Affinity and Moods

The forbidden red door, opposite her house, always intrigued her.

It appeared illuminated some nights, while mostly it stood dark.

Who might be there, she’d wonder but wasn’t allowed anywhere nearby, so she’d drift off to sleep.

She grew up watching it, until one day, at 16, curiosity getting ahead of her, she decided to discover its little secret, only to find her mother being savagely bashed by her father.

Utterly shocked, she now understood those lies behind her long absences, those bruise-marks and her constant hidden tears. The abuse had been there since years.

Resolute, she dialled the police.