Since I can remember, I always imagined what it would feel like to be loved. I wondered if love was warm, like the sun's rays caressing your skin on a winter morning, or if it was strong, like a mother's embrace shielding her child from the world. But I never truly knew.
I was born into a broken family, trapped in a home where fear and pain were our daily bread. We were five siblings, but more than a family, we seemed like strangers sharing the same roof. Our mother, drowned in infinite sadness, barely had the strength to look at us. Her empty gaze belonged to someone who had long given up hope. My father, on the other hand, was the kind of man who turned every corner of the house into a battlefield. His rage knew no bounds. His voice thundered like a storm whenever he came home, and when he was in a bad mood—which was almost always—his fists became the only form of conversation.
I was the eldest, so whether I wanted to or not, I became a mother to my siblings. I took care of them, fed them, and comforted them when they cried at night, terrified by my father's screams. I learned to cook when my hands could barely hold a spoon. I learned to clean, to sew, to endure pain without shedding a tear. From an early age, I understood that in my home, crying only made things worse.
But even in that darkness, there was a small ray of light: school. It was the only place where I could just be Ana, where I could imagine I had a future. I loved learning, excelling, feeling like I was good at something. However, my father was not willing to allow it. The moment I was old enough to hold a tool, he forced me to work. The money I earned was never mine. It always ended up in his hands, wasted on vices, gambling, or simply his whims. If I refused, he hit me. If I asked questions, he hit me. If I breathed louder than I should, he hit me too.
And so, I grew up, trapped in a life I never chose.
But then, Zane appeared.
He was the closest thing to a miracle in my life.
I met him in high school, thanks to Karla, the first friend I ever had. She was an outgoing, vain girl, but with a kind heart. She immediately noticed I was different, that my life was nothing like the other girls'. It was her who insisted I talk to Zane, a senior who, like me, came from a difficult family. There was something in his gaze, something that captivated me from the very first moment. Maybe it was the hidden sadness behind his smile, or the fact that, despite everything, he always found a reason to keep going.
Zane slowly began approaching me. At first, with shy conversations between classes; then, with invitations I always declined. My father was too strict about my schedule, and the fear of being caught paralyzed me. But Zane didn't give up.
Karla, with her restless spirit, decided to help me. Thanks to her, we found a way to see each other in secret. Every day after school, we would meet behind the school field. We would sit on the grass, talk about our dreams and fears, share silences that needed no words. With him, for the first time in my life, I felt free.
One night, when my father left on a trip, I had my first real opportunity. Zane invited me out, and for the first time, I dared to say yes. I waited for everyone in my house to fall asleep, slipped out through the window, and ran to where he was waiting with his motorcycle.
That night was magical.
The city lights sparkled, the night air brushed against my face as we rode down the road. He took me to a small place where music vibrated in the air and people danced without worries. For the first time, I danced without fear, I laughed without fear, I lived without fear.
And then, in the middle of that happiness, Zane took my hands and looked at me intently.
"Ana, will you be my girlfriend?"
My heart pounded. I didn't think—I just said yes. And before I could process it, his lips met mine.
It was a brief but intense kiss. A kiss that made me feel, for the first time, that I belonged to someone.
When I returned home, I managed to sneak back in successfully. From that day on, life felt a little more bearable. We met at the estate where we worked, escaped at night to the river, where we hid beneath the starry sky. We shared secrets, made promises of a better future. With him, I felt that the world could be different.
But life never let me be happy for long.
One stormy night, tragedy struck my home. The rain poured mercilessly, the river beside our house overflowed, and within hours, our home was flooded. The water forced us to flee, to abandon the little we had.
And then, my father made his decision.
"Come with me, Ana."
He didn't tell me where we were going or why. He just took me to the city, where a sophisticated woman with cold eyes received us.
"You'll work here," my father said without hesitation.
I didn't understand. I didn't want to understand. I looked at my father, hoping it was a cruel joke, hoping he would say at any moment that it was all a lie.
But he never did.
I tried to run, to scream, to beg. But it was useless.
My father had sold me.
The last thing I knew of my mother, my siblings, of Zane...
Was that they were left behind.
And I... I was completely alone.