The Girl and the Dark Corner

Глава 1Dedicated to all the homeless children around the world...She was eight years old. A very thin girl, and always dirty. When her mother was sober and kind, she called her Ela, stroked her head, and fed her with rusks and sausage scraps. When her mother was drunk, she smelled bad and swore like a sailor, kicked her and called her Ida.One day her mother came home, her face beaten and bruised. Her mouth was bleeding.“Oh Mom, does it hurt?” Ela-Ida asked fearfully. “Why are you bleeding?”But her mother said nothing. She sat down in the corner of their little room and began to sob under her breath. The little girl started to crawl around her, tried to peer into her mother's eyes. The woman stopped sobbing and stared at her angrily.“What do you want from me?” she asked through clenched teeth.“I want to eat,” answered Ela-Ida in a quiet, frightened voice.“Again?!” screamed the woman…