A Crown of Thorns

My body felt numb, with aged wounds riddled throughout my body. The cold seeped in through the damp room with a drift of snow pressing into the shallow creek in the door that separated me from the outside world. The wooden door was aged and yet it held strong. I was a prisoner, locked away where not even the sun could graze against my sensitive silver eyes, the only memory I held of the burning orb was the day a man stole me away as a young child. I clenched the rough wool blanket that covered my naked body. My bones ached from protest as I shifted my weight on the steel bed, I found comfort in. It was gifted to me a year ago when my first bleed arrived, something the man who held me took pride in. It was something that began a more horrid type of torture as I was forced to lie on my back as he took my innocence and planted his seed within me. Drip. Drip. I glanced up as a water droplet fell from the cracked ceiling. Thin vines wove through the crumbling concrete with frozen soil guiding the water through the earth that buried me beneath the ground. I took pleasure in the cold droplet as it splattered onto my eye and traced down my cheek as a faux tear. The remaining droplets clung to my lips as I reached before me, knocking over a wooden saucer, and spilling over the water that had accumulated throughout the night. I sighed from frustration as I stared down at the space before me. Darkness blinded me as I ran my hand over the wasted water, a bitter taste coated my tongue as I repositioned the saucer just below the leaking ceiling. I won’t have anything to drink today, I thought bitterly as I brushed my silver hair back behind my ear. My hair was as long and as flowing as a winding river, with the straightened strands sprawled from around my body with the ends resting between my thighs. The lengthened locks were a source of warmth as the silver strands enveloped my small and frail frame. I reached beneath me and pulled an old wool blanket up from around my knees and wrapped it around my bare shoulders, the rough wool held the blistering cold at bay so long as I sat completely still. Drip. Drip. I sighed and closed my eyes as I revelled in the silence. I stared as the snow drift became dully illuminated, my silver eyes stared blankly as I pressed my hand before me and felt for my surroundings. I was accustomed to the dark with every inch of my confines memorized like the back of my hand. My senses dulled as I was pulled back to the reality, I found myself in. The cold steel pressed into me, my hips screamed from the agony, dried blood cracked against the surface of my flesh as aged wounds threatened to reopen and fester with infection. Whip lashes curved into my spine, parting the skin like a flowing river with the remnants of blood leaving scars upon my back. I sealed my eyes shut and released an unsteady breath as I imagined the young girl I had once been, standing before the wall with nothing but dirt suffocating the outside. I was buried beneath the earth where my endless pleas for help ceased to exist. Strands of silver hair tumbled over my face as I glanced towards the only opening into a world that was now foreign, the steel latch beckoned to me, pleading to be pried open and yet the only hands that could open the cellar door were that of my captor. His haunting silver eyes were like mine; a deep hatred lie hidden behind the eerie blackened pupils that reminded me of the darkness that embraced me. His face was shadowed on the days he passed through the aged oak door and entered the room that reeked of mould and feces. His face would grimace from disgust as he peered at the monster that lay entombed where even the light refused to pry. I turned my bare feet in from under me as pitiful sobs swelled past my lips, my cries were unheard and long forgotten, a remnant of a once beautiful song-like voice that was forbidden to speak. Nothing but an itchy wool blanket covered my frail frame with the cool air embracing my naked thighs, chilling me to the bone. A trickle of moonlight peered through the aged door, I climbed unsteadily to my feet as traces of blood traced down my thighs and pooled on the floor. I ignored the discomfort within my abdomen as I approached the aged wood that trapped me beneath the earth's surface. The scent of mould clung to my lungs as the greenish, sticky mass clung to the rough edges of the once-rich wood, I flinched as a coughing fit consumed me, forcing me to hunch over as I spat blood into my dirtied palm. I grimaced as a familiar rhythmic pounding caught my attention and pulled me back to reality, his scent hit my nose before he approached the space above my head, his booted foot kicked the ledge of the cellar door as the lock wriggled within his palms. I shivered, terrified. He reeked of death, with remnants of splattered blood often soaked into his clothes with tainted dirt caught within the crevices of his heavy boots. He was a feared creature who often lashed the flesh from my spine as he broke me down into a broken creature. Silver light flowed through the cracks as he pulled the door open, his appearance drove a shiver down my spine, paralyzing me in place as I stared in confusion. He's early, I thought as I bit down on my bruised lip. I was a terrified creature who’d forgotten to pass the breath through my lungs. A gentle light pulled my attention as I gazed past his broad shoulders and stared at an illuminated orb that floated within the darkened sky, the light flooded through the room. There was no corner left untouched by either dust or mould, the cracked walls revealed decades of soil, burying me alive and extinguishing any hope of escape. My nails bled from scratching at the barred surface, madness consuming me as I contemplated my demise, I would end my life before the man before me took it for himself. I absentmindedly took a step forward, toward the man, without calculating the immeasurable anger that motion would arise from him. “You’ve been a naughty girl, Cerealia,” the man muttered, his words sharp, before turning to me with malice in his eyes. “Let’s fix that, shall we?” he finished before grabbing my throat. His grip tightened, cutting off my bruised airway and pressing his thumb into my carotid artery so the blood flowing to my brain slowed. I flinched from his touch as I fought the urge to fight against him, I was a small girl compared to his towering height, he was a man who could overpower me with ease if he wanted to. He revelled in the sensation and pleasure that beating me brought him, and yet tonight his aim was not to inflict physical pain. Instead, there was corrupt greed in his eyes as he licked his lips before pushing me backwards with his fist still clenching my neck. No! I wanted to plead as I stumbled, my feet giving out from under me. He smirked, pleased, with his muscular arm being the only thing holding me up. My legs grew numb as the narrow room began to close in from around me, my lips faded to dull blue, and my lungs ached as I wrapped my hands around his wrist and struggled against his hold. His eye twitched from irritation as he finally released my neck before forcing his weight into me until I stumbled backwards with my back slamming into the steel bed. The rough blanket helped cushion my fall as my spine ached from the impact. He’s going to hurt me again! I thought, panicked. I didn’t understand the things he did to me, but I hated it, I hated him. He tugged on the string that held his pants to his waist and pushed the fabric down until it clung to his ankles, the blood flooded from my face as the image before me remained sickeningly familiar. The thing that rose into existence sprung forward with the thickened head glistening with a repulsive liquid, I hated the sight of it as it often threatened to violate my nether regions, a place I hadn’t known existed until recently. “Happy birthday,” he spat before climbing over me.