Little Nathaniel watched his parents fight every day and watched his mother cry every time his father was done shouting and hitting her. But every single time she forced herself to stop crying, picked him up, rocked him, and sang sweet songs in their mother tongue to calm his scared little heart. He loved his mother, to him she was the strongest woman alive. His experience growing up in a distraught, dysfunctional home made his mind mature even faster than his body. He was a beautiful boy, his father’s genes were strong in him, and his mother’s strength coursed through his veins. Even though he spent nights crying he woke up every day vowing to one day make his mother smile again. To him, no woman could ever be like his mother.To him, his mother could do no wrong which was why when he fell under the cruel hand of measles at age 7 he didn’t blame her when she turned to the streets to get the money needed for his treatment. If it was the first time Anja Schmidt had ever had to sell her

He was taken to Fredrick.Nathaniel didn’t know what to think of Fredrick. He knew him by name, knew him by his wealth, and had passed him on the streets numerous times yet just like everyone else in town he barely knew Fredrick. What he and everyone else did know though was he wasn’t a kind man. Many hopeful miners had gone to him for employment, hoping to make their fortune off him and he turned down every single one, opting only to buy the children of poor families who would sell their children for a little cash.One of these unlucky ones was Nathaniel. Although, he didn’t know for sure how much Fredrick paid his father.On his first day in Fredrick’s house, he didn’t meet the man personally but he met his housekeeper, a solemn Gaboran woman with fizzy brownish-red hair and a large bosom. She took him to a fairly large room. It was sparsely decorated but Nathaniel couldn’t tell when all he had ever known in his life was the walls of the boarding house he was born and brought up in.

It was months until he saw her again. He was alone in the room thinking about the other boys, wondering how they were all faring. He thought about Tshepo. It was how many months now? Three? Four? The year was almost over, he would be 16 before the turn of the new year.He wondered when he would ever get to work. He suspected the other boys were getting paid by now for their services. Maybe Fredrick had forgotten about him? The blind girl had said he never brought in foreigners so what if Fredrick had forgotten he was there? He wanted to work in order to save as much as he could to leave Gabore. Yet all he did all day was check the rooms, he had found the library during one of his explorations. It had floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with leather-bound books. He excitedly flipped through pages as days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Then the year ended. He ended the new year with as much knowledge about the countries of the world outside Gabore as anyone who had visited

Nate didn’t know what to make of Tshepo’s disposition toward him. There was a change in his friend that hadn't been there before he was taken away a few months ago. Even when Nate went to hug him to welcome him, glad that there was a ray of hope in his otherwise gloomy day, Tshepo’s response was a cold smile, his eyes, once sparkling brown with happiness were cold and distant. Nate had been happy and refreshed to see his best friend, especially after learning what happened to his mother yet here he was feeling as if his friend returned as a shell of his usual self.Tshepo threw a passing glance Anele’s way and that was the only time he smiled.“You have a girlfriend?”Nate didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t his girlfriend but he liked her. He was at a loss for words but Anele raised her hand to Tshepo for a handshake and then with a kiss pressed on Nate’s cheek she went away to the kitchen.Tshepo would not speak as they made their way to the room. Nate helped him with his bag and wa

Gone was the face of the nice man who stroked his head as he sold him off or the man who had watched the car drive off. The man in front of him was the very image of calm but Nate could feel the anger radiating off him. The first question through Nate’s head was, how did he find me?He tried to recall what happened. He murdered Johnson and left him bleeding in his room, get opened the main door, and was about to escape when…The door opened again and another man walked in. Nate immediately recognized him as the man who had knocked him out. He had only caught a glimpse of him but he would recognize that scar running from the man’s left brow to his mouth anywhere and any time. It was an evil scar that gave him a creepy permanent smile. It all came back to Nate all over again. Fredrick must have asked the man to follow him which meant that Fredrick knew he killed Johnson. As clarity hit him Nate looked back into the cold gray eyes of Fredrick and saw for the first time the truth about th