest.

I would tell Demon’s mother. He comes to my house every night and troubles me and my mommy. He gets into my daddy’s body and makes him go somewhere else. My daddy must also be so scared, I think. This demon is meaner than Cyrus who pulls my pig tails in school.

I move ahead. Claire is big, she’s Diana’s mommy. She has to do something to save her mommy. But after walking two steps, I remember something and turn around.

~*~

With Diana sleeping tight in her cot, I come back to the hall. I have not switched off the lights in my room since I know Diana’s afraid of dark. Her mommy still is.

Everything is silent-pin drop silent. Missus Kruger in school told us what pin drop silence means. It means that when she drops a pin, only the sound of that pin should be heard.

I take a left and reach the big hall. The small lamp at the corner has been turned on. I see daddy’s big heavy body. His back is facing me. My mom is crouched near the sofa, her face full of fear.

It’s not the first time I have to see her like this, but every time it hurts in my chest. I can’t stop feeling bad every time it happens.

The room smells like someone had to pee and couldn’t stop so they did it here. I cover my nose with my hands.

“Tiffany, I told you not to buy that make up kit. I’m not heere to just make money while you, you spend it. Dontcha spend it like that,” the demons speaks. Mommy nods like a kid.

I sob and my daddy turns. His face is scary, too scary. I would rather see Goosebumps with Kevin than face my dad. He smiles at me, but I know it’s the demon. He makes him do all the bad things.

He has a long bottle in his hand, and he puts it to his lips and drinks. I wanna ask him if he would let me have a sip, but I know the demon would answer. The demon would bite my head off.

“Claire, darling. Come…come,” he says. His voice is shaky-like when the radio loses its signal and the man inside it speaks. His eyes are like golf balls-roundy.

“No, David. Leave her,” my mother shouts. My eyes travel towards her and I watch her trying to get up. But she falls down, and moans in pain. I go towards her, but my daddy pushes me away. My daddy…pushes me away. I’m too shocked. I fall down, and hurt my knee. I start crying loudly and my nose starts running.

“Claire!” My mom cries. I don’t try seeing her this time.

I have my eyes on his face. He looks happy. He looks happy? How can he? After throwing his Claire…on the floor? How? This is not my daddy’s body. It is demon-both from inside and outside.

“You both…both of you are getting on my nerves. Bloody women!”

He walks funny, and every time he moves a step I think he would fall down. I watch him and I don’t even know when but I see my mother coming for me and she tries to push demon away so she could reach me, but the demon comes to know and kicks her. She is thrown at the wall, and I see blood coming from her forehead.

My heart stops for a second and when it starts working, I cry. The blood smells so bad, almost more bad than the pee smell.

“Mommy!” I shout. My breaths are slow and I can’t stop hiccupping. My nose runs like tap water, and I clean it with the sleeve of my night gown.

Demon reaches for her hair and shakes her. Then he punches her on the face. I no longer feel scared but angry. Something inside me burns and I feel like kicking something. I want to tear something, break something.

Mommy’s crying while the Demon shakes her head. More than once, he is about to fall on her but he doesn’t. Mommy tries to push away her face, but Demon is too strong.

The Demon has gone too far now. He should have known who he was messing with. He can not hit Claire’s mommy. I reach for the pink vase-the one mommy loves the most. Demon is sitting down with Mommy, talking stupid things into her ears and I notice how my mother’s shaking. She doesn’t speak.

I stand up and go to the Demon. He doesn’t come to know I’m there ‘cause he’s busy speaking. I lift the vase in the air and throw it on his head. He screams in pain, but I don’t feel sorry. I don’t feel anything. I do it again, and then again. I kick him like he kicked my mother.

“Bad demon. You’re a bad boy,” I say.

My mother tries to get hold of my hand but I am too strong. I have turned into Buttercup from Power puff Girls. I hit him again and this time the vase breaks into hundreds of tiny pieces. I know mommy will complain later and won’t be pleased about cleaning the room, but I’ll make her a ‘Sorry’ card.

I throw the big piece left of the vase on the ground and step back as the heavy body of the demon falls on the floor. When he falls, there’s heavy voice, just like his body. There’s blood of the colour same as the ladybugs Missus Kruger showed us in the playground. I should have cried looking at it, but it makes me happy.

I take my mother’s hand and she gets up. I see how she is not able to walk properly, and I look into her blue eyes. I smile, but she doesn’t.

But I know I did what I should have.

I got us rid of the Demon before he could send my Mommy away like he sent Daddy.

~*~

Mommy won’t speak. She just drives. The sky is dark like mommy’s hair. She is smoking, and I cough. She looks at me and throws away the cigarette.

I have snuggled Diana close to me with her blanket on. She is sleeping. Mommy says soon I could sleep, too.

Mommy has put white cloth over her cut. She looks pretty now. Like always. She’s wearing her favourite pink coat, the one she promised she would let me have when I grow up but if I do my homework. As I never skip doing homework and I am growing so fast I will soon get it.

We stop somewhere. I don’t know where. It’s all too dark. Mommy gets out of the car and comes to my side. She opens the gate and asks me to step out. I do so. She holds my hand tightly and we enter a gate. We keep on walking until I see a small light in a window. Mommy and I climb two stairs and she rings the bell.

Two minutes later, a thin dark figure comes out. It switches on the light and I see Aunt Melissa. I clap with joy. She looks worried. But she should be proud of her little Claire. She leads me and mommy inside. I turn back and see how scared Aunt Melissa is from the way she closes the door. Like the door might eat her. Demon could have, but I killed him.

After I had killed the demon, mommy had held his wrist. She had brought it closer to her ears. It was funny but I didn’t disturb her. After a while, she dropped it down and stared in the space. She had been like that for million minutes.

“Oh, Claire. What did you do?” She pulled her hair and sobbed. She was chewing her nails so hard I think they might have broken. She always tells me not to bite my nails but she does the same.

She didn’t scream and asked me to pack my toys in my school bag-but only the important ones. Then she had followed me to my room and packed a suitcase with my clothes. After that, we went into the car with the things we had packed.

~*~

Oreos are God’s gifts and you get them only when you do something as brave as me. I love the milky white thingy inside it. I eat lots of Oreos as I watch Scooby Doo on the television. It’s late, I should be sleeping. But mommy didn’t ask me to. Maybe it’s my reward for killing the demon.

I lick the white cream of the Oreos. The whispers of mommy and Aunt Melissa reach my ears but I pretend I can’t listen. Uncle Joe has joined them and they all talk so weirdly. I hear mommy cry more than once and sometimes she speaks like a toddler. She swallows most of the words. She should try eating Oreos if she’s so hungry.

“Mel, I can’t tell cops the truth,” mommy whispers.

“I know, sweetie. But what will you do then?” Aunt Melissa speaks softly. “You’ve got to handle this.”

“Mel’s right, Tiffany. Someone would become suspicious ‘bout David and might reach your house looking for him. Then? Then what?” Uncle Joe speaks.

“I’ll leave with Claire. I’ll fly to Canada, Spain or anywhere. I’ll go somewhere.”

“What ‘bout visa? The process would take some time. Everyone will know ‘bout his death before that.”

My mother shouts. “So I send her to juvenile detention?” She speaks bitterly just like the demon used to. I hug my knees and sit lower on the couch.

“No, we’ll handle this. She’ll have to attend few sessions with a counselor and she’ll be out. It’s not like they can convict her of something she doesn’t know was wrong. ” Uncle Joe tries to convince mommy but she doesn’t listen.

“I can’t,” she says.

“Similar case happened in Nevada and the little boy was let out. He just had to answer some questions until the cops were satisfied. Plus, the State put him with a counselor so he could forget the bad memory,” Aunt Melissa explains. She is good at explaining things like Missus Kruger.

“Do you understand how hard it would have been for the kid to answer? You want me to put her through this pain? Isn’t it bad enough that her D-A-D-D-Y is D-E-A-D that she has to go through this?” she stops mid way.

“Her D-A-D-D-Y deserved to die. You don’t need to feel guilty ‘bout it. And neither does she,” Uncle Joe says.

They all speak so fast and there are three of them, that it’s very confusing.

“Telling cops the truth is the only way out. Sooner the better. Let there be no doubt from their side.” This was Aunt Melissa.

“I can’t let that happen. I can’t let her go through the torture. Plus, I’m not comfortable in letting a counselor come anywhere near Claire. She’s my kid and I know what to do.” Mommy this time.

I hear them talk without me. I don’t understand who they are talking about. Who was she? Why did cops need to know the truth? I know who cops are, Brianna’s father is one and he came on the Daddy Daughter Day.

“The truth is what you should tell,” Aunt Melissa spoke through her teeth.

“I’ll tell the cops alright. But not the truth,” Mommy says. Nobody speaks for so many minutes and I turn my head back to the tee-vee. The Scooby Doo is chasing a white ghost and Velma is after him.

Once they enter, though, I look at them. Aunt Melissa and Uncle Joey stand around the dining table as they watch me. Aunt Mel’s eyes are watery and she closes her eyes. Maybe she’s praying.

Mommy comes to me and hugs me tight. I can’t breathe but I don’t tell her that. That’s because it feels warm and nice to let her do that. I lean against her. She starts crying and I ask her not to since the Demon has died. To this, she starts sobbing even more. I ignore it this time and instead smell the sweet perfume she is wearing. Along with the sweet smell of her perfume I can smell that bad drink. I pull away.

“Mommy, when would daddy come?” I ask with a smile.

“Honey…” she trails off.

“Lemme call him and tell how I fought the Demon. I’ll ask him to bring me the new Barbie, the one that skates.”

“You can’t, honey,” she answers softly. I feel bad. She’s never ever said that. I can always talk to him. He loves talking to his Claire.

“But why? I sent the demon away. He can come home now.” I am almost crying. I hit my mommy as I try to protest.

“You just can’t. Now, listen. Mommy has to go but you stay with Aunt Mel and Uncle Joey. Don’t create problems for them and listen to what they say. And, don’t eat Oreos every day.”

She stands up and I reach for her hand. I hold it tight and don’t let her go. “Now you’re going too? Why? I killed the Demon.”

“Please, Claire. Leave me, honey,” she says but she’s not looking at me.

I hold her hand tighter but my hand starts slipping and she walks away. I cry and this time it hurts my lungs and ribs. I run for her, but I trip and fall down. My head starts paining and everything in front of my eyes goes black. I blink and I can see everything again. I look up to find Aunt Melissa coming for me, while mommy is crying and walking out.

“Mommy! Please, don’t.” This time my heart pains and I can’t cry. I want to cry but I can’t. Instead, I hit Aunt Mel who doesn’t go away. Instead, she helps me in standing up and once I can, she wraps her arms around me.

I can’t cry even now, but I bury my head on her shoulders. She doesn’t smell like mommy but she still smells good. Her perfume is not very strong but it reminds me of the lilac flowers we have in our garden. I hold on to the sleeve of her sweater tightly and that’s when everything inside me starts feeling light. I try crying and this time it works. Aunt pats my head and I cry, cry for mommy, cry for daddy, a little bit for Kevin and even before I realize, I doze off to sleep.

~*~

When I wake up, it’s all bright. The curtains have been pulled up and Mr. Sun is shining brightly. I don’t remember where I am or why I am here until Aunt Melissa walks in. She has changed to a pink sweater and I wonder if it would smell like the lilac flower.

“Rise and shine, honey!” she chirps.

She comes and pulls my blanket. I smile tiredly, and start playing with my pig tails as she folds the blanket.

“I’ve baked you cinnamon cake, sweets. Wanna go and have it?”

I nod. I get out of the bed and run for the dining hall. When I reach the television room, the things about yesterday come back to me. Mommy isn’t here. No wonder I couldn’t sleep properly. It aches to think about her and I cry. Where is she? Even with my Aunt and Uncle here, it felt empty. It feels bad. I want her. I want to hug her and whisper stupid jokes Kevin told me. I wanted to see her face sparkle with her smile. I want to go out with Mommy and Daddy to the movies and watch Nemo.

I feel a hand over my shoulders and I turn. Aunt Mel smiles at me, but I turn back. I am angry at her for letting Mommy go. She should have stopped her. Why didn’t she?

She bends down and strokes my hair. “She’ll come back, honey. Just eat something till then.”

“No.” I cross my hands in front of my chest and tap my feet.

“Please?” she begs. Her eyes turn watery like the last night and I feel bad for being angry with her.

“Okay,” I say.

~*~

The television is speaking as I eat the cake and drink chocolate shake. Aunt Mel is sitting besides me and Uncle Jo is reading newspaper. It’s just like my Saturday morning but Aunt Mel’s not mommy and Uncle Jo’s not daddy.

I take a bite of the cake when a stupid lady in red comes on the screen and starts speaking. She looks so tired and bored.

“In Chicago, a lady has been arrested for murdering her husband. The husband, David Sparks is the son of the influential Senator Henry Sparks…”

It’s my daddy and grand pa’s name. I am shocked. I never heard daddy’s name on the tee-vee before even though grand pa comes on it a lot.

Seconds later, they show the image of my mommy. She is wearing the same clothes from the night and the white cloth on her forehead is shining red at some places. She is more tired than the stupid lady reporter and her face is red as strawberries. She doesn’t look in the tee-vee and has her head down.

The screen goes black. I stare at it as I try to understand what had just happened now. Why was my mommy on the TV and not with me? And what was the stupid lady saying? But more importantly, when would mommy be back?

I don’t say anything but keep on thinking. My brain hurts from so much thinking and my eyes hurt from so much crying. It isn’t fair. I should have been treated to ice-creams and chocolates for killing the demon, but instead I am being punished.

Aunt Mel kisses me lightly on the cheek. This time I see how red her eyes are. It almost scares me.

“Your mommy’s a brave one. Just like you.”

To that, I smile proudly and pray to God to send back my mommy soon.