Mary Bell



Mary wasn't violent in my eyes, then again she was never caring either. I can only use one word to describe her: wicked. She genuinely had no concern for anyone's pain or what she should feel towards others; in a way she was heartless.

She's the reason I lost my two best friends in the world, Martin and Brian. I can remember clear as day how it started. It was a beautiful day in May, as I made my way to school. The sun was shining on Scotswood and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Martin had a sore throat and wanted to stay home, but decided he was better off around friends. When school had been dismissed, Martin and I had been approached by a girl.

She had an innocent face, but a noticeably uncaring feeling in her eyes. She looked like she couldn't have been more than 11 years old. She had apparently gotten word of Martin's sore throat, and had invited him to her house for some "massage that could help". Martin, being lovestruck by the girl, had agreed and they walked gingerly on. I thought nothing of this and strolled home.

I trudged to school about a month later. Martin had been missing ever since he walked off with that strange girl, so I decided to hang out with Brian that day. I again was approached by the girl, this time during school. She lured Brian in with a game of hide and seek, but I never saw either of the two again that day. Well, I was all alone now and outraged at Brian and Martin for completely ditching me. I had assumed Martin moved away and that Brian would be back later. It was only later after school, when I had been digging through my stuff that something hit me. I remember seeing Martin's mom searching for him yesterday....

It was summer now, no sign of Brian or Martin. It was to my surprise to see the girl who had tortured the families (unbeknownst to me yet) was standing just across the street. She told me her name, the only words I'd ever heard her utter strictly to me. "My name is Mary, but I call myself Bloody Mary....." I had stopped cold. That was it, it was her. I had been so busy thinking about this, I guess I hadn't realised her slip away. And it was over, no more Mary, no more Brian or Martin. No more friends.

Some 7 months later I had seen her in the newspaper. I hadn't caught a glimpse at the physical article, but had gotten enough of a look at the picture to know who it was. When my dad put the paper down, I read the headline. "Mary Bell convicted of manslaughter." and the first words in the article were "Young Martin Brown and Brian Howe found strangled and mutilated.....