Don't Speak, Milly

Part 1: Night

She looked out of the window with a tinge of fear on her face.

"He's coming!" she whispered to her seven year old daughter. "Remember where to hide!"

She didn't have to remind her. It was what she has been through the last six month. The girl followed her mum around the house, the way she was conversant with in the darkness, touching the walls and holding onto the corner of her mum's dress. Follow the leader, she thought. Then I'll be safe.

The lights were always off at 8PM. He would come every week, looking for them. What was the point in making everything dark? she thought. He had his own key, so he could just turn the lights back on. Is that what he did? She never sussed it out, because you cannot tell when you're hiding in a baby spaced underground haven.

Little did she know that tonight would be different.

The woman's face was clouded with contusions. What did he care? It was not her who he was after. Yelling each time, asking the same questions. Her, shouting back at him. And right before he burst into the house, she would give her daughter the same warning: "Don't speak!"

Why so? Without all the bustle, everything was silent. If the little girl so much as whimpered, he would hear it. He'd find her and kidnap her. And maybe, once again, he'd recap the events of six years ago...

She couldn't remember it; her mother had told her. All she had to know of it were the stitches. In her back. A knife could do that much damage to a baby.

And speak she didn't. All she did was listen. The indistinct sounds of her mother getting attacked. His shouts of "WHERE'S MY DAUGHTER?" followed by erratic punches. She was quite good at this now. You couldn't tell that there was another person in the house. Hidden, she was.

But not tonight. Coming out of her sanctuary, she saw that the lights in this room were still off. But the rest of the house was ablaze with radiance. That was not the unusual thing.

It was the screaming. She didn't recognise it. Habitually it was her mother's. But this voice was too manly. Something was up.

Without any hesitation at all, she followed the voices. it was coming from the kitchen.

And as she stood there at the doorway, she saw him for the first ever time. Much taller than her mum (how could she tell if he was lying on the floor?).

There's no way I inherited his legs, she thought. I've always been short.

She could tell that he'd come into the house with a white shirt. A white shirt turned crimson. What had her mother done?

Her mother was hurt also. Why was her arm hanging at that odd angle? The other one was fine, if you'd take away the long knife that it was carrying.

And still, the little girl hasn't said anything. She knew where the phone was. Calling the police, she never said a word. She took the phone to the kitchen and allowed the receiver of the call to listen to the screams.

Her mum smiled back at her. Just maybe, there would be no more of these violent games.

Part 2: Hospital

The policeman was ready to tell. He had spoken to the woman—Sandra—who had explained everything. He also knew why her daughter Milly wasn’t speaking. He tried once more.

“Everything’s going to be OK Milly,” he said, lowering his body to reach the same height as her. “Your mum’s not in trouble; she’s given her statement at the hospital. You’re safe now; you and your mum don’t have to hide from your dad anymore. But I’m afraid there’ll be some special changes from now on.”

Milly didn’t reply. The policeman—Mr Cooper—didn’t expect her to. She just stared back at him, not blinking. He continued:

“Your dad’s also been to hospital. He nearly died when your mum stabbed him, but he’ll be fine. Now, you weren’t there to see it happen?”

Milly shook her head. This was the first level of communication she entered.

“Well, see your dad? He’s just escaped from the hospital where he was treated, so I’m telling you this for your own protection. He might still be looking for you for years. So we’re going to have to find a suitable way to prevent that. Your mum, Sandra, she’s going to stay in this country, but not at the same house. The detectives think that it’s the first place your father will look.

“You’re going to be moved to a care home in England. Just as long as your father can’t find you, you’ll be safe. It’s a nice care home called Elm Tree House.”

Milly still didn’t speak.

“You’re mum’s going to be updated with you from Northern Ireland, but she can’t meet you until you’re 16. By that time, we’d be able to trace your dad and he cannot hurt your mum anymore. If we find him in time, then you can be reunited with your mum again. So, what do you think?”

“Yes,” said the little girl.

Mr Cooper was taken aback. Did he really hear her speak?

Milly closed her mouth, and smiled a bit. There was no proof that she had said anything at all.

Part 3: New news

Elaine Boyack had a tough case. A young girl called Milly (surname)

Out of all the care kids’ backgrounds, hers had to be one of the most hard-hitting. She had to fill in all the details to Mike Milligan.

“A new girl is arriving here tomorrow,” she said. “But let me warn you, she’s quite different from our children here.”

“Oh yeah?” Mike raised an eyebrow.

“Her father physically abused her when she was one years old. He, urm, did some traumatic damage to her back, and she needed stitches.”

“Err... Elaine,” interrupted Mike. “Her name?”

“Oh.” Sometimes Elaine could be so dim-witted. “It’s Milly. And, after her parents divorced, her mum reported her husband and took full custody of Milly while her dad went to prison. And about 2 years ago...

“He was released from prison and he had come looking for his daughter. It took some time because they moved somewhere else. Eventually, he found them and illegally made some matching house keys.

“And every Sunday, she told Milly to hide in the house in case her dad found her. She always said to her ‘Don’t Speak’ so he wouldn’t hear her. Milly got so used to this that she completely couldn’t speak anymore.

“She’s still that way now. No one has heard her speak in about 6 months except her mother. She even now is in fear of her dad.

“Now she’s in care because her dad broke her mum’s arm while fighting. Her mum managed to stab him, leaving him fatally wounded. He escaped from the hospital and Milly had to be taken out of this country into this care home. She can see her mum when she’s 16.”

Mike wasn’t sure. “Thanks for the explanation, but is she eligible for fostering?”

“Yes.” Elaine’s bottom lip quivered. “But... it’s going to be quite unfeasible. She never speaks; how will she be able fit in here?”

“What? With all these loudmouths?” Mike laughed a bit.

“No, I’m being serious. Tomorrow, right before she comes, I’m going to have a meeting with all the children to explain her physical difficulty.”

“OK then,” said Mike. “Don’t tell them the details of her past though.”

Just before Elaine left the room, she replied, “I know how to do my job, Mike Milligan.”

Little did she know that it would be too difficult for her to explain. By the next day, Milly would have scared almost all the housemates of Elm Tree House!