Diane watched from the corner as her mum entertained different men in the house. This wasn't the first time and she was sure it definitely wouldn't be the last. Ever since her mum had a fight with her dad he stopped visiting. She walked to the dining and sat down. Her family wasn't normal, she had realized. Her dad didn't come home every evening like those of other kids, he just came occasionally and left money. She shrunk her neck into her jacket and buried her face in her palms. After a while the man her mother brought in this time came out buckling his belt. Her mother came to where she sat and kicked her off the chair.
"What are you looking at?! You bringer of bad luck! You've already ruined my life! Make yourself useful around here!" She kicked her again.
Diane crouched and started coughing up blood.
The neighbor, an old lady rushed in,
"Asha what are you doing to the child again?"
The woman, Asha huffed in disgust,
"Mind your own business..." Then she pointed at Diane who was still vomiting blood,
"Make sure you clean that up"
After Asha left the elderly woman cleaned Diane's face,
"Don't cry child... Don't cry"
She hugged Diane and couldn't help but wonder why anyone would treat a little kid so badly.
A huge scandal was blowing through the town of San Antonio. The Mayor, Davis Anton had allegedly had a mistress for years and even had a daughter with her. In the Davis mansion, chaos ensued.
"The nerve of you!" Yelled a woman as she threw the table wares to the floor.
"Natalia calm down... You're making a fuss"
"I'm making a fuss?..." The woman asked in disbelief as tears ran down her eyes
" You had a mistress Anton, you desecrated the vows of this marriage... There's even the product of your adultery and you tell me that I'm making a fuss?! Ha! " She wiped her tears clumsily
"You know what? Do what you want... You've always done as you pleased anyways "
"If you don't want to see the girl I can get rid of her"
Natalia stared at Anton and shook her head,
"Alas the poor girl is a victim too of your selfishness... You're not a good husband and an even worse father"
Saying that she left. Two little boys watched from the corner and ran back to their room.
"Dad is bringing the slut's daughter " one of them said
His older brother flicked his nose,
"Language Aiden... Hmm.. What do you think Dave?"
The oldest, Dave sneered,
"He's never been a good man ... Whatever mum decides, we'll support her"
Diane knelt in front of the coffin at her mother's wake. She could hear the whispers of the crowd around her.
"She was a prostitute... Ah a mistress... The poor child... She'll be like her mother... She'll ruin the Mayor's family... I hear she's not well, a terminal disease... Probably from her mother "
She clenched her little fists. She'd been diagnosed with esophageal cancer at the age of two and she'd lived with it for four years now. Her mother hadn't noticed it in time because she was always left alone at home. When she was finally taken to the hospital, there wasn't much anyone could do except recommended chemotherapy.
Diane clutched her jacket tight to her chest, her thin body swaying. She held onto a teddy bear that resembled a koala. It was given to her by a young boy in the hospital when she went for treatment. He was one of the people that had treated her well in her life. It had become dark and she was the only one left in the funeral hall. The attendants came to carry the casket for burial. They tapped her and carried the casket away. Everything blurred suddenly and she fell.