The girl looked in the mirror,
rubbing her dried knuckles,
her skin wrapped tightly against her bones,
as though they were trying
to escape their prison.
Her muscles tensed into a smile-
a composition of cracking, fractured lips.
She looked beautiful.

Retreating to the playroom,
she began to fabricate the daily errands and events
of her toys
scattered across the floor.

She made ringing noises-
laughing at Mister Potato Head’s mouth
turning from smile to frown
in seconds.
Giggling at the stubby, porcelain hooves
that kept the Piggy Bank from rolling away-
its empty innards protected from harm.
The Piggy Bank was calling Mister Potato Head
for the fifth time that day.
There was a loan to be paid-
A looming foreclosure-
A last warning-
The Pull-Phone rang off the hook.

Turning her attention to the doll house-
Ken’s noisy shouts echoing through the walls
of the pastel pink, suburban home
Where Barbie hid.
The girl moved Ken from room to room-
A game of Hide and Seek.
Upon finding Barbie,
curled up in the bathtub,
She extended Ken’s arms to lift the doll up-
but dropped it,
crashing down to the floor-
paint chipping off a perfect face,
its arm bent at an awkward angle.
Patches on its head-
memories of frayed, fair hair
pulled out.
Indents on its arms-
memories of its glossy, plastic figure
thrown against a wall.
A gasp.
She picked the doll back up,
brought its arm back in place.
Ken began to beg for forgiveness-
It will never happen again.
Apologies were quickly made.
She brushed Barbie’s hair and sat it in the kitchen,
Where Ken had-
Another lemonade in the fridge.
Where Ken made-
Another broken promise.
The house grew silent again.





***
The girl flinched at the piercing sound
Of the telephone ringing
for the fifth time that day.
No loans would be paid-
The Bank was done.
Foreclosure tomorrow-
No more warnings-
The phone rang off the hook.

Then there came a thud.
A sickening knock.
An impact.
The yelling began again.
Her father’s thundering shouts ricocheting off the walls
and into her playroom,
when she saw her mother run by
to hide in the bathtub,
trying to cover the new bruises,
making deep shadows on her skin.
Tears filled the crevasses of her face,
as she turned to see her little princess-
staring at her toys,
plugging her ears with all her might,
to trap out the sounds:

A phone ringing-
A frantic cry-
A slamming door-
A muffled sob.

The girl glanced up at her father-
drunkenly leaning against the doorway,
sputtering out the usual obscenities:
She was-
Hideous
Useless
A mistake.
He scowled and spat out
a piece of chewing gum,
and walked to the bathroom
where he began to beg for forgiveness-
It will never happen again.
Apologies were quickly made.
Her father had-
Another beer in the fridge.
Her father made-
Another broken promise.
The house grew silent again.

The girl collected the sticky wad on the floor,
and tore off a strip of her faded dress.
She fashioned the two together,
uniting them into a bow-
the middle rolled thin,
the two sides pinched.
She made a promise to herself:
To never come home;
To never look back;
and walked out the door-
toy in each hand,
bow in her hair-
She looked beautiful.