I Was Already Smitten

I shivered in fear. I have heard stories of wolves walking in packs. Were there others hiding somewhere? Just as I was considering fleeing, I heard it whimpering.

My heart melted at the suffering it was passing through, and I remembered how I was beaten to a pulp by my mother and dumped in my room to heal. I wasn’t given any medical aids or pain relief. It was terrible, and I can never forget it.

Instantly, I felt pity for the wolf.

“I guessed it must be harmless, considering how badly injured it was. Maybe I should get it treated,” I muttered, holding my chin in contemplation.

Yes. That was the right thing to do.

Despite my pain from the recent beating, the wolf appeared to be in worse condition than me. So, I put aside my pain and lifted it. It’s quite amusing that I could lift it, considering how heavy it was.

It took us an hour to get to a nearby Vet because I had to stop to take my breath.

“Girl, you got a wolf for a pet?” The Vet asked, looking at me suspiciously.

“It is not my pet; I saw it was injured and decided to get it treated. Can you treat it? It seems to be suffering a lot,” I said, looking at the creature in pity.

I patted its beautiful white furs. It looked spotless except for the blood caused by the injury. I bet it’s one hell of a beauty if cleaned up properly.

“You have a good heart, sweetheart. Not everyone would want to save a wild animal,” the Vet said, showing off his stained teeth. He was a middle-aged man who, I guess, must love cigarettes.

I smiled faintly and dipped my hands into my pocket. That was my only chance of survival, but it was worth it if it meant saving a life. I sighed before dropping it all at the counter.

“I understand it won’t be sufficient, but would you kindly treat it? This is all I have, sir,” I said, folding my hands.

The tobacco-stained man smiled and nodded.” Sure. I will save it. If you are in a hurry, you can return in an hour or two.”

I don’t think so because I am running away from this place. I smiled at him as I took one last look at the pitiful wolf. I turned around to leave the hospital.

Upon leaving the hospital, a chill ran down my spine as I had an eerie sensation of being closely watched. It started right when I rescued that wolf. I turned around to look at the person, but it was strangely quiet.

Sighing, I believed it could be my imagination. Who would be so jobless as to spy on me all these while without coming out? I know it wasn’t my mother or sister because they won’t hesitate to pounce on me as soon as they catch me.

I was about to continue my journey when I felt a sharp hit on my head, and everything went blank!

I didn’t know how long I passed out, but when I opened my eyes, I did not fail to notice the damn familiarity in the room. I was back to my room of torture! My mother and sister must be responsible for this.

Waking up from the hit got my head pounding in pain, but my ears picked on some words that instilled fear in me.

“Mom, it’s a perfect plan; she is useless, by the way. I bet no man would want to marry her either.”

That was Regina talking.

“Yes, you are right. She is worthless, and I have spent so much on her. It’s only best if she uses her body to pay us back. All we have to do is get the list of men to sleep with her and take the money for ourselves!” My mother said, or should I say, evil stepmother?

“We are lucky I saw her earlier and was smart enough to hit her head.”

“Are you sure she is okay? It will be a pity if she dies without us gaining from her.”

“Don’t worry, mother. She would be awake anytime soon.”

I shut my eyes tightly to stop my tears. Was she trying to make me a sex worker? I will never agree to that ridiculous plan of theirs. I need to escape again, but my only perceived option is ending my wretched life. I realize I won’t be able to flee before my family finds me. I feel that my life is of no value, and the thought of being used for sexual gratification by multiple men makes death seem like a better option.

I won’t be a slut for their financial gain.

I looked around to look for my perfect suicide tool. I stood up to search for anything that would let me slash my wrist or any suicidal parts in my body.

“What are you doing? Are you trying to hide my golden bracelet you stole while leaving the house?” My mother’s voice rang out in the room.

“A… what? I… I didn’t steal any golden bracelets. I don’t even know what that is,” I said, moving backwards as I saw the murder in my mom’s eyes.

“You little trash! Are you still denying it?” my mother screamed, rushing towards me with a whip as usual.

Then, as usual, the beatings resumed. I screamed and begged, but she kept calling me a thief as she kept beating me. Thirty minutes of hell in the room was cut short, thankfully, by Regina’s voice.

“Mother, you need to come with her. Someone is already here to pay a good sum for a night with her. We must not lose this opportunity,” Regina said, grinning.

When I heard someone was already here for me, I regretted not considering suicide earlier.

“Clean yourself up before I start beating you again!” My mother ordered.

As much as I wanted to die, I didn’t want to die getting beaten to death. When it came to beating, my mother was ruthless.

 “Please, I don’t want to…”

“Shut that hole you call a mouth! Regina, clean her mouth only and bring her downstairs,” my mother instructed, walking out.

I felt helpless towards my sister as she cleaned my face. It wasn’t bruised because my mother didn’t hit my face. She might have done it because she knew I needed to be rented out. As soon as she finished cleaning it up, I was dragged downstairs to meet my Waterloo.

My heart was on edge, and I was already feeling disgusted, knowing I would be sold to one of those perverts who was old enough to be my father or grandfather.

As we got close to the sitting room, my eyes caught someone resting on the wall with a hat covering his face. He looked muscular. He must have heard the ruckus as he raised his head, but what I saw was shocking; I forgot all about my pains.

I was already smitten.