you'll be surprised when you discover what this is about. :)

She woke up again, shaking. Ever so slightly opening her eyes and focusing on the darkness that surrounded her, she shook her aching head to get rid of the picture and rolled over. It’s all too familiar, she thought. She soon started to drift back into unconsciousness, prepared for the blasting sound of the gunshots, followed by jolting awake again, for the 4th time that night. It’s all too familiar. 
     Every night this happened, for the past 3 horrendous years. It’s all too familiar. the shouts, the “You’re a failure!” ’s and the “You evil child, you deserve to burn in hell!” ‘s. The pointing, and gasping, the talking that goes on behind her back. She’s starting to believe those things. What she has done can never be forgiven. She’s stopped dreaming of it. She’s unworthy and undeserving; full of shame, and weighed down by guilt. With all those judgments that are spat in her face, she’s bitter, and a hater. Her heart is hardened, almost too much to show that its broken, but she still feels. She feels. Regrets appear in her mind, and she longs to be free. How much more can she carry? She’s just a child. 
     Who would have thought it would end like this? Who would have thought a worm could cause all this! 3 years ago, Georgia and Meredith; best friends, neighbors, and proud owners of a new pet, had nothing to carry on their backs except a Dora backpack. They were happy as can be, and every time they saw each other, the hugest grin would stretch across their PB&J crusted faces. The six year olds enjoyed digging in Mama Esther’s garden, and shrieked every time they came across a bug. One perspiring, hot day in June, the girls’ older friend Sydney, declared that you were a baby if you were afraid of bugs. The girls, not wanting to be perceived as wimps, made a promise not to shriek any more when they dug up a measly little insect. The last day of that summer, Georgia and Meredith kneeled in the garden all day, getting dirt under their unpainted fingernails, and tracking mud in when Mama Esther called them in for a delicious lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches. 
     Just before the sun went down, a plump, pink, squiggling worm poked it’s head out from the ground. “Look!” Meredith squealed. Georgia was frightened for a moment, but then, without hesitation, she picked it up and held it in her hand. As it squirmed, Meredith ran and got a jar they had used to put fire flies in a few weeks back. She emptied the old twigs and grass, and deposited fresh grass and leaves and dirt into it. Georgia got the clue and dropped the little worm in it’s new home. “Mama is going to freak if she knows I plan on keeping a bug in my room.” Georgia moaned, disappointed. “Will Mama Esther let you keep him?” Meredith nodded, and with her filthy, chubby fingers she lifted the jar and carried it inside. “Oh! A pet worm! How wonderful,” Mama Esther exclaimed. She spent the next few moments reminiscing about her childhood, and her very own pet worm; one of her earliest memories. Meredith and Georgia stumbled up to Meredith’s pink wallpapered room, and set the worm on the nightstand. “What should we name him?” They seemed to both wander out loud. “Hmm,” Georgia gasped as the absolutely perfect name popped into her over-worked mind. “Wormy!” “Perfect!” Meredith half whispered, admiring their new friend. 
    It was time for Georgia to go home, as they were to start their first day of first grade the next morning. She said goodbye to her best friend, Mama Esther, and Wormy, and headed home, skipping as the light faded and darkness started to settle. She got home and her mama ran the bath water, listening to her little angel telling her about Wormy and her day’s adventures. “Well, be thankful Ms. Vincent allowed Meredith to keep Wormy in their house.” her mama said with relief. She didn’t have the heart to hurt her baby’s feelings, but she would not have tolerated a worm inside her dwelling place. Georgia kissed her parents goodnight and vanished into her room for a much needed night of sleep. She was so excited for school to start and for the opportunity to visit Wormy in the morning, she could barely shut her eyes, but as Mama always said, “The sooner you fall asleep, the closer tomorrow will seem.” So the little girl fell asleep quickly.
     In the morning, Georgia threw on her prettiest white dress with the lace and walked with mama to Meredith’s house. Meredith was wearing her jean skirt as well as the pink blouse with the roses printed on it. Mama and Mama Esther talked and cried over a cup of coffee as their daughters were growing up in front of their very eyes. The two six year olds ran up stairs and gave Wormy a kiss before they caught bus 457 at the corner of Raymond st and 52nd street. 
     The school day went well, other than Meredith spilling her chocolate milk on her blouse, and Georgia tripping over Meredith’s new Barbie backpack at recess and skinning her knee. When the girls got home, they both walked on home where their mama’s had cookies waiting. They talked of how school went, and Georgia got a fresh band-aid before going over to Meredith’s house. Mama dropped Georgia off at their house on her way to the supermarket. Meredith’s older brother, whom was 12 at the time, was home with his sister. Ms. Vincent was unfortunately scheduled the late shift that night. Georgia let herself in the familiar house and walked up to the room on the left, across the bathroom, with the pink wallpaper. As she ran in, Meredith’s faced was flushed, and she quickly hid something behind her back. 
     “What’s that Mer?” Georgia said, with a lisp. “Where’s Wormy?” “Um, nothing George, just…” Meredith paused. Georgia demanded her friend to show her what was hiding behind her back. Meredith sheepishly presented Wormy’s jar, missing one thing. 
     “WHERE IS WORMY MER!?” Georgia yelled, her eyes wide. “I am so sorry George,” the six year old frantically tried to explain. “but you know how worms are, playing in the dirt all day like us, they need to get clean.. So I thought I should give Wormy a bath… and after I washed off all the suds, and dried him off with the blow drier, Wormy didn’t move….” Georgia didn’t stay to listen to the rest. She flew down the stairs and out the door, tears streaming down her face. She threw open the unlocked front door of her house and ran to Daddy’s closet. The case where he kept his most prized possessions, the things he polished almost every day, sat there, unlocked. Georgia grabbed a gun, and ran back to Meredith’s house. Meredith has to pay for this, Georgia thought, her mind buzzing, she thought all pure hatred towards Meredith. She had to pay! 
     The sound came, again. The deafening sound of gunshots jolted Georgia awake, and she was moaning. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” over and over again, half conscience.