The Girl from the Attic

Summary

When I was six, a volunteer teacher came to our village.

During the first class, my older sister, Lily, told me to draw a picture in my notebook—a drawing of our mother, chained in the corner of her room.

The next day, a fleet of cars with flashing red and blue lights surrounded our house.

Police officers subdued my screaming father, then smashed the rusty lock on my mother’s bedroom door.

I watched as Mom grabbed Lily’s hand and ran toward a man in an expensive suit. Her face was glowing with a smile I had never seen before.