Twisted

"La la la la, la la la la, la la la la la.. La la la la, la la la la, la la la la la.."

A loud noise ringing throughout the forest made all the birds fly out of the trees. A gunshot. Maya had heard it. She was running, running, trying to escape like her mother had told her to. Her mother.. Where was she?

Maya stopped running for a moment and placed her hands on her knees, panting, trying to catch her breath. Her mother had followed her, hadn't she? Looking behind her, the young girl was terrified to find that her mother had in fact not came with her. But..why? Then, suddenly, realization hit her as she remembered everything that had happened clearly..

Flashback:

"La la la la, la la la la, la la la la la.."

11-year-old Maya felt fingers run through her golden hair, and she automatically purred. Kay, her beautiful mother, was trying to relax her by combing her hair with her fingers and singing her to sleep. Maya's father had been out all night again, which wasn't a surprise. He was never home, always out with friends, Kay had told her.

But Maya knew the truth. She knew her father was with friends, but not laughing and hanging out like normal friends do. No, her father and his friends were drinking, probably out breaking the law, and cheating on their wives. It was something, however, Maya was used to, and despite that, she still felt secure as long as her mom was there with her.

"Relax, sweetheart, everything's fine," Kay whispered into Maya's ear. "Go to sleep now, you need it." Just as Maya was slowly drifting to sleep, she heard a door slam open.

"Woman, you in there?!"

Maya winced as Jon's, her dad's, booming voice reached her ears. 'Why does he always call momma "Woman"? He knows her name is Kay, not woman..,' the child asked herself.

"I'm in here, Jon," Kay sighed. She picked her daughter up from her lap and laid her gently down on the couch. "I'll be right back, honey," she told her, kissing her forehead.

Maya nodded and watched her mom walk into the kitchen where her dad currently was. Unable to hold back her curiousity, she quietly crept to the kitchen door and pressed her ear up against it.

"What the hell?! Woman, I thought I told you to make dinner while I was gone!"

"I'm sorry, Maya wasn't feeling well, so I was trying to help her--"

Jon snorted. "That girl is old enough to help herself, Kay. If you keep babying her she'll turn out spoiled and selfish, like you."

Kay fought back tears at her husband's words. "Sorry, Jon. I'll fix dinner now." Walking passed Jon, she froze when she felt his breath on her neck.

"Good girl. Keep up the nice work and maybe I'll give you a present."

Kay had a time resisting the urge to slap the man, but she knew if she was disobedient he'd just hurt her.

"Heh, thanks, Jon." Frowning, Kay moved closer to Jon's face and sniffed. "Have you been drinking again? Now, Jon, you know that's bad for you and only makes you--"

"None of your damn business!" Jon snapped. "Did I ask you for your opinion?! Huh?! Did I?!"

Maya's eyes widened when the sound of her father hitting her mother and her mother crying met her hearing. 'Momma!' She silently screamed.

"No, you didn't," Kay sobbed. She backed up against the wall, cupping her stinging cheek, her eyes watering. The woman felt her legs go weak and she slowly slid down the wall, crying.

"Good thing you know your place, woman," Jon murmured. "At my feet."

Upon hearing this, Kay suddenly felt something inside her spark. Gathering all her courage and defiance, she drew herself up to her full height. "I'm not your doormat," she spat at him. "I'm your wife, someone you should treat with respect."

The older man laughed. "Respect? Ah, respect! So it's respect you want? I'll show you respect!"

Maya whimpered when she heard a sickening crack and her mother's dry scream. She saw without seeing her mother's bones break. She didn't know which ones, but that wasn't the point. It was still her mother's bones, and know that fact, Maya couldn't take it anymore. She pushed open the kitchen door and stood glaring at her father.

"What did you do?!" The child shouted. "What did you do to her?!"

Jon laughed manically. "Oh, so now the little kid gets brave?! What a wonderful and lucky day it's been! Now I can enjoy hearing both of your screams," he growled.

Maya's green eyes widened in fear, and she backed away slowly, trembling.

"Don't you touch her!" Kay yelled fiercely, standing up, clutching her wrist to her chest. "Touch her and I'll kill you!"

Spinning around, Jon's sadistic grin faced her. "Kill me, eh? Not if I kill you first."

Kay let out a blood chilling scream when her husband grabbed her broken wrist and slung her up against the wall, reaching for the pistol in the drawer. "Maya! Maya, run!" Kay whispered loudly to her daughter.

The horrified girl did just that without any thought at all. She ran. She pushed open the door and moved herself blindly through the woods. The 11-year-old was sure she felt something stick in her barefoot, but she was too scared to stop running, so she ignored the pain. The girl ran and ran until she felt she was about to pass out from exhaustion. The sound that met her ears, however, woke her up completely. As soon as she heard that sound, immediately, she knew her mother was dead.

"La la la la, la la la la, la la la la la.."

End Flashback


~*~


Maya, now a 20-year-old woman, had underwent much mental therapy just because of this incident. But she never forgot it, no matter how much she pretended she did. No, she would always remember that event, the day her father ruthlessly shot her mother. Maya always felt a pang of fear at the thought that he could've and would've killed her, too, had she not ran away and been found.

Before, Maya had never understood why her mother had put up with Jon's behavior. Why hadn't she just called the police or gotten help somehow? But now, Maya understood. Oh yes, she understood perfectly that it wasn't that easy, now that she was experiencing exactly what her mother had. Wisdom did, after all, come from experience. And now, everyday she lived with her mistake, reminding herself of her mother's mistake as well.

"Where have you been?" The blonde asked Saun, her husband, bitterly. "You've been 'out' all night."

"I've been just where I said I've been. Like you said, out. I just had some work to do. Why do you give a damn?" He asked her, taking a drink of the whiskey in his hand.

"I'm your wife," Maya replied angrily. "I worry, you know. Besides, it is my obligation to know. I want to make sure you're not cheating on me."

Taking another drink, the man laughed, "Now why," he questioned drunkenly, "would I do that?"

"Never mind," Maya sighed. "Here, this is supper," she informed him, handing him a plate of mashed potatoes and rice.

Saun looked down with disgust at the plate she gave him. "This is supper? What the hell? This is more like an appetizer!"

The blonde rubbed her temples. "It's not an appetizer; It's supper. You know we can't afford anything else. You don't ever work and I can't get a job."

"Oh sure, blame it all on me." Saun rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't blaming it all on you, I was merely pointing out--"

"Shut up! You were blaming it on me, 'cause I said you were! I'm not stupid, you know! I know how your mind works!"

Maya was beginning to feel frightened at that wild look in his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! You're always plotting against me, don't deny it!"

The female was taken aback. "Plotting against you? That's absurd, you're being paranoid--"

He spat out whiskey in her face as his palm connected to her cheek. Maya could actually feel her face swelling and bruising. But it wasn't the first time he had hit her. But somewhere deep inside her, she knew it would be the last. Her emerald orbs filled with tears as she took a shaky step backwards.

The whiskey bottle fell from Saun's hands with a loud shatter. "Oh, baby, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"You stay away from me!" Maya shouted, pointing a trembling finger at her husband. "You stay away!"

"But baby, I'm sorry, I--"

"STAY AWAY!" Maya could feel her self-control slowly slipping as her fear and anger took over. She wasn't going to let him do this to her. She wasn't going to be like her mother. She wasn't going to stand up for herself at just the last minute.

"No wonder you were always alone when I met you, who wouldn't be with a temper like that?" Saun snarled.

His response only hit a nerve that made the fire inside Maya grow. How dare he say that SHE had a temper, when he was the one who always lost it?! How dare he act as if he was the boss of her, and she wasn't only his stupid, foolish slave, awaiting to do his every command?!

"You bastard," Maya whispered. "You're twisted.."

Apparently, Saun didn't hear her call him this. He turned away from her, slinging open the refridgerator door and taking out another bottle of whiskey. "I'm goin' outside, meanwhile, you need to learn how to control your damn temper." With that said, he stepped out, whistling as if everything was just fine.

When he left, Maya began searching through drawers. A plan had formed in her mind. 'I'm not going to be like my mother this time,' Maya thought. 'We're two different people. Before, when I got into this relationship, I always considered myself just like her. Like mother like daughter, right? I'm proving that saying wrong. I know what to do, I'm strong. Or perhaps... I'm just twisted,' she added to her thoughts. Finally, after digging through five drawers, she found what she was looking for and tucked it safely in her pocket.

For an hour, she went over the flawless plan in her mind. Once it seemed absolutely foolproof, she was filled with glee. Maya had developed a plan, a plan to help herself and stand up for herself in the ultimate way. Making her way outside, she was even more delighted to see that her twisted husband had fallen asleep in the chair on the porch. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a solid object. A gun.

"My love, you always told me that there was something wrong with me, that I was the one with the temper. You always told me I was the one with the problem, not you, as if it were the other way around and I was hitting you. As if I were the one twisted," she whispered softly.

Pointing the gun at his sleeping form, she added, "Perhaps you were right." Then, Maya pulled the trigger. For the second time in her life, the loud sound of someone being shot filled her ears. For the second time in her life, the birds flew from the trees, scared.

"Goodbye, my love, so sorry it had to end this way." With that said, Maya put the gun to her own head. "Meet you in Hell." Then out through the forest rang yet another gunshot.

Twisted..

~Finish~