It was Saturday night when I and mama went for our weekend ice-cream date. This was a kind of ritual that started when I was 4, we went for ice-cream almost every Saturday.
My mama was the most compassionate person anyone can ever meet. She was also the most gorgeous woman with caramel brown hair, pale-soft skin, just like mine but her eyes were grey. Mine is hazel, I got it from dad. Thinking about dad, we usually meet him every 2 months. He lives in Italy and I lived with my mama and her parents in Sofia, Bulgaria. Dad said that it was safe for us to live with my grandparents and I know that he loves us and will do anything for me and my mama.
It was the year 2009, I was almost 8 years old and happily getting ready for my ice-cream date with mama.
"come on pumpkin it's almost 8 pm, get ready fast, or else all your favorite ice-cream will melt" mama mused while standing at the entrance of my room.
"Mama I'm 8 now, you can't fool me with such childish lies, even dad said I'm a big girl now"
"alright pumpkin come downstairs after getting ready, I'll be waiting by the car."
"yessss mama!" I said happily and got ready with my white floral dress on. It was a dress gifted by dad on Valentine's day this year. Every year he surprises us with presents on Valentine's day.
We reached our destination in almost 20 minutes, Gelato & Latte café which serves the most delicious ice-cream in Sofia. I ordered my favorite mixed fruit ice cream and mama went for her favorite strawberry ice-cream which both I and dad hated. It was one of the most beautiful days, we were enjoying our time, laughing and deciding which Disney movie we will watch tonight. But everything came crashing down the moment we stepped outside the café.
There were four people dressed in all black with guns in their hands outside a black SUV. It felt like they were watching us, mama also noticed this and immediately went alert and called dad, but he didn't pick up the call. I held mama's hand tightly, she looked down in my eyes, fear was clearly evident in her eyes and she knew I was scared to the death.
"mama why they are coming towards us, th-they look scary." I said in a shaky voice, barely audible to anyone but mama heard it somehow.
"look pumpkin everything will be alright, we will walk slowly to our car and get away from here. No one can harm you my baby and now I'm going to send our location to an uncle who is your dad's friend and is currently in Sofia to come and get us."
"b-but mama they are coming fast here"
"listen here Faith," she said in a firm voice, mama never calls me by my name unless it's a very serious matter. "you will run when I say run, don't turn back even the slightest, run to grandpa house and try to call dad"
"I-I can't leave you mama no-.." suddenly someone, one of the men jerked mama's arm and tried to put a white cloth on her mouth. I was terrified of what was happening, she tried to say run but I cannot leave her alone. She was losing her consciousness as the man who drugged her tried dragging her towards the SUV.
"noo-no leave us, leave mama please." I tried shouting but no one was there to help. I was crying hard, bawling my eyes out. Just then the man holding me slapped across my face so hard I almost fell to the ground. The pain was unbearable, never in my life anyone had laid a hand on me.
"shut-up bitch, don't say a single word or we will kill her now"
"please-please leave her, we didn't do anything" he kept us dragging and threw us inside the car. Two men were at the front and the other two were beside each of the doors at the back. I kept pulling and tugging but it was of no use. Mama was already unconscious. They started driving, the road was unfamiliar.
"босс будет так счастлив сегодня с нами (boss will be so happy today with us)" they were talking in some other language I didn't know but it sounded like Russian as I have some Russian friends at the school and they sounded like them.
"скоро итальянская мафия станет нашей. почему бы нам просто не убить девушку, она единственная наследница. (soon Italian mafia will be ours. why don't we just kill the girl, she is the only heir.)" the man beside the mama said in an menacing tone enough to scare any kid or adult.
"мы не можем убить ее сейчас, так как босс хочет, чтобы она и ее мать были живы, но мы определенно можем немного повеселиться, прежде чем отдать их боссу. (we can't kill her now as the boss wants her and her mother both alive, but we can surely have some fun before giving them to the boss.)"
"хм ... конечно у них мягкая кожа. (hmm...sure they have soft skin)" man who was sitting next to me said as he slowly put his hand inside my dress and tried to slid his hand further inside my thighs. At the age of 8 also, I knew what he was trying to do. I looked at mama and the man beside her was opening her blouse with an evil smile on his face. I was shouting, crying, begging but they only used more force to keep my mouth shut.
"n-no ple-please d-don't do this pleasee.." he ripped my upper half of the dress and was assaulting me on the neck with his mouth. I was helpless and hopeless. No one was coming to save us.
I looked at mama's body, he was doing dirty things with her and I was unable to stop it. We were suffering together, maybe this was the end.
"I love you mama and dad" I whispered closing my eyes.
Suddenly there was a loud honking coming from the front and our car screeched across the road hitting the trees. This is it, we all are going to die. But this didn't stop there, the car flipped so many times before coming to a halt upside down. I was scarcely conscious. everything was so painful. I tried opening my eyes but everything seems to be so blurry and all can smell was blood, fuel, and smoke. There was no other noise, I tried calling mama but not even a single word came out of my mouth.
"ma-mama open your eyes, pl-please mama." I tried again, but it was of no use. The smell of fuel was getting stronger and I wasn't able to move. I gave up.
I can faintly hear voices from the outside, someone was here and can save mama.
"Faith bambina, can you hear me. Please try opening your eyes" a soothing voice of a man said.
Once again I tried opening my eyes, I wanted to save mama. I haven't even told her how much I love her and how much I wanted a baby brother.
I was laying on the floor, my head on the lap of a man. He was probably of my dad's age or maybe a few years older. He had black hair and steel grey eyes and was saying something to me which I could barely understand.
"ma-mama, s-save mama" I pleaded to the man who was looking at me with so many emotions in his eyes.
"sorry bambina, she was gone when I reached here." he said as tears forming at the corner of his eyes.
There was a loud scream, it was mine. Teardrops were gushing out of my eyes mixing with the blood across my face.
"mamaa.." I screamed from my lungs. No, this can't be happening.
Looking around I tried finding the car but what I saw made my heart stop.
The car was on fire.
"no-nooo, my mama is in there, please let me go, I need to save her" I was ready to run towards the car but my attempts were useless. My legs were broken and I could hardly understand anything happening around me. I was crying my heart out.
"shhh ... va tutto bene bambina, andrà tutto bene. (shhh...it's okay baby, everything will be alright.)" the man with me tried hard to calm me down.
Slowly I was falling apart to a state of unconsciousness as the man carried me in a bridal style towards his car. Sleeping seems a better option, maybe this was all nothing but a scary dream.
I open my eyes one last time and asked the man who was now laying me down at the backseat of his car with my head on his lap "w-who are you?"
"Ricciardo Rossi" he said with a soft smile on his face. Love and adoration were clearly visible in his eyes.
With that, I succumbed to sleep where a newly born demon was waiting for me.