Silence

She was bullied-

beaten, broken down.

She was afraid,

so she stayed silent.

Her father noticed a change in her.

She turned inside herself

and shut herself in her room.

He stood with his ear to the door and heard

Silence.

He was afraid for her,

wanted to protect his little girl.

He wished he knew what had happened.

What had hurt her?

But he remained silent.

She couldn't tell him what she was going through.

So she cried out to the sky.

She was desperate for a way out.

But the night air was silent.

She locked herself in the bathroom

with a knife.

Blood trickled down her fingers,

Carrying her pain down

In a silent stream.

She was sneaking out the back door.

Her father stopped her,

asked where she was going.

She stared at him, then broke free from his grasp

and ran out silently into the night.

The sea roared heneath her,

In defiance of the stars

twinkling in silence overhead.

Her father found her body on a rock

surrounded by pounding waves.

"Emily, talk to me!" he screamed.

Silence.