Retribution: Meri Yanamari

Prequel #1

She'd always been careful to hide the bruises and cuts. No one could know about them. If she let anyone know, then they would report the woman who took care of her, and it would be all over. While she didn't enjoy being abused, the foster system didn't seem like a better alternative to it. Also, she was afraid that if anyone found out, her caretaker would hurt them and then make her suffer more for daring to say anything. Pretty much the typical situation in an abusive home.

Not that it was much of a home.

"Meri, get your lazy behind down here and make breakfast!"

"Coming, mom." Meri sighed and shut her diary.

It had been a long week. Her mother finally admitted to the thing that Meri had suspected all along. She wasn't Meri's birth mother. Meri was relieved about that, but she couldn't help wondering about her real mother. Who was she? Why would she abandon Meri and leave her with such a horrible substitute for a mother?

It was something Meri had struggled with since she was old enough to realize that Mrs. Helland wasn't her real mother. That and the belief that she was, as Mrs. Helland said, worthless. After all, what could she do? Cook a little and keep quiet to avoid beatings. Hardly a useful trait. Unless she was just trying to survive. But at fifteen, Meri wanted to live, not survive.

"Meri, I won't tell you again."

Meri jumped up off her cot in the attic and ran down the rickety stairs toward the kitchen. "I'm coming, mom."

"You'd better be."

She raced into the kitchen and smiled at the woman she called mother. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Pancakes. And hurry up about it... I have a half hour to be to work."

Meri's heart sank. A half hour? How was she supposed to do that? She only had an hour to get ready for school, and pancakes would take a long time. With a submissive "yes, ma'am" she set to work.

***

Half an hour later, her mother had eaten and run out the door to her rundown old pickup to putt out of the driveway towards work for a shift at an equally rundown bar. It barely made enough to support them both, but it worked just fine if she went hungry.

Her belly grumbled in protest. Her mother had left her a single, slightly burnt pancake and half a slice of apple. If she touched anything else in the fridge, she'd go hungry for the next two days. As it was, she wouldn't get much for lunch. That too was out on the counter.

It sat there, pathetic and smooshed. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a bag containing a small handful of pretzels. She wanted to cry, but instead, she kept her chin up and smiled. Grabbing it off the counter, she stuffed it into her backpack and ran out the door to wait for the bus.

She counted all the things she had to be grateful for in her mind as she waited. I'm still alive. I can still go to school, and I get to eat today. I might not have any friends, but at least that keeps the people around me safe.

The bus came around the corner and squealed to a halt at the end of her driveway. Hoisting her light backpack higher up on her back, she walked down the cracked asphalt to the bus's door. When the driver opened the door, she stepped on with a frail smile and found her seat in the back.

Settling down, she pulled out the book she'd gotten from the school library and prepared for the long ride. Most days, the other kids just ignored her. Acted like she didn't exist. She was fine with that. Some days though, they decided to pick on her instead of minding their own business. Meri was thankful they didn't do it every day, even if she didn't completely understand why that was.

So began the long day at school.

tF˨sU