“If her biological parents hadn’t been pushed to their limits, they wouldn’t have taken a stand against her.”
“It’s a nightmare; demons live among us.”
“Don’t worry, this demon will be brought to justice; she’ll end up in prison soon enough.”
“Exactly; that’s her rightful place. A life sentence would be best; she shouldn’t be allowed to harm anyone again.”
Garrett called, extending an offer for a place to stay.
I turned him down without a second thought; accepting his kindness felt impossible.
He was Eliana's boyfriend, and who knew what kind of trap he had in store for me?
I looked for a few cheap hotels, but the owners recognized me and firmly told me to leave.
In the end, I had no choice but to find a spot under a bridge to sleep.
That night, a torrential rain poured down, drenching everything in its path.
I curled up in a corner, hugging my knees, and my tears nearly dried up.
When I was five, I had felt this kind of helplessness before.
I had wandered off and found myself lost, calling out for my mother in the street.
That was when a kind-looking middle-aged woman approached me, promising to help me find my family.
Trusting her, I followed, only to be trafficked to a desolate mountain village.
The couple who took me in were elderly and desperately poor.
The food I consumed was nothing more than pig feed, and I slept on a bed harder than stone, wrapped in tattered clothes full of patches.
Each day began before dawn, with my tasks including collecting firewood, herding cows, feeding pigs, washing clothes, and cooking.
Any hint of laziness would result in a beating; their cruelty knew no bounds, often leaving me battered and bruised.
When I turned seventeen, the couple brought me to the village chief’s home.
Delighted by my presence, the chief declared that I would marry his mentally challenged son when I came of age.
I vehemently refused, but my defiance only resulted in a brutal beating.
Just as despair began to swallow me, Mason and Tabitha finally came to my rescue.
Even after more than ten years apart, I recognized my parents instantly.
Tabitha gazed at my frail form, her eyes welling with tears as she pulled me tightly into her embrace.
The scent of her, one I had only dared to revisit in my dreams, overwhelmed me, and I broke down, sobbing.
Mason handed the elderly couple some money and gently took me home.