Prologue

*prologue*

"Mr. and Mrs. Ditorni, I hope you're ready to be parents." Those were the first words spoken in the hospital room after Lucinda Francis Ditorni was born. "It's a girl. It's a beautiful baby girl." And the entirety of John Ditorni's life had just changed.  

He was a father. He was the father of this miracle.

Her eyes, her face, her nose, her adorable cheeks. Everything about the baby just born was a hand-held miracle. Her prescence alone lit up the room and brought smiles to everyone's faces. After all the screaming, the yelling, the cursing and complaining. All the hardship gone into this one little girl. It was worth it. To be able to say John was a father, and Carly was a mother, it was hardly any work at all. It was a dream.

To be able to hold her, to be able to hear the squeling and crying. To hold her hand and look into her never-ending eyes, and knowing that she's your daughter. She's yours, and no one can take that away from you. To be a father, to be the man this girl will look up to, to have all the responsibility but also to have all the opportunity.

It's a blessing. It's heaven-sent. It's a long lasting burden that John Ditorni welcomed with open arms. He'd been prepared for this for longer than he'd even known. Since he looked into his wife's eyes the first time he met her, from that first kiss, their first date, their wedding, and the day Carly announced herself pregnant, John had been ready. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Carly; have a family. And the face of his first child staring him right in the eye, it was a dream becoming a reality.

It was the beginning of a whole new life, and not just for his daughter but John and Carly as well. It brought on so much, it introduced so much more. It was everything they'd always wanted and more.

But neither Carly nor John knew that the little girl born that day, their daughter, would rip them apart.

 

16 years and 5 months later

Lucy ran as far and as fast as her feet could take her. She wanted to get as far away from home and never look back. She left her father behind, her home behind, as she ran, and it felt great. She sadly kept in mind the harsh truth that she would have to return by sunset or there would be consequences. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. The cut on her arm stung against the cold, hard wind but it didn't slow her down. She rarely ever got cuts and blood was hardly spilt, but never had Lucy been surprised on that rare occasion that the red, thick liquid dripped on to the floor at her feet.

Her legs were strong, willingly allowing her to travel against the winter weather. However, her heart was weak and close to shattering like it has many times before. Freshly sprouted bruises continued to ache around her body but she was much more accustomed to it than she'd care to admit.

It was a difficult burden to carry on, to be abused like she was, but Lucy never fought against it. Every night Lucy would lie in her bed and wonder about all the possibilities, all the scenarios, in which she would finally overcome her father's abuse.

She'd yet to find a solution that would end well. Her mind was already too polluted with depression and terrible endings that she couldn't find a happy ending even in her dreams.

Those daydreams she had before she went to sleep were Lucy's hope to finding freedom. She felt as though the daydreams were herself in another world, an alternate world. And when she let herself drift to sleep, most of time with her cheeks damp with tears, she had nightmares of the worst that could happen. It was a vicious cycle that she hated herself for allowing to just happen, but she was more scared of what would happen if she fought against her father. She couldn't bare getting hurt any more than she already was - emotionally, mentally, or physically.

She felt the bitter cold bite at her nose and ears but she reminded herself it was much better than being at home.

Lucy ran the river. She had to cross an intersection and a large construction site on the bridge across the street, but she finally found peace at her spot by the river. Deep in the woods, where one of her only happy place existed. She escaped here whenever she could, for as long as she could. She would live here if she were allowed. It was quiet, only the whispers of nature penetrated the bliss. It was a true utopia. 

Here Lucy could let the tears fall and never be put down. She could scream and shout and cry, sometimes even because of the pain, other times because she just couldn't keep it in. No one could hear her. Besides, no one would even care. Lucy was alone. Alone in this battle, this war, in her head and outside, she was the bad guy. To her father, everything was her fault.

That's how he made it seem. Her father, the rage in Lucy's storm, the monster in her dreams, the dread in her life. The reason her tears fell, the reason her blood spilled, the reason for all the pain and scars she'd developed. How could anyone withstand this burden? How could anyone live this long, seven years, with this abuse? 

Lucy asked herself this every day, and every day she wished she could end it. Whether it meant finally standing up to her dad, or just pulling the trigger on herself. But for both of those options, fear got in the way. She would never have the guts to do those things. Never would she go through with it.

She didn't have the motivation, or the strength, or the self-respect to end her misery. She put herself through hell. Her father caused it, and she dealt with it.

It was nightmare Lucy was trapped in. No help, no hope, and no love. Just pain and fear.

Lucy couldn't even remember a time when she'd been truly loved. She didn't truly know what the word love meant. She had never felt it for anyone else, and no one ever felt it towards her.  

She'd lived like that her entire life. And had lost hope that things would ever be different.

Author's Note

Just a little introduction to Lucy's life and what has happened over the years and how things have changed. Is this a good opening?

Reviews

[Jacques]

WOW, what a beautifully dark opening. I love the story and i think what makes it good is because it's not something you usually write so you're taking a chance and seeing where it goes. I love the first couple of paragraphs how it's explained about what a gift the child is, emotions are high. Then this nescescarry time- jump happens - we see how things have changed from the good to the worse and it makes me as a reader want to learn why the father's feeling changed so dramatically and as a writer, it makes me wonder what your plan for this story is and how you'll conclude it. Well done, it was really really good. I would love to read more and the descriptions were perfectly written.

[Daydreamer54]

A wonderful intro and I love your writing style. You did a great job capturing the emotions but i suggest. showing us what Lucy thinks instead of telling.