Dedicate this book to My Mom
The Truth Gyu Ri Han My name is Violet Bouddlear. I have dark brown eyes, brown hair that comes to my shoulder, and a white face. I live, but now lived in a small town in Seattle. It had stray dogs walking on streets, withered trees and grass, and abandoned houses. We just finished packing our last luggage and were ready to go. “Oh, I forgot my phone upstairs mother.” We were moving far away from this place. I didn’t get why my mom was so desperate to leave. I went to get my phone. “Oh Violet,” my mom sighed, exasperated, “You could have thought of it sooner.” My mother nagged about it while i was walking down the stairs. “Mom, calm down. It’s just a phone.” “Okay Okay, come down quickly.” “Could you at least tell me the reason why we are moving?” I asked with a very curious look. “Like i told you before, this town is abandoned. We are the only one who lives here. It is dangerous for people to live in a dangerous place like here. I don’t want us to be in danger.” said with her teeth biting tight. “No mom, the real reason or the second. I really don’t think that’s the only reason here. I told you before, I am NOT STUPID! Now what is going on?” I was never more serious to her. “Nothing, it’s... it’s nothing.” Her voice shrunk as she said. “Violet” she hold my shoulders with both her hand on each side. “I really don’t want to be in a bad mood when we are moving for a fresh start. I want us to be happy now, do you understand?” “Okay, fine. Whatever!” We traveled 3 hours by car to get to our new house. “Wow, nice job mom. Not bad.” The house was pretty good, amazing actually. “The security system is very good here. Nobody can come inside this village.” She was very proud of herself. I was like whatever... “There’s your new school Violet.” “Yes, of course. My new school.” Most kids at my age, all they think about when they transfer schools is friends and worries about “fitting in” the school. I don’t care about those things. I think it’s a waste of time. Who needs friends. Well, i don’t care about first good impression for school. “Hi mom, I’m back.” “Oh hi Violet. umm...... how was school today?” “Mom i told you, I’m not stupid. I know you only asked me that to distract me from the thing under the table cloth.” “No no.., it’s just a.... bill.” “Really, what kind of bill?” “You know, parent stuff.” Mom had “Please go upstairs” written on her fore head. “Fine.” I didn’t want to get in a fight with her. I could see that she wasn’t in a very good mood. I knew that was a letter anyway. I went upstairs, half. I secretly watched my mom’s moves. She threw the letter with the other trash and threw them all in the trashing area. As she
came back in, walked up stairs, I ran inside my room and locked the door. I looked through my peep hole. Mom shivered. Next day. “Violet, could you go out to the trashing place and throw these old cloths away?” she asked. “Okay.” I don’t know, i just felt like listening to my mom for once. Went down stairs, opened the house door, and walked down to the trashing area. “Okay, there should be someplace separate for old cloths. Where is it?” I was wondering where the place was. Looking right, looking left, up and down. Instead of the place for cloths, I spotted something between the three recycling bin. It was dirty white, small, squared paper with dirty foot steps on it. Just like the one mom threw away last night, except it got all dirty. I grabbed it and read it. I gasped. Things just went crazy. I thought my dad died in a car crash. My mouth was shaped like an “O” for quite a while. I got my head straight. I took it. I was trying to figure out what the letter meant. It must of been a mistake, I mean, it can’t be what I'm thinking. I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t. I was going to make sure mom wasn’t in the house tomorrow. “Mom, I’m having a sleepover at a friends house today” “You? Sleepover? With friends?” “Yeah, and I was wondering that you could drive me there? If you don’t mind that is.” “I don’t mind at all. Of course. Where is this sleep over at?” “Oh....It’s at... Con..ver....se street ? Yes, Converse street 93.” In the car, riding. There was my chance. “Mom, I need to go to the bathroom. Could you stop by the closest gas station?” “Sure. OK.” She was smiling so happily. I went near the bathroom and then slipped aside. Right! left! my head turned fast to each side. Ran then stopped. Hid behind the wall. Ran and ran as fast as I could, back home. In front of my mom’s room door. Opened the door. Grabbed the drawer handle. BANG! BANG! BANG! I heard a hard knock at the door. I walked down wondering who it was. “Open th...the.....do...door!..BANG! BANG!.” Said someone with an angry loosen voice. Slurred every word. I ignored. Went back up stairs to the drawers in mom’s room. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! I got exasperated. Really? I stomped my feet, came down stairs with a tight fist. I opened the door. “WHAT!” I shouted with an annoyed face. He had average height, dirty brown cloths with an old broken bag, smelly hair, all covered in dirt with a bottle full of alcohol in his hand. He smelled like someone who hasn’t showered for 2 months after a mud bath or something. From one look, top to bottom, I could see that he was an alcoholic, a bad one and that he was homeless. “I’m kind of busy right now and i don’t have any money so just go away.” I yelled. SLAP! The homeless man slapped my white soft cheeks. “How dare you yell at, me! How dare you yell....” He was completely drunk. I couldn’t understand a word he was saying. “I’m not here for money!” He laughed. When he laughed, i knew that he was a dangerous person and that is should not get involved with him anymore. I closed the door fast and hard.
“Is this, how you, treat your, one and only, FATHER!?” He said with short pauses between words. Father? Father? It can’t be. He’s a dead person.....Ah! Is he the one that wrote that letter? Back at the time when i spotted the letter, I grabbed it and read it. The letter said Hello Susan. I’m in town and I was thinking about visiting your place and also, see my daughter. I’m going to find where you live so don’t even think about hiding and stay still where you are. If you run away from me again, you will regret it. I’ll be visiting soon. From. Husband It was him. It was him who wrote that. There was a long pause in the air and he was also silent. I opened the door a little bit. Just a small open for me to see his face, but he was facing backwards. “Hello.” he said. Why would he say hello to me while facing backwards? What’s he doing? I fully opened the door. He wasn’t talking to me. He was talking to my mother. She was waiting for me at the gas station for 20 minutes. She knew that something was wrong so she came back home and she met him. “What are you doing here?” Mom yelled. Is she yelling at me or him? “Violet! Hurry c...call the police!” She was really desperate. “Why?” I looked at her with terrified eyes. “JUST CALL THE POLICE!” Mom screamed like never before. “O....o....OK!” I hustled to the house phone, I pressed the numbers with shaking hands and called the police. My father stepped closer to her. STOMP! STOMP! She shivered. All of her body was shaking. Suddenly, she ran. Ran, ran, and ran away as for as she could, away from him. I ran after her. After about 5 blocks, she stopped. She stopped her tears and sat down on the ground. She looked so frustrated. “Mom, what’s going on? Why are you acting like this?” I asked very calm and maturely. She grabbed my hand and asked me to sit beside her. I sat beside her and kept holding her hand tight. After hearing every single truth, I felt little less left out. When I was a baby, my dad was an alcoholic and would hit mom every day, everywhere. For my safety, she ran away from him and hid from him for 10 years. All this time, she was trying to protect me from harm and I didn’t know. I’ve never felt so stupid and sorry in my life. The reason that she shivered really badly and ran away was that she suffered getting hit all the time by that monster. That was her trauma. Now all of it made sense. We walked back home together. There were police cars all over the man but he had no idea what was going on. He was all dizzy and drunk. Two police men grabbed his arms backwards tight and pulled him in to the car. All of them drove back to the police station. He was gone, out of our lives forever. After that day, my mom promised me to keep no secrets from me. She protected me for 10 years, now I think it’s my turn to protect her, care for her, and live a happy life together.