Sunflower

The Little Girl

I looked at my watch and ignored the throbbing on my head. This woman had been going on with her life story for about twenty minutes now. She was so detailed in her story that even I knew what color her mother’s shirt was. It’s not that I didn’t sympathize with her, but I was busy about my own life. I had no time to be thinking about other’s. The woman stopped hallway on her speech and looked at me, noticing that my mind was wandering.

“Are you listening?” She said sharply.

“Y-yes!” I jumped at her glare.

“Good. Now, where was I?”

My bridge…

#

Biting on her thumb’s nail, the little girl walked past the street market with head down, not daring to look into anyone’s eyes. This street was after all… the dirtiest and scummiest street you could find in the entire city. Even in the early morning in every dark alley you could hear groans and moans of pleasure, some even children’s wailing, but no one… no one would reach out a hand and stop anything. Just like what the little girl was doing. Keep your head down and just keep walking. Maybe something will stop if somebody reported it to the police… some did… but to most people living in this part of the town, it was all normal. The pleasure given to others was what gave them the money to keep on living anyway, even though people outside would say it was a dirty money. But lives mattered more than pride to these people.

The little girl walked towards a rundown building with posters of men and women stick on the wall. Opening the door, smell of liquor rushed to her nose but it didn’t affect her at all. She was too used to the smell. Glancing around, she grimaced at the mess happening around the room. Plates and glasses weren’t taken away, some of the customers were still drunk on the table and the workers were just beginning to clean everything up.

Watching as a nicely dressed woman walking down the stairs, the little girl hesitantly walked towards her. The older woman’s eyes lit up when she saw her, quickening her pace to greet her.

“Why are you here early in the morning, kid? Where’s your mother?”

At the question, the girl’s eyes flickered and darkened. “…She was beaten again.”

The woman sighed at her answer and guide her to one of the doors on the left side of the room. Entering the room that the little girl often visited, she sat down on her usual seat and looked at the woman closing the door behind.

“…That’s why I told you to just work here. I won’t force you to… sell your body until at least you’re on the legal age. You know it’s not safe to wonder around here without a protection, right?” The woman reasoned.

-

“Wait, was that woman trying to rope an underage child to work at a body-selling business??” A bewildered young voice interfered.

“It was normal at that period of time and place. Her place was one of the most decent among the others. Some even forcefully sold children without their consent.” Another smooth low relaxed voice answered.

“Hush! Let me finish my story!” Another sultry voice berated.

-

“I know!” The girl shouted. Trembling, she hold herself in a vulnerable position. “I know it…”

“You know… But you aren’t willing, right? Are you still hoping to get out of this hell hole?” The woman said softly. “Because if you are, it won’t be easy.”

The girl looked at the other woman defiantly. “I can! I only need someone to help me get out of here! And I am waiting for that opportunity. No matter what! A small chance; that’s all I need.”

The woman stood up and looked down at the little girl with warning eyes. “So what? If you really went out of here, so what? Do you have money to live outside? What about job? You are still not of age. Do you think people outside were kind as opposed to us?”

The woman bent down and hold the little girl’s still chubby cheek, showing just how young the girl was. “Wake up, kid. People outside were crueler than us. At least we showed what we wanted. Do you think you can outsmart people from outside? You’ll get eaten, kid.”

The little girl stood up with sparkling eyes, stubbornly not letting any tears fell. “And I won’t be eaten here? You are just hoping for your business to go well.”

Running away, the woman was left alone in the room, staring at the girl’s small and thin but determined back. “But at least I could keep you safe until you’re strong enough to face everything…”

Laughter accompanied the little girl as she ran away from the building and the woman that kept on destroying her delusion.

Strange. Every each one of them were strange. For thinking this was normal. Thinking that everything was normal. Stopping to catch her breath, she realized that she had run towards the edge of the town, a cliff that was connected to the other side with a bridge wide enough to fit a car. Even this cliff. It separated her district from the rest of the city. Like a line between the rich and the poor. The clean and the dirty part of the city.

Should she just leave now?

Should she just beg for something after arriving there?

Should she just… do something before thinking about the consequences?

But… everyone from her district that went to that side always came back dead. Casualties of riots, they said. With trembling legs, the little girl walked towards the bridge. One step. Two steps. What was trembling hesitating steps now turned into determined and fast run. A smile spread on the little girl’s face for the first time in a very long time.

“Hahahaha!” She laughed, deranged. Finally.

Free.