Once Were Warriors

Grace sneaks into the Trambert estate and hears a piano. She follows it, and when she’s close enough to spy inside the house, Grace is met with a vivid contrast to her home life. The Trambert home is lovely and tidy; the woman whom she assumes to be the mother of the family has lovely hair; and the person playing the piano is a girl of her own age. The sight of the latter is particularly devastating for Grace, as she sees herself lacking in opportunities and incapable of escaping her life in her “state slum” (81). She cries at the realization, and the guards notice the sound, so Grace runs away. She stumbles over the brick wall and hurts herself, but she doesn’t stop running until she’s back in Pine Block.

When she arrives home, her father is having another party. He asks after her injuries, but she brushes him off, unsure if he would defend her if someone hurt her or if he would just use it as an excuse to fight. She checks on her younger siblings, and then proceeds to go to sleep. Later in the night, she wakes, believing that she is still dreaming because a man is hovering above her, stroking her leg.