Sunday, June 26, 2022

Sally's Story

This story just poured out of me this morning...I don't know where it came from, but it needed to be told. This is Sally and this is her story:

Just two months shy of her 13th birthday, Sally had stopped having periods. She was hungry all the time and her belly was poking out a little farther than usual...most of the time, she could hold it in when her Father told her she was "getting fat", but that was getting harder to do, so she would just wear the same old baggy t-shirt that said "Life is Good" across the front, with an image of a guy in a canoe with his dog. She convinced her Father that it was her "favorite" shirt, so that's why she wore it all the time. Sally wasn't stupid though, she knew what was causing everything...it was her brother's girlfriends fault. Sally was the 4th child of a family with 12 kids. She had 3 older brothers, 4 younger brothers and 4 younger sisters. Her Mother had been pregnant for as long as Sally could remember and was pregnant yet again. Sally decided early on that she would not end up like her Mother. Sometimes days would go by and she would not even see her Mother at all, especially now that she was "old enough" to take care of all the household chores and make sure her younger siblings were fed and did their homework. Sally dreamed of the day she could leave this place, this life and have a life of her own. She loved animals and wanted to dedicate her life to taking care of them, somehow. Her best friend, Ramona, lived right down the road and was an only child. Ramona had the best life! Her parents were wonderful and so kind. They invited Sally to do everything with them, but she could only go every now and then, because of her household duties. Ramona had just turned 13 and got a horse for her birthday. She let Sally help her name him and they named him "Wildfire", like the song Sally used to hear her Mother singing in the kitchen when she was younger...she hadn't heard her Mother sing in at least 5 years and she missed hearing it because her Mother had the best voice of anyone Sally had ever heard. 

With her growing belly, Sally knew she had to tell someone, so she decided to tell Ramona and swore her to secrecy. It started when she was 10. Her oldest brother was 15 at the time and didn't know what he was doing, so it all started off a little awkward and gentle, even though it was horrible and the worst feeling Sally could ever imagine happening to her in her whole life, ever! But he would "reward" her every time she let him have his way with her and she got to the point where she tolerated it, because one time he brought her a Kitten and that made it all worth it to her. But the last year had been different...he had become rougher, more violent. He even slapped her once while he was on top of her for no reason. She threatened to tell their Father and he told her if she did, he would kill her Kitten and dismember it and smear it's blood all over her bed and she believed him, because she had seen him do it to a Squirrel and a Possum. He made her watch, because he was teaching her a lesson. He blamed his girlfriend for the increased violence of his attacks on Sally, because his girlfriend was a "virgin" and refused to let him have his way with her, so Sally got the brunt of that pent up frustration. Sally hated his girlfriend and wished he could meet another girl that would have sex with him and maybe he would finally leave her alone.

Ramona was devastated by the story Sally told her and begged her to tell her Mother. Ramona's Mother loved Sally and treated her like her own daughter. Sally was so smart and such a beautiful child that Ramona's parents had even once asked Sally if she would like to stay with them. Of course, Sally's parents wouldn't even consider it and neither would Sally, since her family needed her help at home. Ramona's Mother had had several miscarriages after Ramona was born and finally decided she would not be able to have anymore children, so she spoiled Ramona and gave her everything she wanted. With her persuasion, Sally decided talking to Ramona's mother was something she had to do, since her situation was dire and she knew if she didn't tell somebody soon, her secret would be out and there would be no way to hide it anymore. But she was terrified thinking about what her brother would do if he found out she told. Ramona's mother had a plan. One of her best friends was an amazing doctor and agreed to examine Sally without having her parents consent. It was determined that Sally was about 3 months pregnant, but the state they lived in no longer allowed abortions, so Sally would have to give birth. Ramona's mother felt like she had to do something. Here was her daughter's best friend, barely 13 years old and pregnant with her own brother's baby and the current law was going to force her to have it. She had all sorts of thoughts running through her head...she and her husband could keep Sally at their house and then adopt the baby when it was born, but HOW was that going to help Sally. Sally herself was a child and forcing a child to have a baby should, in itself, be against the law! How could anything about that be right! It wasn't Sally's fault she had become pregnant. And then there was Sally's brother. He was now 18 years old, so he should be arrested and put in jail for rape, incest and causing great harm to his little sister for years! Sally begged Ramona's mother not to go to the police, or tell her parents...she needed time to think about things. She promised her she would wait a few days, but something had to be done soon.

Sally loved Wildfire and spent most of the time she was at Ramona's house out in the pasture, or the barn, brushing him, talking to him and telling him that "one day, you and I will ride off into the sunset and never come back". She knew she could tickle him under his belly and it would make him kick...she and Ramona would tickle him all the time and he would kick and snort and show his teeth, like he was laughing right along with them. He loved them both to bits! He would stand at the gate and snort every time he saw Sally's bicycle coming up the road. 

Ramona's family had gone into town one day and when they got home, they could see Wildfire standing in the middle of the pasture with his head down. Sally's bicycle was in their driveway and her Kitten was sitting in a cardboard box filled with all of it's toys and treats. As they got closer, they could see something on the ground where Wildfire was standing...it was Sally. She had taken a long piece of straw, stood behind Wildfire and tickled his belly. Like he always did, he kicked with such force, he kicked Sally in the stomach, causing her to hemorrhage. She miscarried the baby, but she lost too much blood. Sally died before the ambulance could get there. She had a piece of paper crumpled up in her hand and all it said was "please tell my brother I'm sorry". 

the end

What we have to remember is that, it's not about the baby!