text: [Themes: mystery / thriller, female protagonist, horror]
  
  Daddy comes down the stairs slowly with his hands behind his back. You resist the urge to back away and cower from him. He jumps down from the last step and lands in front of you, causing you to wince as he whips out the gift from behind him.
  
  "Isn't it great?" He asks, holding out the key to your salvation. A kit made for beginner hair stylists. "Didn't you tell me you wanted to cut hair for a living? Well, here's your chance Tess."
  
  You stare at him, not quite sure on how to react.
  
  "Aw, c'mon! Don't you appreciate me? My gift?" He screams but his anger disappears as suddenly as it came when he sees you flinch away from him. "Oh, darlin'.." Daddy bends down next to you and wipes away a tear that is sliding down your face and cleaning the grime away, "I didn't mean to scare you.. how's bout this."
  
  He stands up, towering above you. "You get to choose what to do with it. It is your birthday after all.." Kneeling down once more, handing you the scissors, he awaits your answer.
  
  > say "Can you give me a hair cut?"
  "Is that really what you want?" Daddy frowns but seems content with this outcome. "Turn around and stand still. I don't want to cut you." You do your best to remain still, but you aren't used to staying in one position for extended periods of time or using your muscles. Even in the cage you could stretch and move around, but you never have enough energy for anything further. Only a few minutes into the haircut you feel your legs start to wobble and you try to stay strong, but that only leads to your entire body trembling.
  
  "You fucked up my cut!" Daddy screams before knocking you in the side of the head with the handle of the scissors. The dull throb that follows is the least severe reaction you have come to expect from him. The silence that follows as Daddy's uncut nails dig deep into your shoulder and his sour breath wafts down from above your head and onto the top of your forehead.
  
  "Cage. Now." His voice is gravelly and commanding, but you feel the urge to speak up in your own defense. When you open your mouth to speak, however, Daddy's hand thwacks you across your cheek and knocks you to the ground. "Did I say you could speak? Get in the f u c k i n g cage before I string you up like the pig you are."
  
  You look up at Daddy and...
  
  > Plead
  "Please... Daddy..." You look up at him with round doe eyes and try to still your trembling lip. Your desperation has grown enough to warrant the risk of pleading.
  
  "What did I just say?" He kicks you straight in the face and you see stars. A sharp, stabbing pain radiates from the base of your nose and you know it's broken. You turn over and breath heavily, trying to ignore the pain. Daddy's fist loosens and his rage-induced grimace falls away to his sensitive side. Kneeling down, he speaks softly. "What do you want, Tess?"
  
  > say "I... I want a friend.."
  "Okay..." Daddy smiles, "That can be arranged." He pats you on your head and leads you back to your cage. You sit down in your cage, shocked that he actually is letting you have a friend. Maybe it'll be a puppy! That'd be great. You love puppies. After a week, you start to think that he's lied to you but he always reassures you that, "Your friend will be here soon. I promise." He acts like he's got to be careful about it.
  
  Then her sniffling explains everything. Your friend is finally here and she looks a lot like you. "Meet Liz," Daddy smiles as if he is offering you the best gift in the world, "She's your new friend! Are you happy?"
  
  You look at Daddy and nod hesitantly before he shoves her into the cage, locks it, and wanders back upstairs. Taking in her tattered appearance, it looks like she was shoved into a trunk before she came here. She doesn't look at you and you know for a fact that this is your fault. She is only here because you asked her to be. You feel the need to say something, anything, but can't decide exactly what. Nor can you decide how you feel. But you forge ahead anyway.
  
  > say "Hey."
  "Hey.." Liz mutters and continues staring at the floor.
  
  An awkward silence extends between the two of you before you shrug it off and continue the conversation. "I promise it won't be so bad. I'll make sure of it!"
  
  "If you say so.." Liz looks up at you and frowns, "Do you even know what he said to me?"
  
  "Well, I don't know. He kinda raised me so, what'd he say to you?"
  
  "He told me that I'm yours." Her nostrils flared up at that and she looks you up and down. "And that I'm his too."
  
  "You're my... friend. Yeah?" You smile softly at her.
  
  "Something like that," She shrugs and turns away from you.
  
  The basement door opens and you hear Daddy's lumbering steps slowly make his way down. When he stands in front of the cage you see that he is in a good mood which means it is unlikely for there to be any real issues today. Perfect.
  
  "Would you like a movie night?" He asks, looking between the two of you. "I've got some good kid films."
  
  Liz just nods silently and buries her face into her knees. Daddy unlocks the cage and steps in, allowing Liz to scamper out. He holds onto her arm just so she can't run off. You look down and see duct tape in his hand and know that talking isn't gonna be an option. "You coming?"
  
  > say "Yeah, I'll come."
  You step out after he duct tapes Liz's mouth, awaiting your turn. He looks down at the roll of tape and then up at you before putting them down and motioning for the both of you to follow. You trail after him, unsure as to why he decided to let you off the hook. Maybe he knows you won't scream. He gestures for you two to wait at the top of the stairs and he closes the door. You hear glass clinking, water, and the sound of a microwave.
  
  "You're not gonna scream, are you?" You ask, looking at Liz. She seems to have calmed down some. She vigorously shakes her head no and you reach over hesitantly. Would Daddy get mad? As long as she doesn't scream, it shouldn't be an issue. You rip it off. She remains quiet. You to wait in silence, listening to Daddy prepare for movie night.
  
  When he finally opens the door and sees the duct tape off her mouth, he opens his mouth to say something but you beat him to it, "She won't scream, Daddy. Look," You gesture at her nervous but submissive demeanor.
  
  The night goes peacefully, one of hopefully many more. You and Liz sit side by side on a clean blanket and watch children's movies with Daddy directly behind you, not a peep from either of you. Once the film is over, you are ushered back downstairs and promised it would happen again when Daddy was satisfied. A sense of warmth and satisfaction fills you. Both you and Liz are...
  
  Daddy's Girls. (Ending 21)