One Bottle, Two Bottle, Three Bottle
“One bottle, two bottle, three bottle,” Andy counted examining unfamiliar labels.
“Bottles.” Miley corrected.
“What?”
“Three bottles. Plural,” she explained without looking at him. She just had taken up plurals at school.
Andy nodded. He was not going to school yet.
“One bottle, two bottle, three bottle,” he repeated.
Miley didn’t say a word. She was painting. It was one of those paintings where fancy geometric shapes transformed into human figures.
“What are they?” Andy asked pointing at the bottles.
Silence.
“He beats my mom,” Miley said unexpectedly.
Andy looked at her confused.
“He drinks from the bottles and then beats my mom,” she explained, her eyes still on the painting.
“Who?” He didn’t understand.
“Klaus.” She refused to call her mom’s new husband dad.
Silence again.
Miley kept on painting. Andy looked at the bottles.
“I have to stop him,” Miley finally broke silence, done with her painting.
“How?” Andy asked.
“If he doesn’t have anything to drink, he won’t beat her,” the girl sounded confidently.
Andy didn’t have time to reply. His mom came to take him home.
“Thanks, Miley, for looking after him,” she said and they left.
Miley smiled.
When Miley’s mother came home in the evening, the girl was still in the kitchen. She lay on the floor, three empty vodka bottles beside her.
And a painting.
Geometric shapes, two figures.
A mother and a daughter.
One bottle, two bottle, three bottle.
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To read more about alcohol and its consequences for children click here.
Sometimes even a small dose is enough to lead to a tragedy. Just a note to all the parents, be careful, hide all the dangerous tubes and bottles from your little ones.
