PROLOGUE
***
LOVE… The rubbish people deceive themselves with, to blind themselves to reality. Its only use is to sell novels and sell out movies and groom weak, delusional people. I was deluded once, thinking love conquered all. My family was dirt poor, but it didn’t matter to me as long as they loved me and we had each other. But I was just ten when I was sold like I was a piece of bread. That was just the beginning of my torment, the rest would come on my journey across the ocean to a strange land. The end, well, It would be my retribution to the world for turning their backs on me.
***HAKAN***
Filth, blood, piss, tears, and death. The stench was so thick in the air, it was impossible to separate one from another. I was in a container with about a hundred other children of varying ages, being transported to an unknown place. Some of them had been kidnapped, but some like me had been sold by parents, relatives or friends. There was no way to tell time inside the air tight container, and breathing was a chore with so many others in here and so little air to go around.
Lack of air wasn’t our only problem, we were hardly fed while being transported and water was a scarce commodity. Our captors didn’t care if we lived or died, whichever one of us was still breathing when we finally arrived would be taken and the corpses would be dumped into the ocean. They couldn’t risk their illegal business being discovered by naval authorities.
The boy seated next to me was seconds away from dying and I was so hungry that I contemplated feeding on his flesh when he finally died. Maybe it wouldn’t matter, maybe I would die either way. Maybe it was better than whatever fate awaited me if I lived. I closed my eyes and the same scene I had been reliving for hours, replayed in my head.
~
“Mama! Don’t let them take me!” I pleaded with tears in my eyes as a big man tried to take me away.
“You have to go, Hakan. You have to go. We can’t take care of you anymore. Stop crying, be a man.” My father said to me with a frown while my mother cried beside him.
“It’s okay, Kan.” My mother said as she rushed forward to embrace me.
“Please, I don’t want to go.” I pleaded as I looked up at her.
“They promised to take you to a better place. They will take care of you. Be brave for Mama, okay. Some other children from the village are going too, if they see you crying they will laugh at you. They will return you back to me, your father assured me of it.” She used her clothes to clean my face.
“But you’re crying too, Mama.”
“I…”
“Leave him, he doesn’t need your tears, woman.”
Mama immediately stood and walked back to stand beside father. As I looked up at him, I realised that Mama didn’t want me to go, it was father that was giving me to these men.
“Go back home, let the men handle business.” Father said to her and she walked away.
I hated how he treated her, how he spoke to her. I was a child, but I still understood that it was wrong. Just the same way I understood that I wasn’t being given to these men when my father was given some money. I was being sold and my mother had been lied to, they would never return me. I bit the hand of the man holding me and ran forward but before I could get far, I got caught by my father and he slapped me so hard that my ears began to ring.
“You better behave and be thankful that I finally found a use for you. Your mother won't be there to protect you if you misbehave. Your sister would have brought me more profit, but I have two more sons to replace you and she is the only daughter. The drought has killed our crops and we need to feed one way or the other.”
I didn’t understand what my father meant by drought, but when he mentioned the crops I knew he was lying. Our farm didn’t do so well this year, I knew that, but we still had something to live on for now. And we had already started preparing to plant more in the part of it that had already been harvested. My siblings and I no longer went to school, so there was nothing else to pay for.
He just wanted to use the money to drink and play games at the joint that was close to the market. That was why he didn’t want Mama to know that he received money for me, and also because she would have never agreed to let me go if she knew.
“Put him with the others.” A short man with beards told the man that had been holding me and I was put into the back of a truck with some other children from my village.
The last thing I saw was my father’s happy face as he counted the money he had been given before I inhaled a gas that made me fall asleep. When I woke up, I was in the container with more children than had been in the truck.~
I heard the exact moment that the boy beside me took his last breath, and I closed my eyes. My mother’s face was the last thing I wanted to see before death took me too so I tried to remember her smile, her scent, her voice. I remembered her scolding me when I injured myself while also soothing my wounds. I remembered her singing to me and my siblings. I heard a loud noise and the container shook so hard that all of us were thrown about. A child from the corner began to cry and I wondered how the person had the strength to do more than breathe at this point.
There was a creaking sound as the container door opened, and the first thing I did was take a deep breath of fresh air right before a gun was pointed at my face.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello dear readers. Welcome to my corner of the storyverse. As you read, please don't forget to drop your comments so I'll know your thoughts, I love to hear from my readers
P.S: This chapter is like a flashback, Hakan's backstory will continue later on in the story. Keep reading!NIGHTINGALE***My cheeks stung and there was a ringing sensation in my ears as his hand connected with my cheek. My eyes watered, but I refused to let the tears drop. I haven’t cried in front of him since I was a teenager. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he made me cry as an adult.“GIVE ME THE MONEY!” He shouted and spit flew from his mouth. I moved backward to avoid getting sprayed and to put some distance between me and the stench coming from him. He stank of alcohol and sweat. I doubt he had even showered in the past few days, but he didn’t care and neither did I, not anymore.“We need it. We haven’t eaten today, you took my morning pay and I had to go work for this so we wouldn’t starve to death.”His palm connected with my cheek again, this time it was hard enough to send me to the ground.Don’t talk back at me, you filthy piece of shit. Give it to me.”I yelped as he dragged me up by my hair and pinned me to the wall with a hand wrapped tightly around my throa
NIGHTINGALE***As Quetzal’s eyes widened when she informed me that I was bleeding, I looked down at myself. I was indeed bleeding. I saw a few drops of blood on my arm and touched it, but the blood wasn’t from there. I knew where I was bleeding from when Quetzal touched my lip. Usually, our father avoided hitting me on the face where his abuse would be visible to anyone who looked at me. But today he seemed more edgy than usual so he had no qualms about it. Maybe he had realised as I had that nobody would really care what he was doing to me, and if they actually cared even a little, that there was nothing they could do to help me.We lived in a rundown neighborhood where everyone had their own problems, and everyone minded their business. Someone could be getting killed and the neighbors would just shut their curtains and pretend like it never happened. Gangs operated around the area and clashes were normal so everyone tended to stay out of their way. The only somewhat normal person
NIGHTINGALE***“Where did you hide it? Come on, tell me.” Quetzal asked and I considered telling her immediately, but that wouldn’t be fun.“A magician never reveals her secret.” I said and she folded her arms with a knowing look.“It’s in your shoe isn’t it?” She asked and I smiled. Smart girl.“Close but still off. It’s actually in my socks.” I said to her.“And your socks are in your shoes, so I got it.” She said and I tapped her nose.“You get to decide what we eat since you’re so smart. And just so you know, I never doubted that you could get the lead role. I am so proud of you for taking steps to overcome your stage fright. You may not have completely won the fight, but you’re getting there and I will be with you every step of the way. I will cheer you on during your presentation even if you freeze up and forget your lines. I will take a front row seat and throw you roses. I will blow you kisses and give you a standing ovation. I’m your biggest fan, don’t forget that.” I told h
NIGHTINGALE***On second thought, I turned back and picked up the tray. It wasn’t big, but it was metallic, strong enough to be a good weapon. The manager of the bar was as sleazy as they come. He was short, and with enough belly fat that would make you think he was pregnant if he was a female. He wore expensive suits and watches and always smelt like tobacco. One of his teeth was pure gold, he had a double chin and below it, his neck was always filled with gold chains. He wore more rings on his finger than the planet Saturn and he was almost completely bald. All in all, he was a disgusting old man.During the time I’ve worked here, he has repeatedly tried to touch me inappropriately and I’ve always found a way to escape him. There were other girls I worked with that were all over him for money's sake so they kept him busy enough to keep me safe from him. I had a really bad feeling about this impromptu office call, especially since I was wearing next to nothing. I wished I could run
NIGHTINGALE***He was so close to me and the stench of sweat, smoke, alcohol and excessive cologne made me nauseous. He leaned closer and sniffed my hair.“You smell so good." He groaned deeply like he was already having an orgasm. "Now turn around like a good girl.” He took a step back and watched to see if I would obey him.‘Do it for Quetzal. Do it for Quetzal.’ I chanted in my head till the syllables blended together and reverberated in my brain.“I don’t want to have sex with you. But I’ll do… other things.” I said so low that I barely heard myself.He laughed like I had told the funniest joke in history right before he forcefully turned me around and pressed my face into the wall.“You’ll do what I tell you to, girl. I own you now. And before you leave here tonight, I’ll have every hole in your body. And make sure to scream like the bitch you are, it turns me on.” He spoke against my neck and a shiver of disgust went through my body.The more he spoke, the more I realised that
NIGHTINGALE***“What happened, Nightingale? What’s wrong?” Quetzal asked me as she cried with me.I just hugged her tighter and continued crying, I couldn’t speak to save my life. I had been absorbing so much emotional trauma and refusing to cry for so long, but now my limit had been passed and I could no longer hold the tears in. I absorbed all the comfort she had to offer and cried till I felt physically drained.“Please talk to me, Nightingale. You’re scaring me.” Quetzal said and I moved my head back from her shoulder to look at her.I tried to smile as I replied to her.“I’m fine, Quetzy.” My voice sounded hoarse from crying for who knew how long, and my throat felt so dry.“You’re not fine, Night. Please, talk to me, I’m your sister. You know I love you, and I’m here for you. I know you think you’re protecting me by keeping things from me, but I’m not a child. I can handle it, I just want to help you.” She said as she cleaned the stray tears from my cheeks.The concern in her e
NIGHTINGALE***My father ripped my blouse and put his face between my breasts that were still in a bra. I realized that I was in shock when I didn’t move or make a sound. It was like I was watching this happen to a stranger, like it wasn’t happening to me and I was just watching from afar. My father was physically abusive, yes, but he never outrightly abused me sexually. Confusion commingled with absolute terror in my mind as he began to fondle my breasts. He squeezed them roughly and rubbed himself through his boxers, he was already hard.“You both have been nothing but a burden to me, it’s only fair if you pay me back for all the misfortune you brought to my life. When I’m done with you, Nightingale, your sister is next, then you both will go out and let other men have you till we’re swimming in money. You both will make me rich again, you owe me that. You…”There was a loud sound as my sister hit our father on the head with a frying pan. He groaned and dropped to the side of the b
HAKAN *** We finally found the dump that Pedro was holed up in. It was a rundown house in one of the shittiest neighborhoods in the city. The bastard must have come here thinking I wouldn’t be able to find him on Destros’ property. This territory wasn’t mine… yet. Destros had run these parts of this city for far too long and I would take them from him by hook or by crook. He was making a mess of it anyway. It seemed impossible for people to be living here because even the air smelled like death and despair. But I had lived in places like this in the past, so I knew how possible it was. And people that lived in places like this usually did so because they had no other option. Pedro was a thieving idiot that used to be one of mine till he betrayed me. Now that he had been found, I could have left him to be dealt with by my men but I wanted to kill the bastard myself. I stepped out of the car with just two men. The rest were in the other three cars. I came with enough reinforcements j