The "Devil's Drink"

My name is Sam, but I like Sammy better. I am two and four years old, that means I am six. I am a tall six-year-old; I am nearly as tall as my teacher! I live with my Mummy, Jill my sister who is two years less than me, and my Daddy. I used to have a dog too, but one day I left the gate open and he ran off. Daddy was very angry that day, he yelled and yelled at me while Mummy tried to calm him down.

Daddy is very mad today too. I am in my room with the door shut, and Mummy and Daddy are screaming outside. Mostly Daddy is screaming, while Mummy sounds scared. I am scared as well, but Jill is crying under her blanket as I pat her on the back and tell her everything is alright. I didn’t know though. I want to go out and tell them to stop yelling, but Mummy told me to lock the door and not come out for any reason.

Jill is still lying in her pink bed, her body shaking with each sob. I cried a bit too, but not as much as her. This happened a lot, sometimes Daddy would come home and drink some of the ‘Devil’s Drink,’ as Mummy told us. She said it was alcohol, and that it was very bad and that we should never ever ever touch it. I can spell it better than Jill can. I can spell lots of things. Mummy always said I was smart.

Daddy is yelling louder now. I heard Mummy scream, so I opened the door a crack and looked out. Nothing. They must be in the kitchen. I heard Mummy scream again, so I, as quietly as I could, tip-toed out of the room and down the hall. The kitchen door was shut, so I opened it a tiny little bit so they wouldn’t see me.

As I peered in the room, I saw Daddy standing up, while Mummy stood facing him. SMACK! I saw Daddy hit Mummy. SMACK! He hit her harder this time, knocking her over. Mummy lay on the floor crying as well, like me and Jill. Daddy looked very angry. I couldn’t take it as I saw Daddy preparing to hit Mummy again. Daddy once told me it’s wrong to hit girls, so why did he hit Mummy?

I ran in the room and grabbed Daddy’s really big leg, to try and get him to stop. His eyes looked funny as he shook me off, hurling me into a wall. I hit my head. Mummy cried harder now, begging Daddy to stop, but Daddy wasn’t listening. I ran out of the room, now I was angry too. Tears ran freely as I rushed into my room and started grabbing my things. Jill watched me with big eyes holding her favorite teddy bear as I told her that I was going to leave.

I packed my torch, my rock, my action figures, and some lollies for when I was hungry. I sneaked around to the front door and looked back at the kitchen, where I could hear loud screaming. I held my head in my hands, and put on sunglasses to hide my tears. I didn’t want people to think I was crying. I walked to the edge of the block, and took one look back. I saw Jill standing out the front, holding her teddy. It was hard for me to turn around and keep walking, ignoring my little sisters cries.