Roses Are Not Red

DAWN

Natalie, ever curious kept her eyes on the clothless sister Lily. Her mouth was moving, but Natalie couldn’t hear or make out what she was saying. Who was she talking to?

Sister Lilly walked out of her vision again. More whispers. A low husky voice. Natalie’s curiosity was growing even further. Was someone else in the room with sister Lily? From the unfamiliar voice she had just heard, Natalie entertained that theory.

Sister Lily came back into her view, but this time she had a French cut bra and lace panties on. She sat back on the bed and reached for the drawer on the beside table. Natalie stared wide eyed as sister Lily pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a blue lighter.

“Do you want a smoke too?” Natalie could hear her say as she looked to the other side of the room, the part that wasn’t in her line of vision.

Natalie squinted her eyes and noticed small vertical writing at the top of sister Lily’s neck. Natalie didn’t have to ponder long on it. She knew what it was. It was a tattoo.

Sister lily lit her cigarette and placed it in her mouth. She took a large whiff and blew it right out. Natalie watched in bemusement as the smoke she had just exhaled danced in the air until it vanished. Natalie was in awe as she stared at sister Lily. Everything about her demeanor was completely different from the way she always was. The way she talked, her body movements and her facial expression. Everything was different. Natalie felt like she was looking at a completely different person.

Footsteps. They were getting louder. A man suddenly came into her vision. He stood in front of sister Lily, shirtless. Natalie’s body began to trembling as her eyes skimmed the large dragon pattern tattoo that spread across his bulky back.

The tattoo spread across both arms and his neck. The sheer fear Natalie felt from the tattoos on his body was high. The alarms were going off in her head. This man was a dangerous person.

Natalie took a few steps back, ready to bolt out of the office and back to her room when she heard them talking, a little louder this time. She decided to stay a bit and eavesdrop on their conversation.

“It’ll be a while before I can deliver more merchandise.” Sister l said, the cigarette still sitting between her fingers.

“What about number 50? You did tell me she was ready.” His husky voice resonated through the room.

“Oh, Natalie. Her 18th birthday is tomorrow. She’ll be ready in three days.”

“Hmm.”

The tall man ran his fingers through his dark brown wavy hair that reminded Natalie of a the waves during a storm. He picked up a white button up shirt from the floor and began to put it on.

“I hope she’s not as defective as number 46...what was her name again?”

“Dawn.”

“Ah, yes.” He said as he fastened the buttons on his wrist.

“She couldn’t even handle more than two clients. Her mental state declined quickly, it was bad for business.”

Natalie recalled Dawn’s picture and the number written beside it. It was indeed the number 32. Natalie’s gears were turning.

“What did you with to her?” sister Lily asked.

“We still have her serve customers, we can’t dispose of merchandise just like that, except it’s necessary. There are a lot of customers that don’t mind using her as a s*x doll.” He replied.

Natalie placed her hand over her mouth as her breathing became heavier. Dawn immediately came to her mind. Her wholeheartedly smile, the way she tears up anytime she laughs, the clumsy way she moves her legs whenever she tried to dance. All the memories they had both made together were streaming back into her mind.

Natalie couldn’t believe it was the same person they were talking about. She didn’t understand everything they was saying, but she had a rough idea of what was going on. And they had mentioned her name. Ready in three days? Were they going to take her away, just like the others?

The man reached for his pocket and pulled out a black object. Natalie had to strain to see what it was. Her heart dropped to the bottom of her chest once the object became clearer to her. It was a gun, a small pistol. He flipped open the magazine open took a short look at the bullets before closing it shut.

“You got a job?”

“Yeah, the boss wants me to...”

Natalie couldn’t take it anymore. She walked slowly out of the corridor and out of her office. She bolted down the corridor and into the children’s room. She slammed the door shut as she gasped for air. Natalie slumped to the ground as she clutched her dress. Her hands were trembling and didn’t show any signs of stopping. She raised her knees up to her chest as tears slipped down her eyes.

“Natalie?”

Natalie’s head shot up. Lin was standing in front of her, her eyes clouded with tears. Realisation hit her immediately. She looked around and saw that some of the girls were awake. The loud slamming of the door must’ve woken them up.

“Natalie, s-stacy’s not getting any better. I held her hand, but that didn’t make her feel better.”

Natalie wiped her eyes quickly and got up from the floor.

“Don’t worry, you did a good job.” Natalie said and wiped Lin’s teary eyes.

Natalie put the other children back to sleep and walked over to Stacy. Her condition was still the same, even worse. She breezed into the bathroom and came back with a bowl of water and a small towel in her hand.

She dipped the towel into the bowl and used it to clean Stacy’s sweat filled face and body.

“I’m sorry Stacy, this is all I can do for now.” She muttered as tears streamed down her face.

She wiped her down and placed the towel over her forehead in hopes that it’ll reduce her escalated body temperature. Natalie plopped down on the floor beside Stacy’s bed and watched her sleep while her mind was anywhere but there. She reached for her pocket swiftly and pulled out the flash drive she had swiped from the cabinet. Natalie didn’t know why she had taken it, but it looked like it held important information and Natalie was going to find out what it was.