At some point during the night I must have drifted off into sleep. I remember dreams of poems which explains the English textbook on my chest. But lying beside me is something I didn’t expect.

Melanie is asleep next to me, her thumb in her mouth and our teddy bear tucked firmly under her arm. She looks so peaceful lost in her dreamland. For once she has found freedom and bliss. A smile lights up her face and the shadows have fallen away from her face.

Silently and soundlessly I move over and close my book. It’s Saturday so their is no point in getting up yet. I watch the sleeping child, her protector, her guardian, her big sister. She’s an angel.

When she wakes her eyes sink back into that silent state that they’ve been in since the police rescued her. No words has she spoken yet, but the doctors say that’s normal and that she may not speak for awhile. I can help mend the cuts and scars but I can’t fix her heart.

“Thanks Mia.” She holds up the bear, and my heart crumbles. I draw her in and hold her tight.