* Hope Is Seeing Light in Spite of Being Surrounded by Darkness. *
THE UNDERWORLD REALM
THE little girl ran as fast as her little feet could take her. Far! She had to go further! Her heartbeat quickened with the pace of her footsteps. The black market was crowded with jostling creatures. But she did not care. The first thing on her mind was to go as far as she could. There was no turning back. She dared to take the risk of running away. So she had to succeed in escaping, no matter what.
Unfortunately, her bare feet stepped in the muddy water had made some traces to her trackers. And the heavy chain on her right foot was only slowing her down. Before escaping, she tried in vain to break it off, but it was so hard.
She was looking back, but her feet did not stop running. She wanted to see how far had she go. At that moment, she saw the trackers were just a little farther from her. Just a little.
Briskly, she took a turn on the nearest block, with the greatest hope of finding a place to hide her tiny self. She found a hole in the wall. So small that it could only fit her. With little thought, she sat in there silently and pondered about her situation.
What should she do right now? She could not hide in there forever. And the sun was setting down. If night came, it would be so dark and scary! Other monsters would come out, wandering around the black market as they always do. In a worst-case scenario, she might have escaped this one time. But what if other slave traders took her away?
Abruptly, the thought of surrendering herself appeared. But if she was to surrender right now, she knew that a big punishment awaits her in the slave house. No! She does not want that. Even the previous whip marks on her back were still aching like hell.
And at last, she could not hold back her tears anymore. And it flowed out freely with frustration, anger, and fear. Her head was flooded with negative thoughts as she closed her eyes. What would happen if those trackers found her?
"Mommy. Brother. I want to go home!" she cried.
Her feet were wounded. And cold. Her tummy was growling. The last thing she ate was a spoiled piece of bread, which was maybe two days ago.
It had been three months since she first came into the slave house. And every day was atrocious. She saw the kids in the slave house were sold to mad witches as sacrifices or experiments. Some kids were sold off to prostitution to become sex slaves at such a young age. And some died because of hunger and sudden disease while being imprisoned in the slave cage.
Based on what the trackers said, she was lucky enough to survive every day. So she should be grateful. They said because she was a 'rare' item. Soft skin and beautiful face. Huh! No way she would believe that. She always knew they wanted to sell her to prostitution when she grew up so they could get extra payment.
She clutched her hand. And praying hard for her safety. Please, let this nightmare end!
"Aha!" Someone pulled her hand, "There you are, our Grace! You little bitch. We were so kind to you. Yet you dared to run off!" One of the trackers found her.
Grace was utterly dumbfounded. As the tracker's hand made contact with her face, she only could close her eyes. And she could never avoid the attack.
PANG! The hit caused a loud noise. It was throbbing! A bright pink imprint of the tracker's hand was still visible on Grace's left cheek. They never hit her in the face before!
Grace, knocked off balance by the hard blow, stumbled sideways. As she fell on the damp ground, she was paralyzed with fear. And the last thing she heard was, "Dude! Be careful with the face! Boss going to be mad!"
At last, Grace passed out.
___
YUKI woke up as she heard the thunder. It was raining cats and dogs. Oh, God. How much she hates rain. Living on the island, she felt suffocated when it rained. It felt like the rainstorm surrounded the entire island like a cage. And she always afraid of it. It might sound silly. But she always thought the island might eventually sink one day because of this wet weather.
It was two o'clock in the morning. Yuki left her cozy bed. And sat at the reading table. The bedroom was in darkness. Only the moonlight shone in through the slightly open window.
Hmm, it was strange. She never wakes up in the middle of the night. But her body suddenly felt hot although the weather was crazy cold outside.
Yuki rang the bell to call the servant. She wanted a glass of water. Yet no one came in.
"Ah. It is still early." Yuki just realized. Seem like she was not fully awake.
She could not wait until morning. Her thirst was irresistible. She knew she was not allowed to leave her room without servants. But a quick trip to the kitchen for a glass of water would not get her into trouble, right?
Yuki wore her cardigan to cover her nightwear. With an oil lamp, she headed to the kitchen on the first floor.
The Maruyama Manor is quite large for ten people; Yuki, the Family Head, Shinshoku-sama, The Mikos, and their five servants. All women. The kitchen, dining room, library, living room, and servants' room are on the first floor. And the other bedrooms are on the second floor.
The people that handled the shrine are members of the Maruyama Family. And the Head appointed the other servants from the mainland. They have worked here for a long time. So practically, they are like a big family.
On the way to the stairs, Yuki suddenly heard eerie shouts coming from the first floor, followed by a gun noise! BANG!
Her attention was fully drawn to that noise. Hastily, she ran to it after recognizing the voice. It was…
"… Reiko!" Yuki screamed. She could not believe her eyes.
There. Near the main door, the body of her servant was lying in a pool of blood. Her eyes were wide opened as if she was facing the Angel of Death.
The trespasser and shooter was a man in his late thirties. He chuckled after realizing his next target was right in front of her. "Oh, dear. I knew this manor only has women. But I never knew there is an Angel here."
Yuki froze. Totally. Suddenly, the Head's favourite quote played on her mind.
* Sometimes, being too gifted attracts unwanted jealousy and harm. *