​I once had a dream where I flew over the city. I passed by the castle and the king waved to me. I dropped down to the market and the shop keepers threw me some coins for good luck, and I caught them all. I once had a dream that I was loved by all that saw me. I was like an angel, nobody even thought of being cruel to me.

Ah. What a wonderful dream.

Ah, how far it is from reality.

“Take this you piece of shit,” the tall man gruffed. His foot swung into my stomach. I coughed, my stomach’s contents threatening to come up and spill over.

“Please,” I begged. “I don’t have the money right now, but I’ll get it to you.

Another man smirked, “You know, she doesn’t have that bad of a face. If we let it heal for a few days we might be able to get our money’s worth from just selling her.”

My eyes widened when I caught his meaning, “No.” I pleaded, groveling, “No, please, anything but that.”

He said, “I don’t think you have any room to talk. Your parents are in our debt, and that means we expect to be paid back. But since they’re no longer here, it looks like you’ll have to pay for their misdeeds, whatever that may mean.”

My mother and father skipped town about a month ago, and since then, this had been an often occurrence. They left a note, apologizing and said they needed to do some soul searching. Whatever that meant. But I was stuck here, taking the hits for them. I still don’t know why they left me behind.

A man in the background laughed, “Ha, she’s so scared, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her pee her pants.”

The man who kicked me picked up my chin, his breath smelled like cigars and rum. A pirate. I noticed the piercings they all wore, the sign of pirates. Of course, noblemen often wore earrings as well, but these men were not nobles, not at all. “Don’t go stinking up the place girlie, I don’t want to be cleaning up after you.”

I shivered, “Please.”

They all laughed, it was a group of about five men, though I couldn’t tell if there were more from my low position. I was on my butt, sitting like a fool in the middle of an alley. The humid air clung my rags to my skin. Rags, I was wearing rags, I was out on the street, and they somehow expected me to give them back their money. Wasn’t it obvious I didn’t even have enough money to feed myself?

A towering man I hadn’t noticed before pushed his way through the group, his black hair well groomed and his clothes were nicer than the other men’s. One of them saluted him, “Captain.” Captain, huh? Pirates, no good scum. Of course, if the men were like this then the captain was no better.

I stood tall, he still towered over me, but I took my hand from my side and slapped him across the left cheek. “How dare you!” How dare you try to sell me. How dare you try to take away my rights. How dare you let your men treat me like this. There was so much I wanted to say, but my mouth stopped moving. My breath stopped coming.

His hand was around my throat, I tried to take a step back but he followed, pinning me to the wall. He came in close, a mere whisper in my ear, “I like my girls feisty, so I wouldn’t fight so much if I were you.”

I gagged as he dropped me, sucking in air as fast as I could. I glared up at him and he chuckled. If anyone looked like a nobleman, it was him. He stood with regal, like he owned the alley and the men and knew they would be loyal to him until the very end.

“Take her away,” he ordered. He stepped out of the alley, his men making a pathway for him.

One of the men picked me up, holding me in a fireman’s carry. I squirmed but stopped when he spanked me. I blushed hard. People in the streets just watched on without a care. They had hard hearts, frozen from the empty bellies they’ve all had and from the knowledge that if they stepped in, they’d likely die. These people were probably raising families, I couldn’t expect them to help me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. The tree. The faraway tree. The heaven’s tree. The one that broke open the sky and led the people to the gates of heaven. The tree itself grew in the capital, Wisteria, but it could be seen throughout the country. It was taller than any mountain, wider than any lake. It certainly was a marvel. The capital city was built around the tree, in the tree, on the tree’s branches. There were cities within the city, thanks to that tree. Though, only one person managed to climb all the way to the top of the tree.

I clasped my hands together, remembering a fairy tale from when I was very young. Back when my mother didn’t hate me. She used to say that the tree would grant wishes, but only to those that deserved it. I think right now was the perfect time. So I prayed silently. I prayed for the power to protect myself.

I didn’t know how the tree would give me that power, I had no aptitude for magic and I was a weakling. But I needed power. Some kind, of any kind. I needed to be able to get away.

Then I was struck dumb. What was I going to do after I got away? I couldn’t just run my whole life. That would be a waste of a life. I needed a purpose. So I prayed for that too. I prayed to find meaning in my life, to have a destiny, because surely, my destiny couldn’t be this. Sold off to slavery, made to work or be someone’s toy. I wasn’t the type that listened to orders well either.

I pried open my eyes, hoping to find my situation changed. But nothing happened. I was still riding the shoulder of one of the pirates.

​I looked at the tree, ready to call out at it. To curse it where it stood. But I noticed something that took my breath away. The tree was glowing.