A Girl Named Ruth
Ruth cracked open her door ever so quietly, flinching at the light squeak of the door. Quickly she checked up and down the hall for any sign of her mother. On tiptoe she slowly made her way toward the main room. She checked the door, her shoes were gone. Breathing a sigh of relief she ran back down the hall and into the room at the end of the long hallway. She carefully used the pole of a broom to lower the ladder that lead to the attic, and crawled into the dusty old room. From behind an old painting she removed a battered guitar case. She set it down on the ground and pulled out the relic; taking a rag out of her pocket the little girl began to clean the instrument. It was an old acoustic, it certainly had seen better years, the strings were slightly frayed and the frets well worn. Smiling when she finished cleaning the instrument, she retrieved a notebook and pencil case from underneath the floor board and began to play. The song spoke of sadness and longing, and then Ruth bent over the guitar even more, losing herself in the music.
A loud band broke her out of the trance. Ruth scrambled around to put everything away and get back to her room without getting caught. It was odd for her mother to be home this early, and from the sounds of cabinets bagging in the kitchen she was in a foul mood. She had just turned the handle of her door when her mother spotted her.
“Just where do you think you’re going?” the woman growled.
“I was just coming to greet you,” SMACK! The sound echoed throughout the house. The young girl stumbled backwards crashing into the door, hands cradled her left cheek, and tears brimmed in her eyes. The lady towered over her daughter, eyes blazing, fists clenched, and body trembling in pure rage.
“I told you never to come out of that room unless you are getting food or going to the bathroom, and even then you should do that when no one is here! What if I brought someone home? Do you know what would happen to my reputation if anyone ever found out I had a daughter; you miserable excuse for a human being! You will stay in your room and you will do as you are told! Now get in your room, I don’t even want to look at you, and no dinner for tonight!” The woman stopped back into the kitchen feeling some of the stress leave her body. Taking a deep breath, she opened up a cabinet high up and grabbed a bottle of Brandy to help her unwind.
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The next morning, Ruth peeked out of her bedroom door, relieved that her mother had already left for the day she wandered into the kitchen and started to make breakfast. Half an hour later she was out the door and down the dirt path that lead to the main road. From there, she walked on the back roads to the school to avoid being seen.
Every day, Ruth would watch all the kids at school as they learned their lessons. She expanded her knowledge beyond what the few books in magazines in the house had taught her. Her favorite day of the week was when the music teacher would come and all the kids would gather around her to sing songs. She would watch the teacher’s hands carefully as she played her guitar. Then at the end of the day, she would run home and try to recreate them herself in the attic.
This pattern continued until summer, when she made her first friend. Her mother was mad at her again and crying in her room would just upset her mother even more. That day she slipped out by a hole in the fence in the backyard. The hole was quite large but it was hidden behind a plant so she could leave unseen. Ruth ran through the forest, ignoring the branches and brambles that tore at her clothes. She made her way to a clearing that she had found earlier that summer, and there standing in the middle of it was a boy that looked to be a few years older than her.
“Who are you?” she quickly put her hands over her mouth; she didn’t want to scare him. He turned around; his surprise evident.
“My name’s Kevin. What’s yours?” he smiled; this little girl is so cute.
“Ummm, I’m Ruth.”
Kevin looked into the girl’s eyes and saw the tears that she was trying so hard to fight back; he saw the cuts and bruises that adored her arms, as well as some scaring around her hands. He had only known her for a few minutes and already he felt this overpowering urge to comfort her, so he did just that. He held her in his arms letting her cry her heart out and rubbed circles on her back. After she calmed down he got her to open up to him about everything. They spent the rest of the afternoon sitting together under a tree just talking.
The sun was setting when Ruth finally got up to leave, but not before promising to come back the next day. As he walked back toward the hotel his father was staying at, he wondered if he could convince his father to come meet this helpless girl he found in the woods.
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Kevin sat on the hotel bed staring out the window. The sun had dipped below the horizon, but the light had not yet faded. He could hear his father outside on the balcony talking loudly on his phone. From what he heard, it sounded like his dad was trying to skip out of the country a few days ahead of schedule and he wasn't getting his way. A man emerged from the balcony a few minutes later; displeasure evident on his face.
"Kevin," he sighed, "it seems that we will be staying here longer than planned." He flopped down on the bed next to his son and whined, "At this rate we won't get to see your mom before she leaves on her trip to France."
Kevin mentally sighed, his father was hard to deal with when he was in this kind of mod. He reached over and flicked his dad's forehead, "You're it."
The man grinned and lunged at his son while he tried to scramble off the bed. He missed, and Kevin dashed out of the master bedroom towards his room on the other side of the suite. Kevin laughed; he just had to make it through the kitchen to his room, where under the bed lay his secret weapon. The corner was nearing, and Kevin sped up in his home stretch. Once behind a locked door, he hunkered down underneath the bed; secret weapon in hand. The door banged once and then swung open. “Dang it, dad found where I hid the key.” Kevin backed up further under the bed. When his father’s back turned to search the closet, he rolled from underneath the bed and sprayed his father with the water gun. The look on his father’s face, as he stood there soaking wet, was too much and Kevin burst out laughing. The man took advantage of his son letting his guard down and pinned him to the bed.
“Dad, get off me! Stop I’m getting wet!”
“Good! You need to learn to respect your elders,” he said while laughing, “surrender first. Then I’ll let you up.”
“Never! I won fair and square,” Kevin replied defiantly, but on the inside he was fighting back laughter. They glared at each other, waiting to see who would back down first.
“Alright you win,” he said while getting off his son and looked at the time. It was almost ten and he had an early morning tomorrow. He sighed, “Kevin, I have to hit the hay, got to be up at o'dark thirty tomorrow. Good night bud.” he ruffled his son’s hair and left the room.
“Night Dad.”
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By the time Ruth got home it had already been dark for some time. The house was still dark, and Ruth breathed a sigh of relief. “Good thing Mom isn’t here. It’s easier to get back in.” She quickly hid all evidence of her excursion and quickly made dinner for herself; always keeping one ear alert for the sound of tires crunching on the gravel drive way. Once the food was ready all traces were cleaned up and dinner was eaten in her room. When she finished, the cleanup of those dishes were done quickly as well.
Life had been this way for as long as she could remember, “You are to never leave a trace.” is what her mother always said, and the house only reflected the life of a middle aged woman. There were no pictures of her anywhere, the refrigerator was bare, her room was the one that was tucked into the back corner of the house, and even the bathroom looked like just a spare bathroom. Ruth checked the clock on the wall; it was too early to go to bed, but her mother wasn’t home so Ruth went up to the attic.
She pulled back the curtain from the attic window in order to see when any car lights came up the drive way. Pulling out the guitar and getting situated by the window, she played by the feel of the frets. This feeling was her favorite; Ruth could get lost in another world up there for hours. She sat by that window strumming on the strings and humming whatever tune came to mind until her fingers were raw. Her mother had not returned yet so Ruth made her way to her room in the dark. Turning on the lights was forbidden unless her mother was home, and even then it was only the lights in the main areas of the house. Ruth wished that her mother was home; more than anything else Ruth hated darkness.
Her room was small, plain and bare of furniture except an old mattress in the corner. Her clothes were folded and neatly placed under the bottom part of the mattress. Ruth opened the curtains before getting into bed. Outside was nothing more than a fence, but from the ground she could see the countless stars in the sky.
“Good night Moon,” and then she fell asleep.
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It was the sun that awoke Ruth the next morning. Her mother never came home that night. She made herself a simple breakfast of toast before hurrying back to the clearing to see if Kevin was waiting for her. She went slower this time, so she was drenched in sweat by the time she arrived. Kevin was waiting for her atop a large rock by the stream. When he saw her, he smiled and Ruth was so glad to have friend that she couldn’t help but smile back.
They played together to their hearts content, and when they had tired themselves out; they laid down in the shade and made pictures from the clouds. Over the next two days Ruth and Kevin met at the clearing whenever possible. They would spend hours together dong nothing but enjoying the sunshine and each other’s company. He tried on several different occasions to muster up enough courage to ask her how she got so many scars, but was never able to. He also avoided telling her when he was leaving because if he didn’t then it seemed like they still had a lot of time together. Kevin had only ever felt this happy and carefree when he was with his parents so it was a nice change to have someone else, even if it was a girl.
He finally asked her about her bruises when a new one showed up under her left eye. At first she tried to brush it off by saying that she was just clumsy, but she had too many on her arms and legs for him to believe her. It took a lot of begging and a few threats to not talk to her, but he finally got Ruth to tell him about how she was abused by her mother.
“Are you sure that she is your mom, because she doesn’t sound like one.” Kevin couldn’t believe that any one could be so cruel to a seven year old girl.
“What do you mean? Of course she is my mom! How is your mom any different than mine?” Ruth was getting angry, “How dare he say that she is not my mother!”
“Well for one my mother doesn’t hit me,” Kevin responded defensively, “And she would never tell me to hide in my own house.”
“My mother is a mother, just like yours, so take it back!”
“Fine, whatever you say.”
The rest of the afternoon was tense, but Kevin eventually got her to forgive him by giving her a piece of candy that he had in his pocket. Then they each went home for the day.
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When he went back to the hotel, his father was waiting for him. Kevin could tell he was worried by the way he was looking around the lobby. His dad saw him and a look relief swept over his face.
“Kevin, where in the world have you been, I thought that I told you not to stay out after dark!” his father then pulled him into a bone crushing hug, “Do you know how worried I was?”
“I’m sorry Dad, I lost track of time because I was with my friend.”
“Alright then,” his father sighed as he stepped into the elevator, “Just don’t worry me so much again.”
“Yes Dad.”
It was dinner when Kevin brought up Ruth’s situation. He told his father everything that Ruth had told him. He told him about how she was never allowed out of her room, how her mother didn’t always come home at night, and about all the bruises and cuts on her arms and legs.
“Kevin this is a serious matter; based on what you have told me Ruth could be in danger.” His father pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, lit one and then placed them back in his pocket. “I think we should go see your friend tomorrow and bring the cops. It would be best if Ruth wasn’t home if her mother is arrested. Do you know where she lives?”
“Yeah, she said she lived on the dirt road, right off the main one.”
“Good then, we’ll see Ruth tomorrow. You should go to bed; it’s late.”
Kevin nodded to his father, “Good night then.”
“Good night son.”
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It was completely dark by the time Ruth made it back home. She had just entered the kitchen to make herself something to eat when her mother came into the kitchen with a strange man at her heels. Her face contorted in rage and Ruth shrank back in fear. The man however was only confused and clearly drunk.
“Mark dear, could you please give me a minute to put my daughter to bed?” she asked in a tone of barely concealed rage.
“Sssure, whaaaatever ya say,” he left the room holding onto the wall for support.
“You,” and she took hold of Ruth’s hand, “are coming with me.” Ruth was half dragged to her bedroom, and then swiftly thrown inside. “I’ll deal with you later.” She hissed before slamming the door. Ruth could hear her mother talking to Mark and then the sound of a car leaving the drive way. Her mother entered her room a few minutes later, she closed the door, and slowly approached Rose who was curled into a ball on her mattress.
“You ungrateful child,” she yelled as she brought her hand down repeatedly on Ruth, “ I was just about to close a very lucrative business deal and you ruined it!” The woman had started to use her fists instead of her hands and Ruth stared to cough up blood. The last thing she saw was her mother’s fist as it connected with her jaw and then darkness.
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The next day when Kevin and his dad arrived at Ruth’s house, the police had already arrested the women and she was being put in the police cruiser. Kevin was confused; where was Ruth? She should be outside if her mother was already in custody. He snuck by some cops and entered the house, “Maybe she’s hiding in her room.” He went to the back of the house where she said her room was and started opening doors looking for her room. There was only one room left when his father appeared.
“Kevin come back here, you shouldn’t go in there.” His voice was shaking badly and his face was pale.
“Don’t worry Dad, I’m just getting Ruth. She must be scared because of all the strange people in her house.” Kevin opened the door. On the mattress in the corner laid a lump that was covered by a sheet. He ran over to it and lifted up the corner, “ Hey Ruth, you don’t have to be scared. It’s o-,” Kevin dropped the edge of the sheet.
“Dad, why is Ruth covered in blood?”