I have been told we're going to Spain.
I've just arrived in France and we're already going to another country. I just got here, to my family's home, three days ago.
Three days of
Anguish
Anxiety
... Bliss
Pure pure pure
Bliss bliss bliss
No one calls me crazy here. Instead, they hug me. They say they love me. They promise I will never go back to the asylums or the Center.
My mother is beside me as she packs my bag. I sit on the bed, watching her. She puts dresses, skirts, and shirts in my bag. Shiny black shoes, ruffly socks, silk bows.
I'm still so amazed.
This life is normal for them.
They want to make it normal for me.
Mother holds up a little necklace. It's engraved with a swirly 'L'. She places it against my neck, a smile on her face.
"Do you like it, my darling?" She asks.
I nod, eyes wide, staring at the thing. It looks too good for me. I don't wear pretty dresses or sparkly necklaces. I don't eat delicious food and watch television shows.
It's like I'm in a dream.
Wishful
Naive
Innocent
I pinch myself. A lot. I pinch myself to see if this is all a lie. If I'll wake up and not be in this lovely bedroom, but in the asylum.
At least at the Center, I had a purpose. A chance to prove myself. Hope for something better. Friends.
At the asylum, there was nothing.
I
Had
N o t h i n g
Everything was white.
White walls.
White clothes.
White shoes.
White food.
I know I'm insane. That's what everyone's told me. I see insane things. Hear insane things. But sometimes children came who weren't insane.
They went insane at the asylum.
Like Sara.
Poor
Poor
Sara
She's still at the asylum. She's still being tortured by the cruel nurses and the white. The white white white of the place.
"Why are we going to Spain?" I ask.
"To attend the Mafia Ball," Mother explains softly, eyes glimmering with excitement. "There will be plenty of other families. I'm sure some have children your age."
I smile. "Normal ones?"
She nods. "Yes. You're normal, too, Lila."
I shake my head. "Don't lie. They punish you for that."
"Who punishes?"
"Sir. And the guards."
She nods. Frowns. The smile left her. Where did it go? Why was a frown kidnapped the smile and taken its spot?
YOU ARE READING
Little Lila
General Fictionstandalone ~ mafia siblings series "She's a monster!" "She's a demon!" "She's a... child." Lila grew up in an asylum. She could see things other people didn't see. Lila was told she was crazy. Crazy people must be punished. The asylum was a cover...
