Tragedy

I had to become a mother at the age of ten. It was too soon but that was all that I could do. I remember the cause of this. I remember the one thing that made my childhood disappear. It is still vivid, as if it happened just yesterday.
The playground would be everyone’s favourite place but not after the incident. The whole town once filled with warmth became so cold. Everyone was terrified. I was nine and that night of the incident I was in the room with my sister, Evelyn. Evelyn was scared that night because of the rain so we switched bed. I closed the windows and sang to her until she fell asleep.
The next morning, I woke up realizing that Evelyn was gone. “Mum, Evelyn is not in the house”, I ran to my mother. It was a Saturday morning. We looked in the cupboards, drawers, every room but there was no Evelyn. My mum called my dad who was on the way to work. I went into the room and saw the window opened. “She is kidnapped,” I cried. The house was already packed with neighbours, police and relatives.
The police came to me and talked with me. “How did you know that your sister was kidnapped?’, he asked. I looked at him. He was tall but when he smiles, I was not afraid of him. “I closed the window last night but it is opened now”, I answered. More police arrived and they suspected that Evelyn may have run away from home because no one heard anything broke at night.
There were about 100 volunteers to look for Evelyn. The playground was empty. No children dared to play there. Sun rises and sets and hours turned into days. The FBI had a new theory that Evelyn may have been kidnapped. Dad waited for the kidnapper to call but no one did. Every motorcyclist became a suspect. It was believed to be a motorcyclist because of the trail the motorcyclist left behind There were so many campaigns asking everyone to look for Evelyn.
The picture of her playing in the playground was all over town. She was in a pink dress and she was smiling. Her brown hair was blowing in the wind. She was so happy. I cried every night because I blame myself for not looking after her. If I did not switched bed, it would be me who will be missing. I was afraid that the kidnapper will entered my room and take me. Then again I may see Evelyn and bring her home.
Within three days the number of volunteers increased to 200 people. It was a Wednesday, five days later that a German Shepard found Evelyn. She was about five kilometers away from the playground. The whole town cried when they heard the news of Evelyn. Evelyn was found dead. I did not really know how she died but as I grew older I looked in the dictionary for the meaning of the words. I found out that Evelyn was raped and garroted. I wished that it stopped there but according to the report after she was dead, the kidnapper burnt her. That was when Evelyn’s half burnt body was found.
I became a mother a year after Evelyn’s death. My mother committed suicide on Evelyn’s death anniversary. I was ten years old and I found her hanging in the shower place. I was left with my dad and my two twin sibling, Evie and Ethan. They were four years old. Ever since my mother’s death I was the mother at home. I took care of my twin siblings. I learned to cook, clean and wash. Life was really tough especially growing up without a mother. If this did not happen to Evelyn, maybe all six of us would have been a big happy family. Suffering so much becoming a ‘mother’ to my brother and sister, at times I wished that it was me that was kidnapped and killed not Evelyn. Maybe then my mother would not have committed suicide. She would be able to take care of my dad, Evelyn, Evie and Ethan.
As I sit at the bench in the same playground Evelyn and I once played in I looked at Evie and Ethan. They just came back prom night. “What are you doing here?”, asked Ethan sitting beside me. “Just thinking”, I answered. I remembered the times that Evelyn and I played on the swing and the slide. “About what?” asked Evie. Evie and Ethan do not really know the story about Evelyn and I thought it was time to tell them. “Evelyn”, I answered. They looked at each other and I continued, “Both of you has an older sister, Evelyn”. The last thing I told them was “There is no justice here”. It was because Evelyn’s murderer was never found. He is still out there growing old while Evelyn will always be seven years old. I do not understand how anyone could killed such an innocent child.