Teresa had always thought that child abuse was whenever the children where beaten to a bloody pulp every single day. She thought drunken parents and their pot smoking friends was normal. She had no right to complain about about anything, as far as she was concerned. There were people worse off than her, after all, she only got a punch once or twice a week. But, now she know that wasn't true. The only problem was that she really did love her parents, she just didn't like what they did.
She sat down on her bed and pulled out her new notebook. She glanced under the bookshelf. She had one of these notebooks for six years of her life. She might have started writing down her experiences sooner, but she didn't know how to write.
Hi again. Today's Mardi Gras, and Mom and Dad are out getting drunk again. Today, Dad called me a "stupid shit." I guess I really shouldn't have listened, after all, he's done worse, but it still hurt. I respect them, but I just don't know if I can stand it! I think they're coming back, so I've got to go.
- Teresa.
A week later, Teresa's name appeared in the paper. She had been brutally murdered while she slept. Her parents had found all of her notebooks and found out what she had written about them over the years. The police arrested her mother and father, who later confessed, without guilt to the murder and were sentenced to life in prison. Her aunt was the only member of her family that attended the funeral; the others thought that she deserved what she got. Her aunt had also written in notebooks when she was little, because she couldn't turn in her PARENTS! Aunt Polly might forever be the only one that understood her little niece, Terri. But, she wants to show the world that no one should suffer in silence. Because, after all, Terri proved that silence kills.
