Chapter 5

As Amelia lay on her tiny bed, she tried to distract herself from the evil thoughts that loomed. Immediately she heard footsteps approaching her room, she clutched her bed sheet tight in fear.

It was worn out, and any single drag or strain could tear it.

"Amelia!!!" her step-sister screamed from her doorpost.

"Yes I'm here," Amelia answered, rushing towards her, hands and feet quivering in fright. She could feel her heart beat at an abnormal rate.

"I want you to whip me up something good and tasty. The dinner you made was the worst I've ever eaten," she said.

"Yes, I can," Amelia answered.

"I wasn't asking for your permission or objection either. It's an order and I want it to be done with immediate effect," she said while stomping her feet.

"Okay," Amelia quickly dashed into the kitchen in a confused state.

Her step-sister didn't tell her what exactly she wanted to eat.

"Something nice and sweet," Amelia said, murmuring to herself. She set out to prepare to rinse a pan. She decided to make fried sauced chicken. While preparing the food, her stepmother rushed into the kitchen in a bewildered state.

"What are you doing in my kitchen this late hour, you crazy child?" She screamed at the top of her voice.

"I was cooking," Amelia replied, smiling innocently and hoping to please her stepmother.

"For whom?" her stepmother asked, moving closer to yank her ears.

"How dare you try to steal? You stole some meat. Am I not feeding you enough? Huh?!" she asked whilst delivering a series of slaps across her cheeks.

"What's going on here?" Amelia froze as she heard her father's heavy footsteps and loud voice.

He must have been woken up by all the ruckus created.

"This girl here is a thief," her stepmother accused, staring at her with so much hatred, her face visibly etched with signs of disdain.

"No! No! No! Mother, I am not a thief. I would never steal," Amelia cried, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Liar! You liar! I caught you stealing some meat and frying it for yourself," she further accused.

"No, I was making this for Leah. She asked me to prepare it for her," Amelia blurted, making her stepmother angrier.

"So, you're calling me a liar and my daughter a thief?”

"Leah is asleep and would never eat this late at night let alone, ask you to cook some meat for her," she said.

"Are you sure that Leah asked you to make this?" You better speak the truth," her father cautioned.

"I am telling the truth, father. I didn't make this for myself. Leah asked me to," she said, shaking with fear as her stepmom glared at her.

"Woman, go and call your daughter," he ordered.

"But I am sure that Leah didn't do this. She would never-," she defended.

"The question of who is right or wrong is not a choice you would make. Go and call your daughter," he said firmly. She hissed and shot Amelia a vicious look before going to call her daughter.

 Silence descended as minutes ticked by while they waited for Leah and her mum's arrival.

Amelia was looking at her father with yearning, hoping for once, he would stand by her.

"Yes, Daddy," Leah called, walking into the kitchen while rubbing her eyes, acting sleepy. She secretly smirked at Amelia's miserable condition.

"Did you ask Amelia to cook this up?" her father asked.

"Huh?"

"Are you dumb? I repeat, did you ask Amelia to cook this up for you?" he asked once more in a harsher tone.

“No, Father. I would never. We just ate dinner, and if I wanted to eat, I would have simply taken some snacks," Leah answered smartly, and Amelia's hope shattered at the look on her father's face.

"You see! Your daughter accused mine after stealing, and yet you doubt me!" Amelia's stepmother broke into false tears, peering at her husband from the side of her eyes. He slowly walked towards Amelia and dragged her towards the pan filled with boiling oil.

"I didn't do it, Father. Believe me!" she screamed.

"So you now steal and lie at the same tim. A disgraceful act!" he spat.

"She was the one. Leah was the one who asked me to make this. I would never steal, please!" she pleaded. Leah walked quickly toward her and pushed her.

"You stand here and lie about me getting involved in your heinous crimes. Don't you ever.”

"Now, face the consequences of your actions because no one would save you today," Leah said, smirking.

"Can you be any more evil? You almost blamed my daughter for your crimes. Shame on you," her stepmother said while snapping her fingers at her disdainfully.

Her father, at the peak of his rage, grabbed her hand more firmly and dipped it into the boiling oil. Steam oozed out with full force, and she cried out in pain.

"My hand!" she screamed, but her father showed no mercy, dipping her other hand in the boiling oil before letting go. She fell limp to the ground in utter agony. Her skin felt like it was peeling off her. Leah and her mother looked slightly sick but also had triumphant smiles on their lips.

Slowly, they evacuated the kitchen one by one, leaving Amelia on the floor in a weeping, hurt heap. Her burnt hands lay limp. Slowly, she struggled to sit and bent over, breathless from the pain that ripped through her. 

"Why did you leave me here, Mother?"

"I am in so much pain and I feel I might die someday for something I know nothing about.”

"My stepmother and sister are out to kill me. They hate me with passion and I can't do anything about it, but cry all day long.”

"Why did you leave me?" she kept lamenting to herself.

Slowly she rested her elbows on the kitchen cabinet for support and stood. She changed into one of her mother's dresses she had managed to retrieve before her stepmother burnt them. Quickly slipping into it, grunting with pain, she opened her windows and stealthily climbed out before closing it shut with her elbow.

Quickly, she walked towards the river, which was 5 miles away from her house. She crouched in the long dress, staring at her reflection. She looked exactly like her mother except younger.

"I will never give them the satisfaction of seeing me dead or killing me," she whispered to herself.

"I'll rather end it all than lose myself to those wicked souls.”

Slowly, she dropped the lamp she was holding in the crook of her left elbow on the shore and slowly walked into the deep river, a step at a time.