7

 “Another gullible bastard that we're going to force into slave labour,” Rhys grinned, with his hands on his hips. “Stupid prick.”

He trailed off his sentence, narrowing his eyes.

“We'll get a good amount of money for this bastard.”

The corners of my mouth curled upwards into a smirk, as I nodded.

“You got that right,” I murmured, inhaling the smoke from my cigarette.

15

papa

I stood next to the tent with my beautiful wife, with her short brown hair, her pale skin, her arched eyebrows, her beautiful, rosy cheeks.

Holding her hands in mine, kissing her palms softly, squeezing them, doing my best to reassure her, even though tears were streaming down my face.

She was sobbing uncontrollably, sobbing to the point that she was shaking.

“I'm really going to miss you, my love,” I whispered. “Please don't cry. You know I have to go away, we don't know if we will ever get an opportunity like this again.”

I swallowed down a lump in my throat.

“The men are offering me work. When I have enough money, I will come back for you and Lily, I swear to you. And maybe we will all be able to start a life outside of this place.”

She cupped my face in her hands, trembling as she continued to weep.

“But I might not see you again for years. How can I deal with that pain?”

“Just use the motivation that we will be able to start a new life one day, to keep yourself going,” I whispered. “I love you. Mi amor. My love. It won't always be like this.”

I pressed my lips down on hers, cupping her face in my hands, giving her a soft, gentle kiss that left me yearning for more.

In this moment...

I never wanted to leave her.

But I knew that I didn't have a choice.

I was a man.

It was my responsibility to provide.

What kind of a man would I be, allowing my family to spend the rest of their lives living in a place like this?

It was no life to live.

“I will remember you everyday, my love,” she whispered, our tears mangling together as we kissed each other with passion.

“And I will remember you,” I promised.

Feeling my heart shatter into millions of tiny pieces as I kissed her...

Knowing that this was goodbye.

16

lily

I stared at Mama and Papa with a mortified expression on my face, as I listened in on their conversation.

Tears streaming down my face, unable to believe what I was hearing.

“No, no!!!” I sobbed under my breath. “This can't be happening...”

I bolted up to Papa, throwing my arms around his legs with desperation, hardly able to keep myself upright as I choked and sobbed.

Papa jolted backwards, shocked, as he realized that I had been listening the whole time.

“You said you would never leave me, Papa! Please don't go, I can't live without you!”

“I have to, Lily...” Papa whispered.

It felt like I was going to explode.

“You said you always wanted to live in America, right?” Papa whispered.

“Yes...” I swallowed uneasily.

“So let me make that happen,” Papa breathed. “Let me work and provide for you and your mama. It's the only way we'll ever get out of here.”

“I'm really gonna miss you, Papa,” I sobbed.

I didn't want him to go.

I loved him too much.

I didn't know what I was going to do without him.

My papa...

My best friend.

My companion.

“And I'll miss you too, Lily,” Papa whispered sorrowfully. “More than you could ever know. Your mama will take care of you, don't worry.”

Mama, Papa and I stared at each other in silence for a long time.

No words needed to be said in this moment.

We just wanted to make the most of the little time we had left to spend together.

Hugging each other...

Kissing each other.

Holding on to what we had left.

17

lily

“Okay,” I whispered finally, knowing that Papa needed to do this.

Knowing that it was for the best...

As much as I hated that it had to be like this.

“I have to go now,” Papa whispered sorrowfully. “Goodbye, I love you both.”