After her husband’s funeral, the stepmother left her mute stepdaughter to die in the forest swamp… But a year later, a surprise awaited everyone…
When Mary was very young, she loved fairy tales. At first, her mother read her books, but then she learned to read on her own, and every time Mary believed that a real fairy tale would happen in her life. And then it turned out that dreams come true, but her fairy tale turned out to be a terrible one.
First, her mother died. It was so unfair that it just didn’t make sense in Mary’s little head. What? No more mom? Everyone else has one, and she doesn’t? Even the weird Charles has one, even the imaginative Lauren, although her mother is not young or beautiful at all.
Mary couldn’t believe back then that her mom wouldn’t enter the house again, wouldn’t make a delicious breakfast, and they wouldn’t roll around in bed together, playfully pillow fighting. It seemed to her that everyone around was pretending and hiding the fact that was so clear to her: if her mom didn’t die, she was enchanted by an evil witch and fell into a fairy tale sleep. When she asked her dad to wake up her mom, he cried.
And then, a year later, another woman appeared in the house. «This is Aunt Emily,» explained Mary’s dad. «She will be your new mom.»
«No,» Mary replied, backing away from the smiling aunt. «I don’t need any new mom.»
«Of course you do.»
Dad grabbed his daughter and pulled her closer. «Emily is good with kids; she’s a teacher. I’m sure you’ll become friends.»
«Not for anything,» declared Mary. «She should leave.» And then, for the first time in her life, her dad slapped her.
It didn’t hurt, but it was very hurtful. Mary spent the whole day in her room, crying. And when hunger drove her out of hiding, Aunt Emily said that she would only get food if she called her mom.
That evening, the tearful girl went to sleep hungry. Contrary to her expectations, her father didn’t send the evil witch away, and soon she became the full-fledged mistress of the house. So everything followed the plot of a fairy tale about a stepmother and a poor stepdaughter.
Even the fact that her father got sick. He suffered for a long time; the illness consumed him from the inside, and it was frightening for 12-year-old Mary to see him like that, emaciated, pale, with the four needles protruding from his hand. «I’m going to die soon,» her father said one day, very simply and matter-of-factly.
He thought he could handle it, that he could live without her, but it didn’t work out. «Forgive me, Emily; it seems I’m a one-woman man. Keep living, I beg you, Mary, don’t leave.»
«What are you talking about, my love? Of course, I won’t leave.» The new wife held his hand, but for some reason, Mary knew it was a lie. And then, her father passed away, and it turned out that he had left all the money to his daughter.
Aunt Emily became her guardian. At first, she dipped into the girl’s funds discreetly. Then, feeling complete impunity, she went all out.
It didn’t take half a year for the widow to find a new husband, young and brash with a fitness trainer’s physique. Mary increasingly locked herself in her room so as not to hear or see them. Or she went out to wander the city.
She did well in her studies; her teachers had no complaints about her. She dressed neatly, but she never went on class trips. Most people thought she was just very introverted, and nobody bothered her with questions.
However, the real reason was different: Mary had no money, not even pocket money. Let alone asking for a large sum for a trip from her stepmother. Mary endured and waited for the day when she could claim her inheritance rights and leave the house that had ceased to be her home.
Things got even worse when her stepmother decided that her young husband was paying too much attention to the 12-year-old stepdaughter. She constantly watched them, caused scenes. And one day, unable to control herself, she struck Mary with a hot frying pan.
The girl managed to shield herself with her hand, leaving a burn mark. An already bitter life turned into a nightmare. Mary would never forget the day when the enraged stepmother grabbed her and dangled her over the balcony rail, threatening to throw her from the seventh floor.
Staring into the crazed eyes of the madwoman, Mary screamed and screamed until her stepmother’s husband ran out and restrained her. Mary gasped for air, clutching her throat with her hands, but for some reason, only hoarse sounds came out. She didn’t yet know that her voice had disappeared completely.
In the evening, huddled under the covers, Mary overheard snippets of conversation through the wall. «What have you done?» Her husband yelled at her. «Now she’ll definitely go to the police and spill everything.»
«You’ve really messed up. Sit down, you idiot. Say goodbye to the sweet life on that kid’s money and hello to prison.»
«How foolish do you have to be to mess up so badly?» «She won’t go,» the stepmother suddenly declared. «I’ll handle it all.» «What else have you planned?» The clearly frightened man shouted.
«Remember, I won’t sign up for anything like that.» «I know because you’re a coward,» the stepmother responded coldly.
«I’ll take her away to the countryside to my granny as if for some fresh air and recovery. It’s a remote place and all sorts of people can be encountered there. Plus, there’s a deep river nearby; anything can happen.»
«I haven’t heard of that,» the man said. Mary stopped listening further; her ears were ringing, her heart pounding wildly. What to do? Go to the police like this, without a voice? She couldn’t even explain what had happened.
She could write it down on paper, but her stepmother would just deny it, saying there were no witnesses. A little girl couldn’t fabricate enough to implicate an honest woman. So, she would take her to the wilderness and dispose of her.
She needed to make a decision. In the morning, her stepmother ordered Mary to get ready. Her voice still hadn’t returned, so she couldn’t call for help….
