/////////

I wonder what I did to deserve a fate like this.

Did I do something bad to make the world hate me?

What did I do that was bad enough for me to suffer like this?

Pain…

Sorrow…

Pain…

Regret…

More PAIN…

HATRED…

…TORMENT…………

………………..Despair.

///

“Moooooom.” I shouted out from the front door.

“Yes, darling?” A woman with shoulder length brown hair peeked her head out from an adjacent room.

“My friends are here, can I go to their house and play for a bit?” I replied to her.

“Of course, darling. Just be back before dinnertime. I’ll let your sister know so she can pick you up later. Are you going to Agatha’s house?” My mom replied cheerfully.

“Yep, I’m going there with her and Regan.” I spoke back again.

“Alright, just be careful out there. Make sure you stay on the road and don’t go into the woods okay?”

“I know mom, I know.” I spoke back before I ran off to meet my friends and head to their house.

“Sigh, that child, always so hasty to play. If only she had that much energy doing her chores.” The mom said shaking her head while still smiling.

///

“Ahhhhhh, that was fun.” I thought to myself happily as I skipped back to my house. “My big sis will be so mad when she learns that Agatha already has a boyfriend. She should really hurry it up before it’s too late.” I smirked before giggling to myself.

As I reached the front doors and slowly opened them, hoping to surprise my family by sneaking up on them, I heard voices coming from the living room of the house. From the voices, I could tell that my whole family was there as well as my Uncle Samsin.

Tiptoeing over to just in front of the door to the living room, I got down on my knees and placed my ear next to the door, hoping to listen in.

“Samsin, you know we can’t do that. As the mayor, I need to uphold the integrity of the town. Not to mention that what you are suggesting is downright unethical and can very well undermine the system this town is built upon.” My father replied, sounding a little angry which made me nervous since I have never seen Dad angry before.

“Come on brother, don’t be unreasonable here. You know as well as I do how much this can do for the economy of this town. Think about it, this town can grow to be so much more than it is now. All you have to do is agree to the policy and we will immediately see the good changes it will bring.” Samsin spoke back, not giving up.

“No means no, Samsin.” My dad refused once again, not budging at all.

“Think about the children, Samsin. How do you think this will affect them? They won’t be able to go out freely anymore. They will be exposed to all the negative influences of what you are suggesting. And not just our children, but all kids in this town.” My mom added on, hoping to convince Samsin otherwise.

“So what if they now have to stay indoors more often? I believe the changes this will bring will far outstrip the consequences.” Samsin insisted.

Seemingly the last straw, my dad got up and shouted at Samsin, “DID YOU NOT HEAR ME? I’M THE MAYOR OF THIS TOWN AND I SAY NO TO YOUR PROPOSAL.” At which my mom and sis tried to calm him down.

“Tch. Fine have it your way. But, let me say you’re making a big mistake. You’re definitely going to regret this.” Samsin got up and stormed towards the door where I was at.

Frantically moving away, the door to the living room slammed open and Uncle Samsin came rushing out and past me, not even giving me a second glance.

As I just sat there in a daze, I heard my father slump back into his chair with a sigh. As I timidly made my way towards the door again and peeked inside, I saw my whole family with dark expressions on their faces with my dad rubbing his temples.

I was really worried about what just happened. Did dad and Uncle Samsin just fight? Why? As I nervously looked over my family, my sister finally noticed me and called me over.

As I walked over my dad asked me a question. “Hey there my baby girl, how long were you there? Did you hear anything?” He asked softly.

I simply shook my head and answered, “No, dad,” Before asking, ”What were you guys talking about?”

“Nothing darling, don’t mind it. It’s not important.” My mom said with a rather forced smile.

At this, I could only just nod, though even I could feel the tension in the air.

“In any case, dinner is ready so let’s all go eat. Alright?” My mom asked to which both me and my sister nodded.

////

I laid in my bed after a bath thinking over what happened earlier in the day. My dad and Uncle Samsin were arguing over something. I don’t know what they were talking about, but I can only think that it’s something bad. Though, I don’t know why Uncle Samsin would talk about something bad, he was always very nice to me after all. I just hope it all works out between them in the end.

Thus, brooding over the event earlier, I fell asleep.

///

“NO! GET YOUR HANDS OF THEM YOU SCUM.” I was jolted awake by that shout.

‘Father?’ I thought to myself nervously as I got out of bed in the middle of the night.

“STOP, YOU! AGH!... SHIT, YOU BASTARDS.” My dad once again screamed out.

“NOOO, STOP. PLEASE. DON’T HURT HIM ANYMORE.” I then heard my mom shout in response.

Feeling my heartbeat quicken, I quickly rushed out of my room and towards where my parents are. My apprehension was increasing with every step.

As I arrived in front of my parents’ room with an overwhelming sense of dread, I heard a loud anguished cry of “NOOOOOOOOOOO” and soon after tears, whimpers, and sobs. Quickly opening the door, I looked inside only to find myself freeze in terror.

In front of me stood two large men covered in black. One of them held my struggling sister in his arms while having a hand over her mouth. She quickly noticed me and darted her eyes at me as if telling me to run, only I was completely rooted to the spot.

As I moved my eyes towards my mom, I found her crying and on the floor with a large bruise on her face while clinging to the other man in black. The man himself was holding a sharp sword that was dripping with some red liquid.

As my eyes shift once more to where the sword pointed to, what I saw made my entire world stop. My dad was lying there, soaked completely in the red liquid, blood, and looked back at me with a blank, lifeless stare. On his chest, I saw numerous lacerations indicating a struggle before leading up to his throat where the blood flowed freely.

Looking at this scene, my legs collapsed and I fell on my knees. As my knees hit the floor, the men finally noticed me and quickly came over to grab me. I wanted to struggle, I really did, but my body just refused to move, as though my entire being was frozen in place.

I was quickly restrained and bound before my mom finally noticed my presence.

“NO, NO NO NO NO NO. NOT MY BABIES. PLEASE, YOU CAN TAKE ME, BUT LET THEM GO. PLEASE!” My mom started crying and begging and was clinging to the man even hard. When the man tried to shake her off and she refused to let go, he simply took a knife and slashed it across my mother’s throat and she dropped to the floor like my dad.

As I watched all of this unfold in front of me, all I thought was, ‘No, this can’t be right. This has to be a dream. Yes, just a bad dream. Hahaha, please let me wake up soon. Let me wake up and everything will be alright. My family will be back to how they always were… Yes…’

Before I could think anymore, I was grabbed by my hair and dragged through the house along with my sister. The pain of my hair being pulled finally snapped me out of my daze and made me realize that this wasn’t a dream before I also started crying and screaming. Subsequently, I was gagged along with my sister and brought out to the front of my house. There, outside the gate, I could see a wagon with a cage on it along with a man standing next to it.

That man was my uncle, Samsin.

As I realized that he was the one responsible for this, I struggled even harder as I was brought in front of him. As I glared into his eyes with searing hatred, he just gave me a grin back.

“Well, well, well, girls. I hope you enjoyed my surprise. Lucky for you two, you will be going on a wonderful trip. Be sure to send me letters of all the fun you’re going to have.” Samsin taunted me and my sister before giving a hearty laugh while waving at the two men.

My sister and I were soon loaded onto the wagon and into the cages before they slammed shut on us. We were then driven away by a man at the front of the wagon as we gazed hatefully back at the person who did this to us. That man currently had a wide smirk that never dropped the entire time and we continued to glare at him until he was out of sight.

As the wagon rolled towards an unknown destination, the bounds finally came undone and my sister rushed towards me and gave me a big hug while crying uncontrollably. Even my own tears were streaming down quickly as I buried my head in her chest. We cried, and cried, and cried, until no more tears came out.

“Don’t worry, your big sis will be here to protect you. I’ll make sure to keep the bad men away no matter what. Your sis is strong, you can believe in me.” She told me with a strained smile as she looked into my puffy red eyes once we separated from each other’s embrace. To this, I can only nod absentmindedly.

The entire rest of the journey was traveled in silence with me and my sister sitting next to each other.

////

My sister died.

It has been a year since that fateful day where our lives were completely ruined.

Once we arrived at our captor’s place, we were met with continuous abuse. When my sister tried to protect me, she only suffered even more. Often times, she took the brunt of the abuse in my place.

Day by day, we were beaten and tormented. We kept moving from place to place as we were continuously bought and sold. The only solace I can have about my situation is the fact that my sister was with me. Now she is no more.

One day, she came back to where I was held after being forcefully separated. Her brown hair was completely disheveled, dirty, and with patches of it missing and she held dark, empty eyes. Multiple lacerations could be seen all over her thin, dirt-covered body. She was kicked from behind back into our cell where she just simply collapsed on the spot. As I rushed over to her in panic, she simply stared back at me and smiled. Right after, the last, faint light in her eyes disappeared.

Caressing her head within my arms, I gave one last anguished cry before I just sat there trembling. As much as I wanted to cry, I couldn’t. My tears have long since dried up. All I did was just stare hollowly at the body of my dead sister as she grew cold in my hands.

////

Over the next year, I was continuously tortured and beaten, much like my sister, as I was moved from place to place, from one hand to the next.

All this time, negative emotions continuously developed in my heart. With each beating, with each cut, I only felt my hatred grow more. Hatred towards the world, towards people, towards myself for being so weak, I hated everything. And most of all, I hated that man, the man who took everything, the man who made me like this. I soon resolved myself to get revenge no matter what; no matter what it takes. I swore to myself and everything that I have experienced so far that I will kill that man if it’s the last thing I do.

One day, while I was sitting in a cage in the middle of the forest where my captors took me, two rough looking men came up to me. I simply looked at them before turning away, not caring for either them or the gruel in their hands. To this, one of the men mocked me before he tried to force the gruel down my throat. Deciding that I have had enough, I bit his hand to which he cursed at me and tried to grab me.

After being dragged around a bit, I ended up in the outskirts of the camp. I continuously glared at them as they tied me up to a tree. That glare soon turned into a look of horror as they took out throwing knives while grinning. Realizing what they were about to do, I panicked and tried to think of a way out, but nothing came to me.

One by one, the knives pierced me as I grit my teeth in pain. By the end of it, I was barely conscious as I struggled to stay awake and blood freely flowed down my body. I couldn’t even feel pain anymore. Realizing that this was probably the end for me, I could only regret in my heart that I was unable to kill that man.

As the two men turned back to the camp, leaving me looking like this, a cold wave enveloped the surroundings. Even I involuntarily shuddered despite how weak I was right now. In a way, that shivering was probably what continued to keep me alive. Even so, deep down, I wasn’t afraid of it. Either way, I wasn’t getting out alive, whether I die from blood loss or to whatever it was that came here.

As I looked through blurry eyes, I saw a person wearing a black and gold robe with a hood over his face. As soon as he appeared, he subsequently wrapped up the two men in shadows and, soon after, a satisfying crunch could be heard as blood splattered the ground.

‘Heh,’ I thought. ‘Well at least I’m not dying alone. Serves you right shitheads.’

The black, robed figure wasted no time and continued on into the camp to which many cries of fear and pain could soon be heard. Music to my ears.

When everything went silent once again, I could only wait. Soon the black, robed figure came back from the direction of the camp. As he was about to pass me, he seemingly noticed my presence.

After staring at me for a bit, he walked up to me and he looked me in the eyes from under his hood. I simply stared back, though I could see nothing but a pair of eerie golden lights floating in darkness.

I suppose this is the end of the line for me, though I already knew that. This thing is definitely going to kill me.

The next thing it did, though, made my eyes open a bit more in surprise. The thing knelt down in front of me and got close to my face. It then whispered to me in a soft, emotionless voice, “Do you wish to live?”

For a second, I thought it was playing a cruel prank on me by giving me a bit of hope. Well, it doesn’t matter anymore what happens. I suppose I’ll just go along with it since I have nothing left to lose.

Mustering what was left of my strength and life, I gave a very slow nod.

After doing so, the thing’s… eyes?... flickered and then simply answered back with a “Very well” in a surprisingly gentle tone of voice, contrary to its appearance.

As soon as I heard him say those last words, my strength completely left my body and I lost consciousness.