She was dirty.
The little girl fought her tears and ran to the bathroom in silence. She hoped that the marks would disappear quickly, before her mother would see them. She didn't want her mom to know she had been dirtied.
She used soap, sponges and even her nails, but she couldn't get the bright red hand marks off her skin. She started panicking when she heard her mom approaching. She teared up, cried, " I can't take them off! ", when her mother came in the bathroom. The mom came close and looked closely, " But, honey, there's nothing there, you're clean! ". The little girl stopped and looked at her mom, surprised. Couldn't she see?