"Orphans plight"

“Orphans Plight”

Dear Friend,                                                           July 23rd
My name is Mariah Arkranolf. My friend is bear. Father says bear isn't real, that he doesn't put knives next to his bed. That I need to stop lying, and telling stories. But I'm not. Bear says Daddy's a witch, that if I let him kill him I'll be able to go outside. I think I might. Daddy doesn't love me, he never says it, or plays with me, and he locks me away in the attic. He says I’m too nervous to go outside. Daddy’s a doctor, he knows these things, right? "BEAR!" I yelled. "BEAR! Come out! I want to play!" Daddy came up the stairs and spanked me me. " If you keep touching the matches I'm going to have to punish you!" He said to me. He didn't apologize, he just turned and left, locking the door behind him. He says I’m ok as long as I don't leave the house. When it's stormy out, and he holds me. I am 12 years old, and have almost never left this house. Daddy says I was born in the attic. That the world wants to lock us up and throw away the key ( Us is me and bear, not me and daddy ). That the house is the only safe place for people like me.
Dear Friend,                                              August 7th
Daddy took me on a walk today, I had to sit in a baby pram. I’m not a BABY! I don’t know why I’m so tired all the time now. I have no energy. Daddy feeds me really gross stuff, it’s like milk, and fat. It’s soooooo gross. I didn’t want to eat it but he made me. He put me in a chair with a bar in front of my waist, and the strapped in my knees. He wouldn’t even let me feed myself! It’s so infuriating! Just because I don’t like to do what he says? Bear says this is because I don’t follow the rules. Because I wanted to be a doctor, and do everything daddy does, because I didn’t want to get married. What’s wrong with not getting married, daddy isn’t married anymore. I’m so tired I can hardly write this. Oh, daddy’s coming, I have to go!
Dear Friend,                                                August 19th,
It’s getting so hard to do anything, bear helps me wake up in the morning, then daddy gets me dressed, brushes my hair, brushes my teeth, and puts me in the chair with wheels, I don’t know why because I can never find the strength to get up. Bear says I need to try! He says we’ll  never get away if I don’t try, but I can barely move my hands. I feel so helpless. Daddy says I’m getting better. But that it will be years before I’m ready to leave the house, that he might send me to weir mitchell! Sally went there and I when I saw her again, she wasn’t herself. She got married and now she wears dresses and has manners and doesn’t do anything she used to. She’s 17! She’s not old enough to be married, but she has two kids, a son and a daughter, my niece and nephew. Maybe weir mitchell turns you into a real girl, a marrying, baby making, obediant machine. Bear says to get mad, for now that’s the only thing that gives me energy.
Dear Friend,                                                    August 24th
I feel so much stronger now. Bear shares his strength with me, he whispers to me, tells me all the things I never thought to think. Father is letting me eat yogurt and oatmeal now. When I’m a very good girl he lets me have scrambled eggs. Simple peasant foods never tasted so good. But I miss meat, father eats chicken, and beef and all the foods I miss. He does it right in front of us. Me and bear, we’re one now. We are me. I realise that now, bear is my one true love, he will always protect us. We will be fine now. We will be together forever. Dad’s coming, hehe, goodbye. For now.
Dear Friend,                                                      August 31st
I’m walking again, getting up on my own, yelling at dad. I’m me again! Bear was right, I just needed to get mad every now and then, I’m perfect, I even met a boy I like. Well, I’ve known him forever, but I told daddy if he wants me to get married I will marry bear! Wouldn’t that be perfect, he doesn’t believe what daddies doing to me is right, he wishes I didn’t have to go through this, and he’s been my strength through this all. But dad says he’s sending me to weir mitchell’s in the fall, that I won’t be going to school, or seeing my friends, that I was making progress but now I’ve regressed horribly. That bear isn’t real and that if I’m seeing my imaginary friend again then my nervousness isn’t cured. I told him I won’t go and he hit me. Daddies only ever hit me in the bad closet, and never on the day before my birthday!
Dear Friend,                                                September 1st
 It's my 13th birthday, Bear pretended to be a boy at the window, he asked me if I was real. " Do you want me to be real?" I asked, "No." he said " I would hate for a real, beautiful girl, to have been locked away, unless you just moved here, then you might just be shy, tell me are you shy?" I didn't know how to answer, and father was coming, so I said " I have to go, come back sometime, but don't tell father." I tried to close the window but Daddy was too quick, and saw the boy before he got away. He took me upstairs to the bad closet. The one with the piece of wood bites into my back and makes me bleed. He pushed me in and the door swung shut. Father started screaming. " No! It isn't possible, we hid! I did everything I could to make sure you died! How are you here?!" Then there was a gurgling sound, and warm wet stuff ran under the door. "Bear? " I said. " Don't hurt daddy, he doesn't mean it, he just wants to help us." I had to blink against the light as the door swung open. Daddy was dead, Bear had killed him before I told him not to, and he looked different. The Bear I knew had white skin, and white eyes, and light blue eyes, like me. This Bear had tan skin, tattoos, and black hair, his eyes were green, but his smile was the same. I hugged Bear, and said " Thank you." Now can we go, I'm tired of being the boy at the window." he said. "Yes we can go, get my umbrella." I said. Bear got my thick oversized umbrella that I made, but as we walked outside, covered in blood, hand and hand, no one hurt us.My curse was broken, and we were free.

    THE END