Beautiful Girl: Part I

The ground was cold.
She didn't care.
She just kept walking,
smelling the winter air.

She'd been in the dark for so long,
but she could see the light
just up ahead
forgotten in the night.

Her bare toes and fingers tingled,
and her small body fell to the ground.
She could no longer feel the teddy bear she was holding.
The girl glanced up. No one was around.

Mommy said to get away
before Daddy got home mad,
because she couldn't finish dinner
without it tasting sort of bad.

The five-year-old would interject
while Daddy beat up mom.
Then, she'd be severely punished.
This had been going on far too long.

She went unconscious
and was lifted by strong hands.
hands that could only be
that of a loving man.

He trudged through the snow
to return her to her home,
when he noticed her bruises.
Where on Earth had she roamed?

I'll take her to the hospital.
They'll catch her parents there.
He knew they were behind this
and the nurses would take care.

When he arrived, it was eight o'clock
and they were frozen cold.
"How old is the victim?" they asked first.
"Four or five years old!"

Not too long after, a couple ran in.
Undoubtedly her mom and dad.
The woman had bruises fresher than the girl's
The man--he just looked mad.

Father became calm and collected
as he gave the information to the nurse.
They weren't even asking him about the sores.
This day was just getting worse.

He couldn't let this happen.
But what was his other choice?
He was afraid that in this matter,
for once, he had no voice.

Perhaps the little girl would be okay,
the beautiful little girl.
Almost as beautiful as the one he lost,
the one he lost a year before.

He exited the hospital at 9:05.
He hated to leave them behind.
He thought about it for the whole night.
He couldn't get them off his mind.

Tomorrow, he'd go get them,
the precious girl and her mother
to take them to a shelter.
They'd rely on one another.

Tonight, he'd try to sleep.
Tomorrow, he'd find the house
and figure out who was inside
to get the woman away from her spouse.