Wistful Hateful Dreams

In the middle of the night, Bobby remained on the ground where he was, unable to crawl over to the bedspread just a few feet away on his own, and had fallen into a fitful sleep after shouting himself raw.

On the other side of the room, Ruth sat stunned in a corner, staring at Bobby. Behind her, Elly stuck her head out, and a dark glint flashed before her eyes. Walking over to her father, Elly was too scared to touch him, and settled for blowing air out of her mouth to see if her father was awake.

Seeing that her father simply grunted, but didn't respond, Elly lowered her head before returning to behind her mother's back.

Seeing her mother curled up in ball Elly's eyes couldn't help but flash with a hint of disdain, but knowing that her mother was the only one she had, she kept her head lowered and stepped behind her mother. As her mother was curled up on the floor, Elly's height was just tall enough so that her mouth was by her mother's ear.

Leaning over her mother's shoulder, she whispered, "Mommy, what are we going to do."

Hearing Elly's voice, Ruth seemed to pull back to reality slightly, "Elly, my dear Elly, mother will make sure you're safe."

Disdain flashed through Elly's eyes again. She believed that her mother believed such a thing, but when had she ever stopped Bobby from hitting her? When had she ever managed to resist her father? Perhaps if she was sold her mother would truly kill herself, and perhaps try to kill Bobby in the process, but what would that matter for her? Perhaps she would be halfway across the country by then.

"Mommy, is Daddy going to be okay?"

Glinting at Bobby, Ruth couldn't help but ball up further, "I, I don't know."

"Mommy, I don't like Daddy, he always hits Mommy and says he's going to sell Elly."

Hearing this, Ruth couldn't help but turn around and hug Elly tightly, "Shh, don't let Daddy hear that Elly. Don't believe what Daddy says, Mommy will keep you."

Her face behind Ruth's back, Elly stared at Bobby with cold eyes, "Mommy, why don't we let Gale kill Daddy?"

Shocked, Ruth almost pushed Elly away, but in the end, perhaps scared of waking up Bobby behind them, or her love for Elly overwhelming her shock, she held on tightly, squeezing tighter instead. "Elly! What are you saying. Mommy will-"

"Mommy, you make all the money and take care of Elly, Daddy takes all the money and beats me, why do we need Daddy?"

Pausing, Ruth didn't know what to say. Why… Why did they need Bobby? At first she had been scared of getting taken by the other men in the village, but now that they were going to the town, surely things would be better there right?

Lowering her head, she couldn't help but hug Elly tighter. If Bobby was gone, perhaps she would find a dashing new man who would treat her right and bring in money and give Elly a younger brother… Anyways the one who would kill Bobby wasn't her, but that brutal girl. Perhaps they would even be able to get a sack of silver for turning the girl into authorities, wouldn't life be perfect then?

"Mommy… it hurts."

As Ruth had been lost in her fantasy, she had been unknowingly hugging Elly tighter and tighter. Seeing Elly call out, Ruth quickly loosened her arms before softly caressing Elly on the face. Indeed, for her dear Elly, perhaps it was time to get rid of Bobby, then she could finally start saving up money for Elly's wedding. Although, in the depths of her mind, it was hard to say who Ruth imagined in a brilliant white dress.

Seeing that her mother had seemed to have come around, Elly lowered her head and smiled. Without Bobby, their lives would only get better right? With her mother who loved her to the end of the world, and without the monster that ruined their lives, wouldn't they become rich very quickly? After all, under Bobby's pressure and growing greed, Ruth had learned many unsavory skills to satisfy Bobby's wallet. As long as they kept the money, wouldn't it be perfect?

With this thought in mind, the mother and daughter hugged each other to sleep, each lost in their own fantasy.

The next morning, Ava returned to the tent to see that the two had already packed up everything, including the tent, while Bobby remained lying on the floor. Raising her eyebrows, Ava looked at the other party.

Gritting her teeth, Ruth took a timid step forward, "Bobby got sick on the journey after drinking too much and hitting his head on a log. He lost all of our money gambling, so we unfortunately couldn't buy him any medicine and could only rush to the town to bring some back. We should go catch up with the rest of the caravan… daughter."

After finishing what she had to say, Ruth quickly ran two steps backward, pulling Elly with her.

Hearing this, Ava let out a thin smile and gave one last look at Bobby who's skin had turned a fierce shade of pale and was sweating profusely before turning and heading towards the rest of the caravan, which had already begun to pack up and move towards the front.

Waiting for Ava to take a few steps away from them, Ruth let out a breath she had been holding and patted herself on the chest. Although she had made up her mind to get rid of Bobby and follow this devil girl into the city, calling a demon her daughter… was quite terrifying.

Looking down at Elly who once again had her head lowered, acting as if she didn't know any of what was going on. Ruth let out a small smile and bent down and hugged Elly.

"Elly, say goodbye to Daddy, we might not see him again in a long, long time."

Standing up with a smile, Ruth held Elly's hand and followed after the caravan.

Taking a glance back, Elly looked at Bobby's body on the ground and couldn't help but see how thin and wiry he appeared in the morning light, tucking her head back next to Ruth, she turned away from the monster she had once called Daddy.