The Beginning

Madame Antonia descended into the basement, hoping tonight would be the night she succeeded in breaking the child's spirit. After switching the lights open, she found the child curled up on the cold hard ground, sucking on its thumb, its eyes squeezed shut. For Madame Antonia, all the children that came under her care were objects that needed to be trained. In her eyes, they were gender less and mindless, their only purpose in life to prove that Madame Antonia was good. Madame Antonia lip curled as she observed her latest project. The child was emaciated and smaller than most other seven years old. But for Madame Antonia, it hadn't been starved enough.

"Get up!" - Madame Antonia

A kick to the child's ribs punctuated the words. Its eyes flew open. Madame Antonia drew her breath sharply. She despised a lot of things about this latest project of hers, but none more than those violet eyes staring at her right now. Terrible in its deceptive purity, the eyes made Madame Antonia feel soiled and she shook her head violently.

"No! this was the work of the devil, using the child to make her feel like she wasn't guided by God's hand." - Madame Antonia (in her mind)

But still, those big violet eyes stared, damning her, and Madame Antonia shrieked.

" Didn't you hear what I said!? " - Madame Antonia

Seeing Madame Antonia taking one step towards her seemed to throw the child into a panic. It scrambled to its knees, pale body shaking hard as it bent its head.

" I am sorry, Madame Antonia. " - Kathryn Ice (it whispered)

Please make Madame Antonia believe me, (in her mind), it prayed. It hated itself for being a liar, but no matter what it did, it just couldn't stop lying.

When Madame Antonia reached the child, it threw itself prostrate on the ground. Her skin crawled when it tried to kiss her feet.

" Get away from me! " - Madame Antonia

Madame Antonia shoved the child away with another kick to its face. It back a cry of pain. Madame Antonia hatred grew at how silent and stoic it was. Why was this child is so different?.

" You don't want to see me, do you? " - Madame Antonia

" No, Madame Antonia. " - Kathryn Ice

The child shook its head fiercely even while keeping its gaze trained on the ground.

" I'm happy to see you. " - Kathryn Ice

It was lying of course, but it prayed hard that maybe this time God wouldn't tell Madame Antonia it wasn't speaking the truth. The child knew Madame Antonia was good and it was bad. It knew this, but it didn't believe.

" Liar! " - Madame Antonia

Madame's hiss made the child bite its lip hard. Please God, please make me believe the truth. Please make me believe so that Madame Antonia would love me. (The child wish in her mind)

Madame Antonia suddenly cupped its chin, forcing it to look up. The child's eyes clashed with the woman's. Madame Antonia screamed.

" Stop looking at me like I'm evil! " - Madame Antonia

It tried to protest bit it wasn't given any chance. Madame Antonia hand cracked against its cheek. Madame Antonia tried to scratch its eyes out. And the Madame Antonia was gripping its hair, dragging it up the stairs and out of the basement. The child forced itself to keep quiet, hoping its silence would Madame Antonia forgive her. But what the child didn't know was that the more silent it was, the more Madame Antonia would despise it. In its desperate, innocent desire to please, the harder it had become for Madame Antonia to remain blind to the truth.

Madame Antonia threw the child to the floor they reached the dining room. She waited for the child to cry and fight back, but it only raised itself to its knees, looking up at Madame Antonia with eyes that neither hated nor questioned. In those eyes, Madame Antonia saw the truth the real truth, and not what she had tried to convince herself and all the children that she had killed in the name of her love for them. Madame screamed.

" Why won't you just break? "- Madame Antonia

Pulling the child up to its feet, Madame Antonia waited for the child to lift its head before slapping it as hard as she could. The child swayed on its feet, and the dance began. Soon after, the music of Madame Antonia palm cracking against the child's cheek played in the room.

Crack. Sway. Crack. Sway. Crack. Sway

The child's vision dimmed, but it struggled to stay on its feet. The child and Madame Antonia had danced to this music for as long as it could remember, and the steps were simple to remember. It mustn't fall, mustn't look at Madame Antonia, and most importantly of all, it mustn't ever make Madame Antonia have trouble hitting her. Madame Antonia was speaking/singing now, lyrics to the music that the child didn't understand.

" Why wasn't it still broken?..

Why did it still want to live?..

Why couldn't it just break?.. " - Madame Antonia Sing

If it had been allowed to speak, the child would have asked just one question. How did Madame Antonia want to break itself?. Madame Antonia voice became feverish.

" I can't be blamed. I was so scared. " - Madame Antonia

As the child continue to dance to Madame Antonia music, it wondered dazedly if her own terror was the same as Madame Antonia. Did Madame Antonia feel like she felt now?

" I'm not evil. " - Madame Antonia

The child wanted to believe Madame Antonia. There must be a reason why Madame Antonia couldn't stop hurting her, couldn't begin loving her. Madame Antonia was good, and it was not.

" Those men beat me up, raped me the entire night, all at the same time. They were the monster, not me! " - Madame Antonia

The music rose to a screaming crescendo, and the dance reached its peak. Madame Antonia was no longer content slapping its face. Now, Madame Antonia fists began to color the child's eyes with bruises, and the cracking slaps turned into painful thuds.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Its eyes swelled shut, and the child struggled to dance even when it was half blind with pain.

" They told me to kill my parents so I did! I was scared, and that was why I did it! I was young like you. I can't be blamed. God knows I must be forgiven for what I did. They broke me! " - Madame Antonia

The music suddenly stopped, and the child started to tremble. The silence was bad and scary, and she wished she could hear the music again. She didn't want this quiet, knew with all her heart that it was. Madame Antonia came out of her trance, and the first thing she saw was the child's eyes.

" No! " - Kathryn Ice

Madame Antonia grabbed the child by the hair, and still it didn't speak. It was terrified out of its wits, but it still knew what was right or wrong.

" Why?..

Why didn't it break like Madame Antonia had?.. - Kathryn Ice (In her mind)

" You're going to break! " - Madame Antonia

Madame Antonia muttered feverishly.

" You're going to break like all the others did! " - Madame Antonia

The beating lasted for an hour. By the time Madame Antonia vision cleared, the child was crumpled in a ball of pain. Madame Antonia knelt down, breathing hard.

" Open your eyes. " - Madame Antonia

Slowly, its eyes opened. And Madame Antonia saw she had lost. It still had not broken.

AFTER 5 YEARS .....

" You have to understand these things take time, Mrs. Rewis. " - Doc Matthew

The doctor's voice was gentle but resolute. Doctor Matthew Brynthe knew the powerful Rewis matriarch could have him fired for mere impertinence, but he didn't give a damn. His patient was his first priority and no one else. Kristina Rewis gaze swung back to the adjoining room, its two-way wall allowing her to study her 12 year old grandchild.

" Just tell me my grandchild will get better, " - Kristina said tightly

" Is that too much to ask? " - Kristina

Doctor Matthew shook his head irritably.

" I know you are used to getting your way, but if you truly care about your grandchild. " - Doc Mathew

" Of course, I care!, " - Kristina snapped.

" Then don't force me to give you a diagnosis we both know I'm unable to provide, " - Doc Matthew snapped back.

" If I can give you more reassurance, I would. But I can't. " - Doc Matthew added.

Kristina's face became stiff at the doctor's word, but her voice shook when she spoke.

" It's my fault, can't you see? I forced my daughter to give her baby up, and now I'm paying the price. " - Kristina

Her voice broke as she imagined the unspeakable horror her arrogance had forced her own flesh and blood to live through.

" I have all money in the world, " - Kristina said in bitterly

" and it does nothing for my grandchild. "- Kristina

The matriarch's grief was more than palpable, and the doctor was unable to remain completely indifferent at the sight of the older woman's suffering.

" Not everything's lost. " - Doc Matthew, making an effort to soften his voice.

" Your grandchild's exceptionally intelligent, her IQ score off the chart. " - Doc Matthew

" I'm not asking you if my grandchild is smart. " - Kristina

" I know that, " - Doc Matthew growled impatiently.

" But I'm telling you this because I want you to be thankful for it! You're grandchild's formative years were spent under the care of an abusive woman. Your grandchild was beaten regularly and nearby starved to death. Most children would have grown up insane or twisted and evil because of it, but your grandchild became neither. That's a miracle and that's ..." - Doc Matthew drew a deep breath.

" What I'm about to say is against my professional training, but I will say it because I want my patient to heal almost as much as you do. " -Doc Matthew

He weary gaze settled back on his patient. Her eyes were glued to the wall mounted TV, which was configured to play downloaded episodes of food shows. After several months of theraphy, Doc Matthew had discovered that food was the only thing guaranteed to draw the twelve year old out of her shell. Prior to it, the child had refuse to even acknowledge being called by her name.

" I am it. " - Kathryn Ice, had muttered almost defiantly.

" I don't have a name because Madame Antonia says I'm not good. " - Kathryn Ice, added.

They had been the only words the child spoke of Madame Antonia, but for Doc Matthew is enough. He had seen enough victims of child abuse to read between the lines. Madame Antonia or whoever the bitch was, had used starvation as a way of reinforcing her beliefs on Kristina Rewis grandchild. Food had become a measurement of love and the child had learned to voluntarily starved herself until Madame Antonia considered her " good ." The memory had the doctor feeling murderous. The taking of human lives went against his very nature, but for the so-called Madame Antonia, Doc Matthew was more than willing to make an exception.

" Doctor Matthew? "- Kristina strained voice.

She snapped him out of his thoughts, and the Doctor found the older woman standing next to the two way window, Kristina's eyes filled with despair while gazing at her grandchild. Doc Matthew came to stand next to Kristina.

" You're grandchild will never be completely normal. " - Doc Matthew

The matriarch cry of pain but the Doctor ignored it, instead he asked in a hard voice.

" Knowing that, are you still certain you're able to care to her? " - Doc Matthew

" I love her! " - Kristina voice was both ravaged and absolute.

" I will do everything for her. " - Kristina added.

" I hope you mean that. " - Doc Matthew face Kristina then.

" Because I wasn't lying. The trauma she's suffering from is so severe, Madame Antonia's conditioning to deep and ingrained. I'm not sure we'll ever completely get rid of it. " - Doc Matthew, added.

Kristina Rewis head lowered, defeat destroying the glamour that wealth and power bought and reducing her into an old woman burdened with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

" The only thing you can do is to be patient with her. If you never tire showing her love, she will get better. Eventually she may learn to trust you. She may believe that she's worthy of being loved. But never forget that she can suffer from a relapsed anytime, and anything can trigger it. " - Doc Matthew, eyes bored into Kristina.

" Everything, but most especially Lying. " - Doc Matthew, added.

" I understand. " - Kristina nodded stiffly.

She held her tears back ruthlessly as she spoke. If her young grandchild could suffer this long without breaking down, so would she. When Kristina was about to leave, Doc Matthew wrestled with his conscience and his professional duty. The former won, he went after the matriarch.

" Wait, Mrs. Rewis. " - Doc Matthew

In the act of joining her granddaughter in the car, Kristina paused, and turning back, she saw the younger man running down the hospital steps. She waited for the doctor to reached her.

" What is it? "- Kristina, deliberately didn't speak in Greek to prevent her grandchild from understanding. In blunt english, the doctor said.

" I know you worry about the time when she has to live alone and you're not there to guide her. " - Doc Matthew

" I don't plan on dying anytime soon. " - Kristina, inhaled sharply.

" I know that, but we both know death is unpredictable thing. " - Doc Matthew, interrupted quietly.

Behind Kristina, his patient stared back at him with guileless eyes that knew too little and too much at the same time.

" I want her to get well too, Mrs. Rewis, and that's why I'm advising this. " - Doc Matthew, didn't wait for an answer saying grimly.

" Buy her a husband. Someone honorable. Someone who understand that she's emotionally crippled but not insane. And most importantly, someone who will not abandon your grandchild to the wolves when your gone." - Doc Matthew

TWO YEARS LATER ...

Kristina's daily routine had not changed despite learning that she had Stage 4 cancer. She still woke up early, when to work six days a week, and still flew all over the world attending business meetings. Her doctor's didn't approved, of course.

" Your already limited days on earth will be even more limited if you keep up what you're doing. " - Doc Fiona, warned.

Idiots. Kristina thought, fuming. None of them had realized she didn't have a choice. She had to present a strong front for as long as her granddaughter needed her.

A knock sounded on her bedroom door just as Kristina finished her bath, something that used to take minutes but now took her almost an hour and caused immeasurable pain.

" Come in. "- Kristina said wearily.

To her shock, it was her granddaughter, and she sat up abruptly.

" What is it, Kathryn Ice? " - Kristina

6 months ago, Kristina had finally succeeded in manipulating the child into accepting her name or nickname for that matter. Seeing how the girl abhorred causing anyone pain, Kristina resorted to emotional blackmail, crying copious tears as she told the child that she would die of loneliness if Kathryn Ice didn't stop thinking of herself as 'it'.

" And you promise not to die of loneliness If I do what you want, Grandmama? " - Kathryn Ice