The Real Backstory of Harper Jane Reynolds717Please respect copyright.PENANAXtSXtrdKPU
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"My name is Harper Jane Reynolds. A nineteen-year-old American woman with a sob story, that life gives no fucks about because life is just unfair."717Please respect copyright.PENANAFnYwbXFzZ9
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"Harper! Harper!" yells the deep slurring voice of a drunken man. Harper ran into her room locking her door quickly and hiding in her toy box, empty, other than a Scrump stuffie, that she held close to her as she tried her best to stifle her tears. Her back was aching enough from the years of being whacked over and over with a belt. She curled herself into a tighter ball trying to keep from whimpering as her father fought with her bedroom door. She closes her eyes and just wished.717Please respect copyright.PENANAnoT8UwDB7M
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Knock, knock, knock.717Please respect copyright.PENANAffjSdRmCAz
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"Harper?" a soft voice she didn't recognize calls out to her. She peaks her head out of her toy box sniffing. "Unlock the door sweetheart, we're going to get you out of here, alright?" The young girl sits up more opening the lid all the way, keeping Scrump close to her chest in her arms. She unlocks the door stepping back a few feet.717Please respect copyright.PENANAkfjScnCs98
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An older woman, maybe around her mother's age bends down to her knees. "Harper," the woman holds her hand out and Harper jumps back further away from her. The woman sighs lowering her hand. "It's okay dear, come on, your dad can't hurt you anymore." Harper looks at the woman with confusion and skepticism.717Please respect copyright.PENANAt5LQNt42v8
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"You promise...?" Harper asked wiping her eyes. The woman smiles softly and nodded. Harper's heart lifted and she smiled as she stepped closer to the woman. The woman moves to pick her up only for the young girl to back away again. "Please don't touch me."717Please respect copyright.PENANA0XuR9C1kTl
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~~1 year later~~717Please respect copyright.PENANADyToTyDrzO
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"Harper, what are you doing here?" Asked the same woman who saved her so many months ago. Harper shook her head holding tightly to her backpack and a handful of stuffing.717Please respect copyright.PENANAxLbSJNaAZU
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"Miss... Miss Forbes... please don't send me back to the Stewarts..." she sniffled holding the stuffing close to her.717Please respect copyright.PENANAybQY0Y6Fc4
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"Did those rowdy boys do that to Scrump?" Harper nods at the woman's question. Miss Forbes bent down on her knees holding her hands out to the girl. "May I see it?" Harper holds the stuffing and fabric back.717Please respect copyright.PENANAj3QW1TnECp
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"Miss Stewart said the same thing and she threw her away. Said that we could get a new one. I don't want a new one, Diana." She sniffed. "I had to dig through the garbage to get her back."717Please respect copyright.PENANAo2YollUg0o
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"I promise that I will try to fix Scrump up. I just need to see the wounds, okay?" Harper looks the woman up and down, nodding when the ten-year-old found the woman to be truthful. She holds out the stuffing and the fabric.717Please respect copyright.PENANAxEvv9rbXLr
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"They gave Scrump to the dog and thought it was funny to hear me cry." She said softly looking at her feet. Diana looks up at the small and broken-hearted girl.717Please respect copyright.PENANAgiTy3lQwUC
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"Harper, if I fix up Scrump can you promise me something?" The woman asked taking the stuffing and fabric. Harper looks up at the woman and nods. "This is a big promise sweetheart alright?" Harper nods again. "I want you to promise me and try not to cry anymore okay? When those big mean boys do something to make you cry, don't cry. Fight back, there is a warrior inside you Harper, I want to see you to live tall, and to make people work hard to get something from you especially those tears that you shed. Alright?" Harper sniffs and rubs her eyes. The little girl nods.717Please respect copyright.PENANA6utaszqE0q
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"Can I live with you too Diana?" She asks, Miss Forbes looks the young girl up and down then at her own house. Never been married, never had kids of her own, she looked back to the one girl that could give her a chance to have all she really wanted, and Harper had no idea how much that question made the Child Service Worker feel.717Please respect copyright.PENANAkQ4pw9wtXy
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"I will do all that I can to make sure that happens."717Please respect copyright.PENANAsDVH0o2a9L
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~~Three years later~~717Please respect copyright.PENANAm7KTWMDMuR
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Diana laughs with true joy. "So you want to go to the museum again? Is that I am hearing?"717Please respect copyright.PENANAZvJLqymUZk
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"Yeah! I like History! I think my favorite is the 50's-" the thirteen-year-old stops. "It's okay to like the 50's right Diana?" Diana laughs once more.717Please respect copyright.PENANA1FYneJZMwp
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"Of course sweetheart, the 50's are my favorite too." Harper smiles looking around and sees a small hot dog cart.717Please respect copyright.PENANAsE7xR7rnQD
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"Diana, can I pay for lunch?" The young girl asks pulling out three dollars. Diana chuckles,717Please respect copyright.PENANAw5RbDfMnQ3
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"Save your money sweetheart, I know how much you have been looking at that prom dress."717Please respect copyright.PENANArgoe3AdNIG
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"Prom won't be for another 4 years though..." Harper says looking at the woman quizzically. Diana chuckles.717Please respect copyright.PENANAei0jNcMrCm
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"Time moves fast Harper, too fast."717Please respect copyright.PENANAWgmYsu0YUT
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"Forbes!" Diana and Harper turn to see a man walking up a pulling something out of his pants. "Where's my daughter?!" Diana's eyes grow wide.717Please respect copyright.PENANA431dAKvcvi
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"Harper run!"717Please respect copyright.PENANAIY1ClyS7en
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"Who is he, Diana?"717Please respect copyright.PENANArSPDBfMaFU
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"Harper I said--"717Please respect copyright.PENANAoR7Ck0vcdk
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Bang! Screams erupt through the streets and Harper is stuck in fear as she watches Diana fall backward.717Please respect copyright.PENANAdHFPoXEU9o
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"Diana?! DIANA!" Harper looks around and the guy was gone. Harper's eyes swell with tears as she kneels down next to her guardian. She couldn't scream, her voice caught in her throat as she tries everything she can to get Diana to speak. There was so much blood. The world was silent and still.717Please respect copyright.PENANAhUaIy6brk3
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~~A month later~~717Please respect copyright.PENANAp3EYbRdtBK
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The rain poured hard over the gathering, and as everyone talked about the life of Diana Forbes, Harper sat in the front closest to the casket holding Scrump in her arms, petting the patchwork that the deceased worked so hard to fix. She stands quietly walking up to the casket and closing her eyes as tears shed blending in with the raindrops. She opens the casket careful to protect Diana from the rain as Harper placed Scrump in her arms.717Please respect copyright.PENANAAskOqsblYH
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"You're the only one who deserves my tears." She sniffed, "I miss you, mom..." The heartbroken girl closes the casket before leaving the gathering knowing that she could not handle watching the burial.717Please respect copyright.PENANARtfAH7WLte
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Published:
Mar 16, 2018
ENTRY #17
Harper Reynolds
Author:
HawthorneRosewen
Published:
Mar 16, 2018
5 Mins Read
1,054 Words
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