The Signs That They All Ignored

Nobody cared. You could tell from the cracked and broken windows. You could tell from the maggots and moths in the kitchen cabinets. You could tell from the nails scattered across the dirt-caked floor, waiting patiently to be stepped on. Nobody cared. You could tell from the way their way shattered brown and green glass bottles littered the floor and the way the doors creaked every time they were opened. You could tell from the way all the rooms smelled of rot and how poisonous ivy snaked its way up all the windows. You could tell from the sounds of yelling that echoed through the house day and night. Nobody cared. You could tell from the tear-stained pillows on the ripped and tattered, sheetless mattress in that pale yellow, tiny room. You could tell from the spider webs in every corner. You could tell from the scent of alcohol on her breath and the slurred curses she yelled at the children sleeping in their beds. Nobody cared! You could tell because you were told. It was right in front of you the whole time. You saw, you heard, you smelled, and you touched. You knew, yet still, you did nothing. You cared just as much as they did; Not at all.