The warm summer draft came and went trough the open window,
My sister and I sat at the table eating our oatmeal,
We laughed as our mother twirled around the room,
Her beautiful brown hair cascading around her,

The door opened with a slam and we quieted down,
The man that helped make me walked into the kitchen,
His boots slapping the floor,
Our mother gave us a worried glance and we quickly finished our breakfast,

Eyes bloodshot, he staggered into the room,
His shirt soaked with sweat and beer,
He looked at our mother and sneered,
I slowly got out of my chair and took my sister by the hand,

I covered her ears and turned her away from the doorway as we left,
Skin hit skin with a smack,
And I flinched as I heard my mom cry out in pain,
Dragging my un-struggling sister into the room,m I close the door and lock it,

My hands still covered her small ears,
Even as I lead her to our bunk beds,
Winnie the Pooh blanket no longer bringing comfort,
Only serving to remind me of happier times,

We sat on the far corner of the bed,
My sister on my lap,
I held her close to my chest as tears streamed down her face,
And as my own tears threatened to fall,

I flinched again as I heard my parents scream at each other,
My father accusing my mom of sleeping with other men,
And my mom yelling back that how could she sleep with other men if he imprisoned her inside her own home,
The screaming stopped with a grunt of pain that I knew to be my mom's,

And yet I sat there,
Telling my sister a fairy tale,
Knowing she could not hear me,
The door slammed as I said, "And they all lived happily ever after. The End."