Windows

Bella Nelson was slumped over her desk, gently snoring at the back of the classroom. Her face was concealed by a book she had plastered to her desk, leaving no evidence of her mid-morning nap. As Mrs Webster talked over the grunts of Bella’s snooze, the class was interrupted by an unlikely visitor. Awoken by the noise, Bella sat up sleepily in her chair, leaning her feet against the rim of her desk. As she pulled a jumper over her ripped shirt, she managed to glance through a broken seam and saw the most unexpected person to be walking through the door. Her Mum.

Bella watched her Mum’s face from a dark shade of crimson to a faded grey as she was dragged through the long winding corridors of Auburn Prep School. Mother looked as if she had thrown up and eaten it, as her face became a pale white. She said nothing until they were in their family’s sleek, black limousine. “They’re coming back for you darling! I tried to stop them, but they wouldn’t budge! Said they needed you for another experiment something about…stationary?” And for once in her life, Bella didn’t understand what her Mother meant.

The black limousine rushed past the Nelson’s manor, a tall, white mansion in the middle of Werrington Road. Bella watched as trees flew by, crowding her view with their tall, thick branches. She desperately pushed on the car door, wedging it open the slightest bit. “Hurry, or she’s sure to be gone by tomorrow!” Mother exclaimed, ignoring the excess wind coming from the car door. Bella cautiously unwrapped herself from her Mother’s grasp, unbuckling her seatbelt as she did so. Then she leapt out of the car, landing on a soft mat. She quickly opened her eyes, hoping for any sign of major injury, but her vision was a blur.

Bella couldn’t think why she’d jumped out of that car, as it was the only time her Mother had tried to protect her from the awful check-ups and testings. As she became aware of her senses, her body tensed with the feeling she was being watched. Bella forced her legs to stand, but they collapsed to the floor, her hands flailing wildly. She didn’t know what had disturbed her most; the terrible nightmare or the figure that was standing outside her window.

As she dressed and walked out for breakfast, Bella wondered what could have been outside. As she ate, her mind became a jumble of questions and thoughts, tumbling around like a mass of letters. “Mother, was it you out in the garden this morning?” Bella asked, cornflakes slipping down the sides of her mouth. “Don’t talk gibberish with me child! And remember your table manners! How dare you care to talk while eating!” shrieked Mother. But all Bella heard was a blur of words that could not connect in her mind. But one word tossed round more frequently in her brain. Not something Mother had said, nor she, but something she had thought.

‘DANGER’

When Bella walked to school that morning, she took extra care to leave her windowsill ajar, leaving fingerprints behind. But when she returned home, the window was closed. “Mum! Someone is in the house!” she managed through her surprised expression. Then, Mother walked out the door, yelling like a lunatic. But Bella heard only cries and shrieks that covered Mother’s voice. If only she could have heard Mother say, “Your Father wants you…again.”

Going to Father’s wasn’t all that bad, if you counted tests and physical torture as normal, which in this case, Bella knew nothing different. Her Father beat her when she would only talk nonsense and when she didn’t halt, the food stopped coming too. Bella tried to communicate, but nothing seemed to work. Her life felt hopeless, and she felt weak. But things became worse when her thoughts were only one, the man at the window.

Now that Bella’s dreams were shattered and her experiments taken, she was escorted home. She started to imagine what it would be like to be her bedroom window, knowing who was at the window and always being understood, as clear as glass. She wondered if it could move and twist and turn like her, but just decided not to. “What if everyone saw me clearly. Then I couldn’t be the mistake my Father says I am.” Bella thought aloud. Then suddenly, the coachman spoke.

“All who don’t understand you have not experienced the hurt and loss in your heart. We shall all sometime endure it, some longer than others. But don’t lose hope! They shall soon have their time of hopelessness. Whereas you, young lady will flourish into a pane of clear glass, understood more than you have been before! Open your eyes to new possibilities! Any opportunity, take it, for it may be your last.”

Bella thought about the coachman’s wise words as she went to sleep each night. Those words encouraged her, as she tore through one day at a time. Danger no longer was now her main priority, as she took it in her stride. Then on her 16^th birthday, Bella broke free of her chains. The shackles bound around her wrists were released, and she was flung out of the cage of helplessness. This was the day she had waited for, longing for her heart to be replaced with another. And from that day, she would rise.

Bella watched, as her parents were tormented, sitting next to Hamish, the coachman. She wished she could reach out and help them from their despair, but her arms were now bound with grace and love, and she was dazzled with a thousand shining diamonds. They both sat atop their thrones, ruling their country. As Queen Bella of Peace kissed King Hamish of Love, Bella gave her parents a clue to help their suffering.

“All who don’t understand you have not experienced the hurt and loss in your heart. We shall all sometime endure it, some longer than others. But it is no longer right to go around hurting others like this! Remember how you treated me! Don’t let others treat you the same way! Remind them of when their time will come!”

Then came her Father's last cry, "I hope you don't ever think of me again as the man in the window.