People call me many things: smart, lucky, mischievous... even mean sometimes. Although my parents weren't pretty fond of that aspect of my personality, I had been an adventurer my entire life. I didn't know all the girls in Willemstad, but I was sure none of them were like me. You must be wondering what I mean. Well, I'm saying that I broke every rule that I could. I believed I was a rule breaker since 1708, the year I was born. Besides, I had much more maturity than the rest... I'm kidding! In fact, it was quite the opposite. On that day, like many others, I ran towards the port. I was wearing a loose blue dress with long sleeves, which had some white lace till my wrist. Since the outfit was too long and kept me from running, I tore its petticoat until half of my calves. Feeling free as a seagull, I couldn't resist the temptation to perform my favorite activity: stealing. Yes, that's right, stealing. When I reached a fruit vendor, I hid behind a wall nearby and waited for one of the salesmen to start talking to the other. My eyes gleamed and couldn't stop laughing, excited for a new adventure. I had stolen before, so I wasn't precisely venturing. For the thirteen-year-old me, that simple experience was enough to make my day happier... I loved feeling like I was in danger.

I smiled widely, "Let's do this!" 

It's just you and yourself now, Eva.

I got closer to the vendor, grabbed an orange and left running. My hair fluttered and I clenched my teeth. Luckily no one saw me, so I hid behind another wall and struggled to put the fruit in my tight dress. After getting away from that robbery, I smiled widely and puffed out my chest. Confident I would be able to steal something more expensive; I went to another street. Since my mom didn't give a damn about me, perhaps she would finally care if I gave her a beautiful pearl bracelet.

"She will smile at me when she sees what I got for her!" I approached the jewelry store with the orange on my lower back, breathing heavily. "My mom will finally stop despising me..."

I waited across the street for the shop to get more crowded so that I would leave unnoticed. My eyes widened and sweat ran down my forehead. While the salesman got some earrings to a woman, I walked towards a beautiful pearl necklace. It was next to a pearl bracelet and over a wooden table.

I shrugged, "I'll get one for mom, but it doesn't hurt to get one for me."

Looking from side to side, I put both jewels inside my dress. I walked away slowly to not call attention. Although I preferred to run, the conditions were not favorable.

The salesman bared his teeth, "Hey, blondie! Give these two back to me!"

He pointed his finger at my face, seemingly about to burst out in anger. Many people looked at me at that moment, appearing to be confused and scared. I didn't think twice and ran like crazy.

I pushed everyone who was in my way and ran two almost blocks. The jeweler and his friend kept chasing me. My eyes bulged as the pearls moved up and down on my belly. Despite the danger, I was having a great time. The risk of tripping, the two furious men, the sweat dripping from my forehead... it all made me feel alive. My legs burned, my heart was almost jumping off my chest and yet I kept going. When I thought that everything was lost, I saw an opportunity. I grabbed a bunch of fruits from a fruit vendor and threw them in front of the guys who chased me. They tripped. After that, I hid in an alley.

"Where is that damn girl?" the merchant's friend asked, gazing from side to side with his brows knit together.

Please go away and leave me alone...

Both went to a different street. I sighed in relief and walked back home. If I didn't know Willemstad like the palm of my hand, I would've never found my house since I had run a lot that day. The street where I lived had medium-sized houses of many different colors: green, blue, orange, red... there was even a pink one! The presence of Dutch architecture and its colorfulness was of my favorite things about my city. I wanted to visit countries other than Curaçao to see if they also had as many colorful constructions.

My parents' sixteen-year-old slave, Laurens, opened the door for me a few moments after I knocked. He had dark skin, brown eyes, and short black curly hair. Laurens was always very kind and I hated the idea that he was a slave. I'd always wanted to set him free. My mother mistreated him. His back was full of marks due to ruthless flogging.

"I stole this for you, Laurens," I took the orange off my dress. "Please eat it."

When I stole food, it wasn't only to have some fun. I did it because my parents often left Laurens without any meals for days. My mom complained that he had no strength to work and did not realize his starvation was the reason why.

Laurens bit his lower lip and widened his eyes, "If Ms. Zeevalk sees me with this orange, I'm dead. I can't!"

He tried to return the fruit, but I didn't take it back.

"You have to! She'll flog you more if you are weak," I ground my teeth and approached him. "I'll not accept your suffering! I can distract her while you eat."

Laurens gulped as he studied every direction. He seemed to be worried my mom would show up. I couldn't blame him. She wasn't a kind person, to say the least.

He smiled, "Thank you so much, Eva. You're an angel."

My friend left in a hurry and entered his tiny room outside of the house. Laurens called me "Eva" instead of "Ms. Van Acker" because I had never been fond of formalities.

I laughed softly, "I wouldn't say an angel. I'm a kind devil at most."

After entering my house, I went to my mother's bedroom upstairs. She talked to Johannes, my nine-year-old brother. He had light skin and blue eyes like me and had his long wavy dark brown tied on a ponytail. Despite the fact he was annoying and spoiled, we got along. He was mom's preferred child and there was nothing I could do about it. Maybe my mother preferred him because he was a boy. I didn't understand the dumb preference that some families had for men. He is a boy! So what? Come on... Why couldn't people stop with such nonsense?

Since she would never love me the same, the only trick I had up my sleeve was giving her presents. Mother glared at me and pursed her lips as if about to scream... A typical facial expression of hers when I was nearby. Her skin was light, she had light brown hair and eyes of the same color.

I took a deep breath and kept walking towards her, hoping she didn't notice that Laurens wasn't in the house. My brother smiled at me sweetly and I returned the gesture.

"Where is Laurens?" my mother asked.

I sighed, "He went to his home."

How Laurens didn't catch any diseases yet? The poor man has to pee and poop in his own room...

"Very well," she walked around me as if I was prey. "What do you want?"

Sometimes I wondered what her opinion about me was. Was I that bad? I didn't think so, but apparently, she did. Although I was a thief and parents weren't proud of criminal children, I did everything I could to please her.

My brother pressed his lips together, "I will leave you two alone."

After saying that, Johannes left. My hands trembled as I took the pearl necklace off my dress. Mother cocked her head and shot me a mysterious look. Then she opened a broad smile, hugged me and kissed my cheeks... I'm kidding! She would never do that.

"I got this for you, mom! I was very polite with the jeweler and he let me bring it to you," I grinned while approaching her. "He even said I'm one of the most adorable girls he ever met, all thanks to the great education you gave me."

Don't judge me, I had to lie! If I'd told my mom I had stolen the necklace, she would've gotten even angrier. Besides, I wanted to flatter her since that could be an excellent way to make her finally like me.

Once again, I was utterly wrong. Mom got closer to me and I felt like a worm because of her height.

"I don't even like pearl necklaces!" her eyes bulged as she ripped the necklace off my hand and threw it over a chair. "I didn't even give you permission to leave the house today! You will pay for this..."

I knew exactly what those last five words meant. Panicking, I ran to the other side of the room, wishing I could hide from her.

"Mom, please don't do that!" I begged, pressing my hands together. "You said I'm free to run around the streets every day!"

When she pushed me against the wall, I realized there was no way out. There was no escape from Hendrika Zeevalt's rage. My back bones collided with the wood, making me flinch.

Her eyes burned as she held me by my dress, "Today I did not let you do a thing, stupid brat!"

Since I was eight, my mother gave me permission to go to the street whenever I wanted to; however, she always found an excuse to be violent. Even though I wasn't a saint, I didn't deserve what I would soon receive.

Help me, God... Help me to endure this...

My mom grabbed me from the neck and the air faded for a moment. After squeezing my throat, she dragged me by the dress to my bedroom. She took off my outfit, leaving only my back exposed. Mother put my face down again. When I thought she'd given up, her lash sliced my skin. I squeezed my eyes shut and cried in pain. I felt the blood running down my back. She flogged me with the same whip used against Laurens. I saw my brother spying us at a particular moment. His eyes were wet and he knit his brows. For a brief instant, I thought Johannes was going to do something, but all he did was walk away. My mother was only satisfied after hitting that damn whip against every part of my back. After she cleaned the blood dripping from my new scars and left, I put on my clothes and locked the door. I wrapped my hands around my legs and sobbed. If my mom was that aggressive without being aware that I'd stolen the necklace, how would she have acted if she found out? I definitely didn't want to know.

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Author's note: