Sin of Lust

CHAPTER 36

“What the--” Stephen heaves as they witness the colossal walls of thorns that the ends are nowhere to seen from left to right. “We were surrounded of thorns all this time?”

“Sh*t!” Lino cursed out loud.

“What shall we do? It would be difficult for us to climb this, how much more the children below eight years old? And we have Mila.”

“We have to climb it to see the other side.” Lino firmly said, “We can still do it. The thorns can be cut. But the other side have to be seen so we would know if it’s there’s something waiting for us there.”

Lino climbed up a tree that’s tall enough for him to be able to peek to the other side since he knew Stephen can’t climb eve his life is on the line, however, he only squinted his eyes.

“What? What can you see there?” Stephen asks as he finally regain his composure.

“I…” Lino sighed, “I don’t see anything, all I can see is fog. The fog is too thick, it’s almost zero visibility.”

“We should go back; Nunna and sister Blanche will be worried if they found out were not there at this time.” Stephen said.

“I would love to get down as soon as possible,” Lino spoke, “but there’s a problem.”

“What is it?”

“I’m afraid of heights.”

However, all those they did were all witnessed by Blanche.

Blanche went back before the two so they wouldn’t suspect her anything. After their dinner, they all went to take a shower before they sleep, but when it’s time for them to go to bed Blanche found Lino when she checked their bedroom yet Stephen is already sleeping.

“Huh? where would he be at this hour?” she asked herself and decided to go and search for him and she found him at the library with a bunch of books at his side, and the only light that illuminates him is from the flickering fire of the lamp. “Lino, are you still reading? Reading at dark places can make your eyes tired.”

“That’s why I am reading, I wanted to be tired so I can go to sleep.” He responded, not even bothering to look at her way.

“But you have to go to your bedroom, or else Nunna will get angry with you.” She tried to scared him. “Children at your age needs enough sleep so you can grow big, strong, and smart.”

“Don’t worry about it, Nunna said I can still be up till nine past noon.”

Blanche sighed, since she’s here, she can’t bear to go to sleep while he’s still up, that would strike her conscience, so she decided to make her way towards him and take a seat across him.

“What are you doing, sister?”

“Well, I will wait for you until you go to sleep.” She simply stated and grab the nearest book and starts to read as well.

There was an abundant of silence in between them and Blanche’s head is starting to ache not because of the strain brought by dim lighting but because it’s math.

Stephen asked Blanche, when he saw her having a hard time seating around, “Are you alright, sister?”

“Y-Yeah, not a problem.”

Just after a few seconds, Lino asked her, “Sister what would you do if someone is catching you but you there’s a wall in front of you?”

“I would definitely climb the wall.” She replied without hesitation.

“Even if it’s thorny? And you have no idea what it’s like beyond those walls?”

“I want to live that’s why I am running in the first place. Thorn will never be a hindrance to me, if I cut the sharp ends of the thorns then I will be able to use the remaining branch to climb.” She spoke with confidence. “But you’re right as well, if you have the chance to go and explore the other side, do it. Because there is a tendency that beyond that wall is much dangerous than the one who’s chasing you.”

“Do you think that it is possible that lower-grade meat will be deliver first before the higher quality?” at this point Blanche can tell that they have the clue on how they are getting shipped out but still having difficulty to understand why.

“That could be possible, I mean look at it. The lower-grade items are low for a reason and if it’s low there wouldn’t be any buyer of it, so as a merchandiser I would be selling the lower-grade while I use the higher quality ones as bait.” She tried to answer without being suspicious in high. “That would be a great tactic if you have a really good item, because buyers are going to buy that lower-grade just to get that good item.”

“I see…” Lino replied in a mutter, but even though his face is at the calmest, his raging fists are almost tearing the pages of the book he’s holding. And his next question almost shook her, “What does it take to be a high-grade item?”

She was silent for a moment as she thinks of what could be the reason that an item should be considered as high-grade without making it obvious, “I… when the quality is at best? I don’t know, maybe it depends on the items that are being sold? For example, I have a really great hat or bag, the material that was used was really expensive, then that can be sold in rather high price. And especially the skills of the maker--”

Lino’s patience loses, which resulted for his words to be harsh and straight forward in his next question, “What if they are selling humans? What does it take to be a higher quality if the items are humans especially if the age are just like us?”

Blanche wasn’t able to answer, there was an abundant silent in them, she was ready to answer this kind of questions when she decided that she will help them at all cost, but now that it is actually happening, she can’t even utter a single word out of her throat, it seems all her answers are just stuck there.

“I knew it, I knew it from the very beginning. They will eventually ask this, but why I can’t reply to them?” she internally scolded herself for being a total voiceless in front of a kid.

“Thank you, sister.” Lino closed his book and stood up and went to put it back t the shelf, “It’s getting late now, I will go to sleep, you should too, sister.”

But before he can get out, Blanche spoke, “For children to be sold at your age has not definite reason, but if you look at it closely, things such as potential could be consider.” She replied in one breath.

Her response made Lino stops from his tracks and halt at the doorway looking at her curiously as if he’s asking her to continue.

“Children have so much potential in them,” she responded to his stare, “Where there be it clean and healthy organs, but not only that. Organs can be found in almost anyone, but brains cannot. There are times where people are looking other people who are intelligent enough to do certain things. But that is not limited to magics only.”

“Just like what I’ve been thinking.” Lino internally confirmed his suspicion, “Brains are still needed as the brawns and magic.”

“Thank you, sister,” he looked at her from his shoulder for the last time before going back to his room. While Blanche only watched his retreating figure.

Her brows furrowed, as she thought, “This is escalating quickly, I hope everything went well.”

When Lino went back to their quarters, Stephen is wide awake. He gently sat on his bed to avoid making a loud sound that would wake their siblings up. “I think sister knows something…” Lino told Stephen with shush and gravity in his tone.

This made Stephen quickly raised from curiosity, “What makes you think that?” he asked in a haste.

Lino looked at him with furrowed brows, “My questions are and will surely raise suspicion but still she didn’t ask why and what those questions are about. I know it may be sound pathetic coming from a child with vivid imagination, but still, she ought to be concerned how a child would think especially if they knew some things such as human trafficking.”

“Do you think she knew that we know what’s going on already?”

“Let’s take that as a yes. Let’s think that she knew that we knew what’s happening here.”

“Well, if that’s the case the worst-case scenario is we are going to get shipped out now that we know everything.” Lino spoke a little louder than expected, but he immediately slapped his hand over his mouth when they heard a whimper of another kid.

“They will eventually find out.” Lino said, “But we have to do something first to the thorns so we could see the other side. We can’t just jump to the other side in a whim of escape because we can’t be sure to the things that are lurking there.”

Stephen nodded, “Yes, I already make a plan about that. Let’s meet to the same place, for now let’s sleep. We can’t let our siblings learn what tragedy they are going to face. Not yet.”

The usual morning routine of series of tests are done and as expected three children are still in the pinnacle of scores. To which the children are happily playing like any other day, but unbeknownst to the two boys, another set of watchful eyes are watching each of their moves.

“This is great,” Lino spoke with excitement in his tone as he looked at Stephen’s torso who are covered with linen. “I didn’t think about this.”

Stephen let out a gentle smile from the thought that someone as intelligent as Lino will be glad to see his plan, “Don’t worry about it, I know that you’re busy gathering information, so this is just a simple compensation to that.”

“With this, we can climb up the wall, but still, there are too large and too sharp thorns we have to cut them,” Lino spoke as he helps Stephen to untie the linens wrapped around him.

“And that? Don’t worry about that too. I got it, there’s actually slates of thin stones that were lying around, it just needs to sharpened and it will eventually cut that.” he told him with a sigh. “Wow, I never thought that would hinder me that much from moving.”

“You really are smart, Stephen.” Lino chimed. “For now, what we have to do is to tell them what are we going to do.” He turned serious as he hid the linens.

“Yeah, but we can’t be too sure. I know most of us are not going to believe us, from the fact that they really trust Nunna and sister Blanche. It’s hard to tell them that we are being sold to somewhere. They will just be going to think that we are pranking them.”

“You’re right, that won’t be needed and I think that they will just going to laugh at us.” Lino agreed, “Do you think Mildred will believe us if we tell her the truth about this orphanage?”

“What?!” a loud yell interrupted the both of them and this even make them jump. When they look at the source of the voice, they see their friend with an expression that is beyond shock and angry.

“M-Mildred, how long have you been there?” Stephen asked as if nothing has just happened, but his wavering voice betrayed him.

“What do you mean we are being sold off?” Mildred asks with her dead eyes boring holes in them, “We were being sold? Is this the truth of this orphanage?”

“Mildred, we… let us explain first. Breath in, breath out…” Stephen urged her to calm her nerves and they will explain everything. And they finally did, her reaction is totally what they have expected.

“Shipments? Us? They are not going to do bad things, aren’t they? Our siblings are still alive, aren’t they?” she asked the same thing Stephen did.

“We don’t know for sure, but it’s safest for us to think that they are already dead.” Lino replied.

“Huh? we can’t do that. What if they are waiting for us to get them? We should save all of them.”

“Even if they did, there’s no guarantee that we will be able to save them—”

“Wait, Lino…” Stephen tried to stop him from continuing his words.

“You have to be blunt with these things, Stephen. Mildred is too hard-headed and sometimes this kind of information will not through her thick head if we’re just going to baby her.” Lino told them before fully facing her, “We can’t save those who aren’t here, all we can do at the least is to help the ones who are still here and we knew who are alive.”

“But why? Are our siblings not important to you?”

“It’s not that they are not important to me, of course, I love them just as much I love both of you.” Lino mentioned. “But how can we save them if we have no lead where they are right now? There’s no contact to them, we don’t know if they are still here in this country or they are in another nation. We can’t save all of them, Mildred. But at least we can help these people here.”

Mildred, hang her head low as frustration eats her courage, “So, those goodbyes are final then?” she asked with her quivering voice referring to the days they were congratulating them because they have found new family. Someone that will love them as much as they love each other. “They will never find our letters then? The birthday cards, the drawings. They will never see them? We said we will be waiting here, but the truth is we have been waiting for so long to the people who we are not going to see anymore.”

“Mildred,” Stephen hugs her trembling figure, “Lift your head up, Mildred we are still here. Our siblings are still here. There are a lot of children who are in need of you, we need you so we can escape.”

Mildred wasn’t able to do what has been told, since she can’t still process the things she just learned. After all those years that they are being adopted and happily saying goodbyes were all fake. They don’t know where they are being sold off and the worst, is if they are all gone from the face of the world.

“Do you know all about this from the very start, Sister Blanche?” Mildred asked with a low tone. The two boys were confused on why she asked a person who are not here, but it eventually changed when they realized that someone is just watching them.

The said nun, stepped out from tree, “Sister??! What are you doing here? How long have you been here?”

Blanche only gave them a curt smile and asked, “How did you know?”

Mildred wiped her tears and sniff, “I smell you, not actually you but the detergent soap. I saw you doing laundry earlier that’s why I know your presence is here. Forest will never smell like a detergent soap.”

“I see…” Blanche muttered in her head, “I should have known, this kid has an insane instinct.”

“Sister, do you know this?” Stephen asked without having the thought of making everything obvious.

“Oi! Stephen, stop it!” Lino stops him btu it was too late. Blanche already found her words to reply to such question.

She took a deep breath before looking at them dead in the eyes, “Yes, I know all of these.” She spoke which earned her a series of audible gasps from the kids. “I know about the transactions and how it is done.”

This made Mildred’s eyes wide open, her knees buckle at the thought of the people they trusted known something like this. “Y-You know all about this?” she muttered; her eyes are filled with absolute dread as she let out a whimper.

“Yes,” Blanche gave a direct answer.

“Why… how?” Mildred muttered to herself; Blanche wasn’t able to answer that because a firm question from Stephen caught her attention.

“Since when?” Stephen tried to remain composed at all cost even though his knees are buckling and his heart is beating so fast, even faster when they are doing the game of tag.

She looks at her and replied, “Before I even came back here in this house.”

“Came back? You were here before?” Lino caught up with her answer.

“Yes, I was here. I was raised and educated here.” Blanche said, “My teacher was Mary Jane.”

“Raised and educated? Then it means that, this place was peaceful?” Lino asked in a haste.

“It is and it isn’t.”

Stephen grew curious about it, “How come there’s a place that is safe and isn’t at the same time? You were a victim like us? How did you survive?”

She let out a small chortle when she saw how eager they were asking her questions, but she can’t help but be proud of them from the fact that they really wanted to survive that’s why they’re like that. “Don’t be in a haste, we have the whole day to talk.”

“Just answer the question!” Stephen demanded a little rough than what he actually intended so he muttered the last part, “Sorry, please.”

“When I was a child, this place was just an ordinary orphanage; and that’s what I thought. I was not a merchandise, my siblings in our orphanage were not shipment to be sold. But like you, we were treated like items by the same man who we thought we could trust.” She said with a small smile plastered on her lips, but behind that is the trauma she’s hiding all these years. “I… I don’t know even know how I survived.” She told them the truth with clenched fists.

“So, you know all of these. But you decided to keep it down?” Mildred finally gathered her strength to speak. “Why?”

“Yes, that was my plan. I am not going to let you be like the children before you. I am planning to manipulate you all from behind shadows, and slowly brings you to enlightenment.”

“But Istella, she’s so young for her to…” she asked in a whimper. “Why?”

Blanche too was hurt about this, but she has to be strong and devoid of emotion if she wanted to save all of them, “The lesser the kid, the lesser to save.” But internally she’s screaming to herself, “What the hell am I doing?!”

“What?” a single word that Mildred was able to mutter before lashing out, “you’re talking about a human life! Our sibling! She looked up to you all this time that you’re around, she told us that she wanted to be you! But you… You!” she yelled before lunging towards her, however before she could even reach her, Stephen hugged her from behind, preventing her from taking another step and doing something that they will regret later.

“Don’t do it, Mildred! Stop it!” he grunted as his close-to-fragile body is being force to exert more strength to stop her.

“She’s not an item…” Mildred’s last outburst before she slumps on the earth beneath her. “We’re not an item.”

Lino went in between her and Blanche, “You’re bad at lying, sister. I can clearly see your fists clenched. But setting that aside, so everything you’ve been answering us to our little antics were all truth?”

“Yes.”

“You’re guiding us from behind,” Lino spoke.

This made Mildred look up to see her, “So, you’re planning to help us, but how can we be sure that you’re not a bad person? That you’re not going to sold us out?”

“It’s up to you if you will trust me or not, but if feel free to ask me questions.”

“Wait, sister. Where are the children, where are they ended up?”

“I don’t know all I know is that they are being sold off.”

“What’s beyond the gates?”

“A society.”

“I sit safe to escape there?”

“Definitely no, the mayors and her men will surely apprehend you. You will end up in body bags before you even know.”

“What’s beyond the walls of thorns?”

“I don’t know, but I highly suggest that you should be the ones who will have look on it.”

The question and answer for now is good, until the children asked, “Is… Is Nunna an enemy?”

“No.”

“Why didn’t you do anything then?”

“You wouldn’t understand but she has no other choice.” She has no other choice. She repeated bitterly.

“Liar! If she’s not then she will never do something like this! Selling us off? Don’t’ mess with us!”

“Well then so be it, if she’s an enemy then treat her as one. But if you treat her like that, then treat me as well. I don’t want to get lump away from the woman who I wanted to be.” She said with no hint of holding back. She can see from the faces of the children in front of her that they are having hard time to understand everything all at once.

“If we escape, will we be able to live through this?” Stephen asked, with a hint of worry for the younger children.

She looked at their worried orbs, yet there it is, the burning fire of undistinguishable resolve, “If you are strong enough, you will be.”

“Let’s make a deal.” Stephen stepped up.

“What is it?” Blanche tilted her head from confusion.

“What are you planning?” Lino asked in a hush.

“Help us escape, and we’ll help you.”

“There’s nothing that I want from you, so there’s no need for a bargain.”

“Of course, there is! We’ll help you with it.”

Blanche could only sigh, now that she’s aware how stubborn kids can be, this is stressing her out. “Okay, if you really want a bargain, then I will help you escape. Everything you need, I will provide. And in return, you have to escape… with everyone. Do whatever it takes to get out of this hell.”

Mildred stood up and wiped her tears away from her cheeks and held a determined look before replying, “We will.”

“For real?!” series of audible gasps and children’s cheers were heard at the common room as some of them bounce up and down from glee. “I can’t believe it!”

“Yes,” Mary Jane replied, mirroring the same expression they have. “The mayor of the city will come here, and she wanted to meet all of you!” she beamed. “So, we have to be prepared.”

“Yes, nunna! Can I wear my favorite ribbon?” Ladi- one of the six-year-old, asked with her bubbly tone. “Can I? Please, please!”

Mary Jane kneeled in front of her and cup her chubby blushing cheeks “Sure you can! You too Choi, you can wear your favorite clip.”

“Wow! Jackpot!” the both of them jumps and put their arms around each other’s shoulder.

“I can’t believe that we need to celebrate the coming monster.” Lino growled under his breath.

“We can’t help it, no one knows what kind of person she is. Only the four of us.” Stephen replied in a hush tone, making sure that no one will hear them. “We have to fake it, until we make it.”

“The question is how are we going to convince the children to escape if Nunna is not willing to cooperate.” Lino asked.

“No, she’s more than willing to cooperate.” Stephen mumbled before walking away.

“Huh? Stephen? What are you talking about?” Lino’s question wasn’t given an answer for his friend is already out of reach.

“Hey, hey, hey…” Stephen butted in their conversation, “I never thought that the mayor would spare us a glance here? What is she going to do here?”