The colour of healing: when the scars learn to shine

Chapter # 1

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It was almost midnight.

Darkness ruled everywhere.

Humans, animals — every living soul had surrendered to sleep.

But there was one existence that was still screaming in agony.

The place was a basement beneath a house.

Dust, broken furniture, and trash were scattered everywhere.

The air was thick with the stench of mold and despair.

And beside that junk…

A fragile figure sat with her eyes wide in horror, staring at the man standing in front of her.

He held a steel pipe in his hand.

His eyes were blazing with rage as he looked at her.

He reeked of alcohol and fury.

Her heart pounded so hard she thought it would shatter out of her chest.

The air smelled of rust, damp concrete, and fear.

There was no one to hear her.

No one to save her.

"You are a useless daughter."

His voice cracked through the darkness like a whip.

"It's because of you and your mother that I'm rotting in this hell today.

Do you even have a heart? Do you even feel anything?"

He spat the words at her, drowning in his own failures.

But he needed someone to blame.

And she was the easiest target.

"I won't let you go."

His eyes were bloodshot, reeking of whiskey and rage.

"You should've died with your mother.

Why did that whore run away with her lover and dump you on me? Huh?"

Tears burned Elif's eyes.

Her small body trembled violently against the cold, dirty wall.

Goosebumps rose on her skin from both the cold and the terror.

"Dad... p... please dad..."

Her voice broke into a sob.

"I... I didn't do anything. I swear I didn't."

But he didn't hear her.

He never did.

The steel pipe in his hand gleamed under the single flickering bulb.

With every step he took closer, her breath hitched.

Her chest felt like it was being crushed by a hundred kilos of fear.

She shook her head violently, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her lips quivered but no more words came out.

_Was this really her life? Was this all she deserved?_

The basement smelled of mold, rust, and hopelessness.

It was freezing.

It was silent.

And it was hell.

She wanted to run.

She wanted to scream.

She wanted to disappear.

But where would she go?

She had no one.

No home.

No mother.

Just this monster who called himself "Dad".

Her heart shattered into a million pieces.

And then...

His arm lifted. Elif's eyes widened in pure terror...

The steel pipe slammed against her back.

A scream tore out of her throat as pain exploded through her spine.

She collapsed to the dirty floor, sobbing, curling into herself.

This wasn't new.

This was her everyday.

Her father came home drunk every night.

And every night, he took out all his anger for his runaway wife on her.

INTRO - ELIF

Elif was 19. Just 19.

She was supposed to be in school, laughing with friends, dreaming about her future.

But instead, she was bleeding in a basement.

Once her family was perfect like other families.

Just her, her mother, and her father.

She was their entire world.

Their pampered princess.

Her father used to call her "my little star".

Her mother used to braid her hair and kiss her forehead every night.

Every wish of hers was fulfilled before she even spoke it.

Then the storm came.

Debt swallowed her father whole.

And her mother...

Her mother was addicted to diamonds, parties, and a life Elif's father could never give her anymore.

One day, without a single glance back,

she signed the divorce papers with Mr. Hart.

She packed her bags and left.

She left her husband to drown in loans.

She left her daughter to drown in hell.

All for a rich man.

All for a life more "shiny" than her own child.

She stole Elif's childhood.

She stole her laughter.

She stole the warmth of a mother's hug.

She left Elif when Elif needed her the most.

And she walked away.

Every night Elif cried herself to sleep, clutching her pillow, asking the same broken question:

"Was I and my father not enough for you, Mama?"

Now, there was nothing left in her heart for that woman.

Only hatred.

Cold, burning, endless hatred.

Because mothers don't abandon their daughters.

Monsters do.

The pipe came down again. And again.

Each blow stole the air from her lungs.

Elif screamed until her throat was raw.

She begged until her voice disappeared.

But the only answer she got was more pain.

Finally, when his arms were tired and his rage was spent,

he dropped the steel pipe with a loud clang.

It echoed through the basement like a death bell.

He looked at her broken body on the floor with disgust.

Then he turned around without a single word.

He didn't even check if she was breathing.

The heavy wooden door slammed shut behind him.

Footsteps faded away.

And then... silence.

He went upstairs to sleep.

Like nothing had happened.

Like he hadn't just tried to kill his own daughter.

Elif lay there on the cold, dirty concrete.

Her back was on fire.

Her whole body was trembling.

Blood and tears mixed on her face.

She cried.

Not loud anymore.

Just quiet, broken sobs that shook her entire body.

Why me?

What did I ever do to deserve this?

Did I ask to be born?

The questions cut deeper than the pipe ever could.

The basement was dark again.

Only the flickering bulb above her was her witness.

The cold crept into her bones.

And in that hell, with bruises all over her body...

Elif closed her eyes.

She didn't pray to God.

She prayed to a dream.

She thought of him.

Her prince charming.

The one from the fairy tales her mother used to read to her.

Tall, kind eyes, and hands that would never hurt her.

Someone who would find her here.

Someone who would wrap her in a warm coat and carry her away from this nightmare.

Maybe one day..._

Maybe one day he will come._

Maybe one day he will take me away from here._

But then the thought hit her like another blow.

A bitter, cruel laugh escaped her cracked lips.

What am I even thinking?

He will never come.

Princes are only for princesses.

And girls like me... girls like me don't deserve a prince charming.

Her chest tightened.

The small flame of hope inside her flickered... and almost died.

Tears rolled down her cheeks and vanished into the dust and blood.

Because deep down, she knew the truth.

Broken girls don't get rescued.

They just learn how to survive.

Outside, the world was sleeping.

But in the basement, a 19-year-old girl was still awake...

Bleeding, breaking, and clinging to a hope she didn't even believe in anymore.

*To be continued...*