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| little girl |
Such a pretty kid...How old did you say?
Her name is Vicky and she was twelve years old.
Do they know yet what happened?
They? You mean the detectives?
Who else would I mean? Yeah. Them.
They don't know. Some kid found her in the creek, under the ice.
She....Vicky must have floated downstream...
Then the ice froze over her...her folks waited for so long...
How are Ken and Sheila holding out?
'Bout as expected. You taking food in for the family?
Yeah, Lisa fixed some chicken something or other. And a pie, peach pie.
I wonder if or when they'll ever figure out...find out what you did?
God, I hope not. I didn't mean to...the car swerved..she just appeared and...
You must, you have to tell them what happened.
She was so scared...at the end.
She was scared before that...you could have saved her...she would still be alive.
Father, I wasn't thinking...
Time to own up, Tim...Time to give Ken and Sheila peace.
Scared...so scared. I am so scared.
So was she, Tim. So was she.
In 2014 This photo was the prompt and sadly this is what it inspired. As a teacher, all the "Amber Alerts" caught me. There was a Stephanie, Jennifer...too many that disappeared only to be found a decade later.
We had just had an Amber Alert and the poor sweetheart wasn't found weeks. The pedophilia man was given death penalty and in 2014 it was ruled that death penalty wasn't allowed in California.
My students kept asked about this little girl until I told them she had died and was found. They were devastated.
This is a dark streak that I don't follow down that rabbit hole, but today I have traveled there.
Wow! That's dark. And good.
ReplyDeleteChildren are so vulnerable. Adults have to take responsibility for their lives.
DeleteAn incident like this happens too often. In a few seconds, lives are changed forever.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be in the news all the time. Hate, hate, hate it.
DeleteWow...where did you go for that one? So dark.
ReplyDeleteThis photographer is awesome. I found it at her site, notified and thanked her for sharing with writers. The photo just hit me that way.
DeleteDown the well you went with this one. One little thing can change everything.
ReplyDeleteThe photo had that icy feeling, and that is how it made me feel.
DeleteHow sad. Children are so tiny and innocent.
ReplyDeleteSeeing my grandchildren in their photos fills me with their vulnerability.
DeleteExcellent as usual.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Inger! It is always a pleasure to see your name.
DeleteDear Susan, I began holding my breath as your story unfolded--all through dialogue--a whole novel. And I had to breathe deeply at the end. You are such a gifted writer. You have so many, many plots in that brain and heart of yours. A real storyteller. Peace.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dee. This is a true compliment.
DeleteDark, real - and painful. For everyone.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
The parents are hanging onto hope, knowing that in the end, an answer of any type is welcome.
DeleteThis reminded me of the case of young woman who died in the city where I live... vividly portrayed here.
ReplyDeleteAwful things like this do seem to happen frequently. Whenever CA issues an Amber Alert for a missing child, my heart breaks for that family.
DeleteOh how awful! For Vicky, for her parents and worst of all for Tim who could have helped her, saved her life and now has to live with that guilt his whole life.
ReplyDeleteSo sad.
Tim needs to turn himself in to the police, tell what happened.
DeleteI literally just got the chills!!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Joanne
When writing this, that is how I felt.
DeleteThat's haunting on several levels. The writing is really good.
ReplyDelete