Pretty Little Girl *Trigger Warning*

pretty little girl
blonde pixie of a child
big green eyes
barely 4 years from birth.
“do you want some candy?”
of course she does.
he tells her to be quiet
so they don’t wake her baby brother
sleeping nearby in his crib.

they slip from the room
in stocking feet.
in the kitchen
he feeds her chocolate.
innocent child plays a game
“bet you don’t know i’m not wearing any panties.”
(the grown woman that child became
shakes her head violently in warning
but knows there’s no saving the little girl
who loved to play games with her friends.)
at his mocking disbelief and challenge of
“show me”
the child pulls away her pjs and shows off
her naked, tiny vagina.

did the idea enter his head then
to invade her body,
believing that when a 4-year-old says “yes”
she’s old enough, wise enough, to consent?
or was the intent there already
and the innocent child played into his design?

Photo Credit: rubberducky53171 Flickr via Compfight cc

Wendy C Garfinkle

Wendy is a writer and editor who holds multiple degrees from several universities, including MA and MFA in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. She's the author of SERPENT ON A CROSS, a Jewish Medieval Fantasy, and a poet. She has served as a copy editor and panel reader for Hippocampus Magazine, as a reader for the James Jones First Novel Fellowship, and as an editor and proofreader for Booktrope and its Gravity Imprint. Wendy's most recent venture is her freelance editing business, Grammar Goddess Editing. In her day job, Wendy is a crime analyst for a sheriff's office. Her hobbies include writing, reading,and traveling. She lives in South Florida with her teenage son.

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Wendy is a writer and editor who holds multiple degrees from several universities, including MA and MFA in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. She's the author of SERPENT ON A CROSS, a Jewish Medieval Fantasy, and a poet. She has served as a copy editor and panel reader for Hippocampus Magazine, as a reader for the James Jones First Novel Fellowship, and as an editor and proofreader for Booktrope and its Gravity Imprint. Wendy's most recent venture is her freelance editing business, Grammar Goddess Editing. In her day job, Wendy is a crime analyst for a sheriff's office. Her hobbies include writing, reading,and traveling. She lives in South Florida with her teenage son.

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5 thoughts on “Pretty Little Girl *Trigger Warning*

  1. Wendy,

    So beautifully written and so jarring at the same time.
    Thank you for speaking out, and sharing your difficult to read but necessary story of sexual abuse.
    Your courageous, raw voice will help others heal from while raising awareness.

    X Jackie

  2. Steph, Thank you for your comments. I constantly remind myself that I’m a survivor and not a victim. It’s been difficult at times to write about this, but also cathartic. Hopefully awareness will help to put an end to sexual abuse, especially child sexual abuse.

  3. Such a hard subject to read on. It reminded me of my own experience as a child…this has touch me so deeply, Wendy, thank you for bringing awareness and reminding us we have a long way to go to stop sexual abuse.

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