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~ Day Dreams ~
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~ Chapter Six ~
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~ Sorrow Memories ~
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~ Ten-Years-Old ~
&
~ Fourteen-Years-Old ~
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~ Hazel's POV ~
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  ~ Authors Note ~ 
{{Trigger Warnings}}
{{Child Abuse}}
{{Neglect}}
{{Mental Illness}}
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"Welcome to your new home, Hazel... for the time being, anyway," the social worker said with a gentle smile, adding the last sentence after a quick pause.

I nodded, saying a quick "thank you" before I walked toward the front door; my chest was tight, hands quivering as they gripped the metal door handle.

The door flew open suddenly, startling me so severely it felt as though my heart had stopped. My eyes widened in shock before I was able to notice the elderly lady now standing in front of me.

"Hazel, welcome. I have been expecting you; please, take a seat," the elderly woman said with a British accent. A disapproving stare flitted across her face, causing me to spin around and glance with pleading eyes at the social worker who was in her car, moments from driving away.

"It's okay," she mouthed to me, indicating that my only choice was to concede.

I walked sullenly through the front door, dragging my feet as the elderly lady took a seat at the large wooden desk sitting in the middle of the office entryway.

I sat down quietly on one of the chairs lining the room, noticing the office smelled musty, kind of like an old dollar store that was in desperate need of dusting; my nose stung in response, threatening to explode into an episode of sneezes.

Glancing at the organized desk, the elderly lady began to tap her nails on the polished surface of the wooden desk.

"Now, I am Mrs. Hamilton and I will be asking you some questions, some of which will be personal; is that okay?" she asked quietly, though her tone made it sound more like a statement than a question.

I nodded in response, before she continued, "Now, I am going to need for you to state your full name alongside your current age."

I stared blankly for a few moments before murmuring, "My name is Hazel Anne Summers, Anne with an 'e' and I am ten years old."

"Hmm... Now, I need to know how you got those marks and bruises on your skin," Mrs. Hamilton said, her eyes darting along my skin in a way that caused me to feel insecure.

It had only been one day since Fiona and my father had been taken away by the police. I always hated my birthday, but this one seemed particularly unfortunate. Jake was gone, which was awful enough without the additional commotion that had occurred on the night that had followed.

"Hazel, are you alright?" Mrs. Hamilton asked as she tapped her long nails against the desk once more, causing me to lose my train of thought.

"Uh... Sorry, I don't remember. I'm just clumsy, you see," I said weakly.

"Alright then," Mrs. Hamilton said, furrowing her brow in a way that made me think she did not believe my lie.

"We will have to work on that so that you are able to complete your chores without making a fool of yourself; for now, follow me and I will show you to your room," Mrs. Hamilton said before standing and leading me toward a doorway near the back of the room.

*    *    *

~ Four Years Later ~

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"Please don't hurt me!" I yelled, my body twisting during my restless sleep. I awoke suddenly, before scrambling out of the low bed, falling onto the carpet and scraping my knees in the process.

Another nightmare... The pain never ended, the suffering only continued. I missed Jake; why did he have to leave me behind? We had made a promise to each other, promised we would never abandon each other. I hated Jake for leaving, but I could never tell if it was him I was actually hating, or just myself.

"Stop being dramatic, Hazel!" one of the girls said in an annoyed tone, before she began laughing at me.

Before I had a chance to reply, footsteps approached the room and the door was thrown open as Mrs. Hamilton turned on the light, blinding us.

"That's it! I've had enough, Hazel! You have fallen from that bed too many times to count and that was the last straw, do you hear me?!" Mrs. Hamilton yelled before continuing, "You are on trash duty from now on; everyone back to bed, come on. Chop chop, girls!"

I lay back in bed, sighing with disappointment as I sat pondering the depths of my dark past. Each time I closed my eyes, panic ensued as I envisioned somebody hurting me; it was always Fiona, my father, or myself... I hoped that Fiona and my father would rot in hell, praying I would never have to see them ever again.

It was their fault that I was different, an outcast. I felt so separated from the world spinning around me, it wasn't fair.

I just wanted to be normal, with a loving family... and without red hair.

Rubbing my eyes as they stung from sleep deprivation, I glanced toward the only small window in the room, the light of dawn outside casting a slight glow to fall upon the entire room.

I swung my legs off the squeaky bed, letting them dangle off the edge in silence as I could hear the rustling of mice as they scrambled underneath the old wooden floorboards.

I lifted myself up off the uncomfortable bed before throwing on my old winter coat and shoving on my old galoshes, the ends of my long blue nightdress showing under the material of the coat.

I walked through the entire house slowly, ensuring I collected each garbage bag that I saw along the way.

Once I had collected each of the garbage bags, I opened the heavy back door; the crisp morning air hit my face and swept through my loose tangles of apricot hair.

I rounded the corner of the old brick building and made my way over to where the trash cans lived, my boots sinking into the drenched grass and dampening my socks.

I threw each bag into the trash can, dusting my hands after I was finished. I glanced down, noticing what looked like tears made in the damp earth below.

Curiosity getting the best of me, I began to investigate the suspicious markings when a slightly muddy, gray-coated kitten emerged from the darkness.

The kitten walked up to my outstretched hand, mewing as raindrops fell, the dark clouds casting gloomy shadows on the walls around us and causing goosebumps to erupt on my skin.

"Oh my god, you poor thing! You're freezing and you must be starving!" I exclaimed, scooping the kitten into my arms and darting into the greenhouse behind the trash cans, my galoshes tearing through the puddles with ease.

Safe in the shed, I inspected the kitten carefully, noticing the feline was female and had wild, blue eyes.

Rotting vines weaved through the walls of the old greenhouse as water leaked through the roof and fell into a puddle on the ground, echoing with each drop. I looked for a clean source of water, finding one in the corner and allowing the kitten to slowly take a drink.

Once the kitten was finished, I unzipped my jacket and placed it in an abandoned cardboard box I found discarded in the corner. I placed the kitten in the coat, wrapping her up and keeping her warm.

"You'll be safe now, and a lot warmer," I said gently, the kitten meowing in response.

I caressed her gently, trying my best to reassure her.

"Don't worry little one, I'll come back with some food; just stay here," I said quietly, knowing full-well the kitten had no idea what I had just said.

Completely soaked from head to toe, I shivered my way back through the rain, navigating through the back door and back into the main building of the orphanage, ready to scavenge for any leftover food I could find.

Once I entered the warmth of the orphanage, I made my way toward the kitchen; meanwhile, Mrs. Hamilton roamed the corridors as per her standard attempt finding any indications of wrong-doing.

"Hazel, there you are! Why on earth are you soaking wet, child? Well, anyway, I've been looking for you! There is a family here that is interested in adopting you," Mrs. Hamilton said in a shaky voice.

A family? Wanting to adopt me; who would want to adopt me?

"Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood, please meet Hazel. She is one of our brightest angels, aged fourteen, Hazel is one of our last girls to be adopted," Mrs. Hamilton continued, leading me into the parlor as she spoke.

Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood sat together on an old sofa, looking exceptionally wealthy in their classy coats; I noticed two soaking umbrellas stood at their feet.

I crossed my arms, pouting. I glared in Mrs. Hamilton's direction, aware that the only reason she wanted me gone was to get some peace and quiet without me. I should be ecstatic, but the lies had stopped any happy feelings from shining through.

"Nice to meet you, Hazel," Mrs. Lockwood said quietly, before continuing, "Why is Hazel drenched head to toe without a coat?" she aimed the question toward Mrs. Hamilton, staring at her directly.

"Hmm... Well, she can be somewhat spontaneous in her choice of attire, but she always completes her chores on time," Mrs. Hamilton said, clearly surprised by the question.

"Well, she definitely seems like one of a kind, and as all the other orphanages are completely out of our way... We will take her!" Mrs. Lockwood said, her brown eyes lighting up and running a hand through her black hair.

The Lockwoods appeared to be quite wealthy, and as I took notice of their appearance, an awful thought struck me. What if the Lockwoods were only searching for a child to do their housework? To clean their home, to wash their dishes... To be at their beck and call.

"Go ahead and pack your things, Hazel," Mr. Lockwood demanded.

"Hmm... Great, I will go and get the paperwork that needs to be signed," Mrs. Hamilton informed the Lockwoods, before shuffling out of the room.

With a sigh, I turned around as my feet guided me toward the kitchen, still in desperate need of finding any food scraps for the feisty feline in the greenhouse. I managed to find some meat offcuts, putting them in a box and rushing them into the greenhouse as quickly as I could.

"Here, I brought you something," I crooned to the kitten, holding the box of food scraps out to her; she ate it right up, licking my hand with a soft purr sounding as she finished the last of the meat.
I gently lifted the kitten, putting her in the box I had used to carry the meat; I clutched the box to my chest, running out of the greenhouse and through the rain, back into the main building of the orphanage.

I entered the shared room, placing the box on the lower bunk of the bed. I shoved all my belongings into the bag that Mrs. Hamilton had previously handed to me. Once it was full, I grabbed the box with the kitten still hidden inside and shuffled toward Mrs. Hamilton's stuffy office.

"What do you have there, child?" Mr. Lockwood asked, eyeing the box.

"Oh, it's a kitten... Her name is, uh, Forest, and she's coming with me or I'm not going anywhere," I said with more conviction than I felt.

I had chosen Forest because of the long, green grass I had found her pawing around in.

"Mrs. Hamilton, I'm afraid this was not part of the dea—" Mr Lockwood began, his voice breaking off toward the end of the sentence.

"Hazel, sweetie... Would you be a dear and put that filthy thing back where you got it from?" Mrs. Hamilton asked, her eyes widening in disgust as she tried to make the rhetorical question sound genuine.

I stood my ground before firing back a response, "Sorry but I can't do that, Mrs. Hamilton. This is the one thing I want, and I won't be going without it," I said, my words firm.

"Hazel, you can keep it under one condition: you must look after it yourself," Mrs. Lockwood said, her face forming a half-smile as she finished.

Watching the sleepy kitten's face, I smile in response. "Okay, I promise," I said, meaning every word.

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~ Cheers ~
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Please, tell me in the comments what you thought about Chapter Six? 🙈 I'll be greatly appreciated, thank you, you very kind soul!
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~ Chapter Six ~
~ Dedications ~
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HeliiBoh
DebMorey
PeterPetruzzella
CaitlinWoodward9
DaniJones_14
ChloeMayerhofer
savvvy1998
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You guys should totally check out PeterPetruzzella short story! Lighthouse. It's amazing! Please also go check out Peter's YouTube account pure56 for awesome content on movies, tv-shows, and game reviews!
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You guys should totally check out ChloeMayerhofer story! Fallen! It's awesome!
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C.Morey 🥕 xoxo
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