Gogh Helped Lily Overcome Her Darkness

That winter's late evening was dreadfully cold, one could feel the chill enter the bones, and Lily standing by the front door of the run-down house, shivered and coughed and she only wore a white dirty T-shirt and cotton pants not enough to keep her warm. What was Lily doing outside when the thermometer read 34 degrees Fahrenheit, was she punished for doing something wrong? Any good mother wouldn't do that to a small child threatening her welfare and possibly dying from the frigid weather. Hypertension was settling in and she screamed for help. For how long could Lily have endured such cruelty? Who could do such an unthinkable deed when the wind harsh battered the windows and frost thickened?

Finally, the door crackled and slowly opened, a mean and wretched face peaked yelling, " Come in, you little devil; I won't let you die yet! " Lily jumped and ran inside robbing her frozen hands and looking for the nearest candle to defrost them. They had frostbite and they terribly hurt, she was crying from the acute pain. " The next time you won't go to bed, I'll whip you ten times! " Lily's stepmother shouted with anger and hatred. Her breath smelled of whiskey, her face was red and filthy, her cracked lips swelled even more as her pupils dilated and gleamed with evil intentions.

" Look at Mark, he listens to me and he does what I say...you should be obedient like him and I'll buy you some Barbie dolls! " She grinned with such defiance and hypocrisy. Lily challenged her saying, " No, I don't want Barbie dolls, I want food and take a bath! " " Until you make this house tidy and sparkless from top to bottom, you won't get any of those! " Her stepmom cringed her teeth making Lily cry. " Now, go to bed and don't make any noise, I don't want to hear a whisper!" Her words echoed through the storage room where she picked up wood for the hearth and cringed ", I'm shivering for opening the door, but you shiver from fear...you are faking your cold and your cough! "

" Go to your bedroom and stay there until school time! " There was no objection on Lily's part, and being afraid of being beaten with the belt, she obeyed and went straight upstairs. Mark woke up and started laughing, making fun of her, and in her humiliation, she didn't utter a word. Did Lily sleep? No, she stood by her tiny window and watched the cobalt sky filled with thousands of stars inviting the solitary moon to show her silver brightness. Lily remembered that she saw Gogh's painting of Starry Night and was stunned by it. Sky and painting were a close match: they thrilled her senses, her darkness disappeared and she wasn't alone anymore; she felt at peace and went to sleep placidly as never before.

Morning came and Lily was awakened by the brilliant sun rays, but her belly was hurting and she longed for a bite. Luckily, there were some butter cookies she didn't eat the day before...actually she stole them from the pantry room and didn't feel a bit guilty. Hunger knows no guilt she thought to herself and she wasn't alone in a world of starved children either from drought, or lack of resources. Lily imagined other kids of the same age with belly aches and longing for hands to give them a hot meal, so they could stop thinking about their hunger and do things normal kids do.

" Come down, your backpack is ready: here's an apple for breakfast, take big bites and get ready for school, don't say a word to anybody about last night, or you'll get a hundred whips!" Lily stared at her with horror and nodded, but inside hell was about to break loose! Her only consolation was remembering the sweet words of her natural mother, " Nobody will love you like me, remember them when your angelic eyes well up with tears."

Emily ran as fast as she could almost tripping on a toy left by Mark on the porch. Did he do it for spite? There have been too many accidents lately, and intentionally or not she had to be careful and avoid them. Could a girl of such tender age bear what they put her through? Should Lily run away, or report this cruelty to the teacher who looked at her suspiciously assuming she was being abused, but she lacked proof and waited for Lily to tell her something. Would Lily find the courage to speak and free herself from the violence, abuse, and mockery she endured for many years?

From her bedroom window facing the wondrous night sky of December, Lily was dreaming of a starry night...a night that Gogh himself dreamed and painted with such imagination and fantasy that the entire universe was in harmony with his own peaceful soul. Was that something too impossible to imagine? Was somebody else inspiring her to pursue her dream? Perhaps her own mother she missed terribly? Lily believed in her dream and wouldn't stop until it was realized, not unlikely other dreams that failed her. Most nights, she stared at the dazzling stars and saw the warm smile of her angel that had gone to Heaven before she could see her grow up. Her stepmother and stepbrother couldn't see and feel what she saw... because their hearts didn't love God, they didn't love her as their own.

At 7:30. Lily reached school limping on her right foot and barely carrying the weight of her heavy backpack, she got some strange look from her classmates wondering if she was all right, but she wasn't for sure. Linda came closer to her, just a foot away, " Lily, you don't look good, we are worried about you! Lily smiled faintly and whispered, " I hurt my foot, I'm limping. " " You shouldn't have come to school! " Linda shouted. " I had to, my stepmom is bad to me, and my stepbrother makes fun of me! " There were no words to be exchanged between Lily and as Linda ran to get Mrs. Cobble who was already coming out having heard the terrible news.

A few minutes later the police came and took Lily to the nearest hospital for hydration and malnourishment. She waved at them although, in great pain; such a fragile and kind little girl shouldn't have suffered for others' cruelty and it made everybody cry hoping that she would get well and return to school soon. The ride to the hospital was short and Lily was promised a new home, good caring foster parents. She couldn't contain her happiness: her future looked promising as well.

The drama that everybody went through wasn't going to end there, there was a shocking surprise for Jessica and Mark, the stepmother and stepson, who were getting drunk on White Daniel singing and stomping on the porch. Sirens wailed louder than usual, and already a large crowd of Emily's classmates had gathered in front of the small, wooden house as dusk brought in the first shadows. They were chanting, " Lock them up, they are selfish and cruel!" Lock them up, make their handcuffs tight! " Two cops jumped out of the police car and handcuffed them without asking questions, " You are both guilty of terrible crimes, you are guilty before proven innocent!" The large crowd cheered and noticed the December sky, to their amazement it had a unique brightness: dazzling colors of blue, yellow, and white showed a moon that was snow white and so brilliant: a breathtaking scenery that only the crafty hands of Gogh could have painted

Copyright ( c ) 2021 by Andrew Crisci