The Blind Sheep

CH 1 - The Last Straw

        Olivia Chermington was a girl in a super religious household, to the point that she has not had any physical contact with any males except the ones in her family. They were a family of muggles, not that they knew it. But when Olivia turned 1, strange things started happening. The occurrences ran from toys floating to random plants sprouting around the house. Her family became scared of her when they saw creatures visit their house, and even worse when they see their daughter in the swarm.

        Despite her not committing a harmful act with her abilities, her family was convinced that she had made a deal with the devil. And so they locked her in the house, keeping her from the outside world. The door to her room was never to be opened by herself, only by family members. The abuse was a common occurrence to try to 'banish the demon inside of her body'. The isolation had gotten to the point of insanity for Olivia. Her brothers never visited her, or did and insulted her.

        But the magic did not stop. Soon enough, her room was filled with plant life. Vines and other climbing plants raveled all over her walls. Shrubs and flowers littered the floors in between the cracks and vines hung from the light fixtures. It was a sight straight out of a poem. But when she was the age of 13, they had finally had enough of her presence. Olivia could vividly remember the sight.

        She was petting a sprout, feeling the fuzzy leaves in between her dainty fingers. Her light brown hair, which now reached mid-thigh, was spread out over her crossed legs. Her once-white lace dresses for the church now ripped and dirtied, as her mother could not bring herself to wash her clothes. But despite her fascination with the new sprout, she couldn't help but notice her door burst open. There stood her father, face-red and panting like a bull. In his hand was a cord rope. She couldn't help but feel fear arise and her dad stormed into the room, ignoring the life that he stepped on.

        His rough hands, ones that she used to run her soft fingers over, entangled themselves into her locks of hair. Olivia couldn't help the scream of pain as she was dragged out of her room. She was dragged out of her room and thrown down the stairs, where her family was waiting. Her mother was in the kitchen, not even bothering to watch her daughter try to push herself up. Her brothers were in the living room, trying not to watch as their father stormed down the stairs. Olivia couldn't remember what was said throughout all this, too traumatized by what had happened next.  

      Her hair was grabbed yet again and she was dragged out towards the yard. Her father had dragged her kicking and screaming towards the barn, where their live-stock lived. Her mother followed quickly behind, seemingly carrying something that was steaming in the winter air. Her brother's stumbling after them. She was thrown from her father's grasp, where she fell onto the tree stump. She remembers the shaking fingers that held her by her forehead, shoulder, and stomach. And she remembered as hot boiling water was poured into her eyes. 

       The screams that came from Olivia shook the birds from their nests and set the livestock into a panic. She thrashed from their grips, trying to get away from the boiling water. She felt the water drip down the sides of her face, burning as they fell. But her tiny body could not withstand two boys and a fully-grown man. So she was left to deal as the water had finished pouring out of the kettle.

        As soon as the hands retracted from her body, she threw herself off the stump. Her sight, now blank, did not plan for her to slam into the farming equipment. As much as she tried to hide, she couldn't stop the hand that encircled her wrists. The rope from her father's hand was tied around her wrist as she was pulled from the barn. She was dragged, blind and weak, from the farm. She could not see as to where she was being dragged. But she felt beneath her bare feet, as dirt roads turned into rooted grounds.