My Long Lost Mate

My feet took a step forward abruptly, balancing my body to not fall after the collision. A young woman had bumped into me, seemingly in a hurry to go somewhere. Even after bumping into me, she kept on running without looking back. 

"Are you okay?" Luke grip my shoulders, turning my body around to look for any injuries. When he found nothing, his attention turned to the young woman, "That little—"

"I'm fine," I interrupted, not wanting to make a big deal out of a little bump. My eyes then followed the woman, curious to know where she was heading in such a hurry. She was running towards a fancy carriage, holding a bag in her hands.

The door of the carriage flew open when the young woman arrived, showing the person waiting inside. A woman with a fancy dress stepped out of the carriage, her eyes in the color of gold. The appearance of the two women contradicted one another as they stood side by side. While one was wearing a fancy dress, one was wearing a ragged dress. It was quite apparent that the young woman was a slave. 

"M-master, this is the r-ribbon you asked for," the young woman stuttered, handing the bag in her hands shakily. The thin dress she was wearing couldn't bring the warmth she sought in the midst of this cold winter, so she hugged her body tightly, hoping for a little warmth to ease her shiverings.

From inside the bag, the master pulled out a red ribbon and instantly had a furious look on her face, "I told you to buy a pink ribbon!! Why did you bring me a red ribbon?!"

"B-but just now m-master told me to buy a r-red ribbon," the young woman panicked, "I only did as I was t-told to."

"Are you saying I'm the one at fault?!" she threw the bag to the ground, pushing the young woman's frail body. When the young woman saw how her master grew even more furious, fear crept up to her. 

"N-no!!" she quickly denied, immediately kneeling on the ground, "I-I am wrong!! Master told me to buy a p-pink ribbon, b-but I bought a red one instead."

Her feet were bleeding as there were no shoes to protect them from the rough ground, fresh wounds started to form and covered the old scars on her feet. 

"So?" her master looked down at her, a smile slowly forming on her lips as she stared at her slave. 

"I d-deserved to be punished," answered the young woman, her head lowered to meet the ground. 

Hearing that, the master's smile only grew bigger for her to hunch down, yanking the young woman's hair roughly, "At least you are smart enough to know that. Well then, how should I punish you today?"

Her eyes then wandered around, finding a dirty puddle just a few steps away. Releasing her grip on the young woman's hair, she proceeded to kick her body before pointing at the puddle she had just found, "Drink it."

Her demand surprised both me and the young woman. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Was she insane? How could she treat someone this way? Though surprised, the young woman didn't complain and quickly heed her master's words in the fear of angering her. 

My feet started to walk in the direction of the two women, wanting to stop the outrageous scene from happening. I couldn't stand to witness it without doing anything, not after what I have gone through. I couldn't help but be reminded of the days I spent in the dark underground room, a place where people showed their true colors. So evil, and heartless.

Just after walking for a few distances, I was stopped by a pull on my hand. It was Luke who stopped me from going, "Stop." 

"What are you doing?" I turned around, "We need to stop her! She is insane." 

"There is nothing that we can do to help," he uttered, leaving me dumbfounded by his words. "She is a slave, Violet. Her life was sold to that woman, so she is free to do whatever she wanted with that slave."

"But it's never her choice to be born as a slave," I grimaced, "How could she do that?"

"It's never anyone's choice to be born in this cruel world," Luke gave me a wry smile, "Even so, we have to live. It is also the same with that slave. She has no choice but to follow her owner in order for her to live and we have no hand in it."

Luke then pulled my hand, asking me to walk towards our carriage, "Come on, let's go home."

Taking one last look at the two women, I left with a heavy heart. The ride back home was quiet, as the two of us were buried deep in our own minds.

The picture of the two women kept on appearing on my mind, and the heaviness on my heart still. I couldn't forget the way the young woman licked the dirty water at the demand of her owner, and the way her owner smiled while witnessing it. The owner treated her not like a normal human being but instead treated her like she was nothing more than an animal. 

How could someone be this evil? What do they gain from it? Though I had several encounters with some people with a similar nature, I just couldn't seem to set my mind on why do they have to behave in such a manner. Imagine how wonderful this world could be if they just act a little more... kind. 

Was it the fault of the individuals, or was it the fault of the society? Was it because of their greed, their hunger for dominance and power that made them evil? Was it, really? 

"Are you still bothered by them?" asked Luke, taking my hand in his as he queried.

"A little," I replied, giving him a small smile.

"I'm sorry that we can't do anything to help her," he sighed, apologizing, "Even under the law, an owner of a slave was free to do whatever they wanted after they spent money on them. It was like buying a pet, they were free to love them—or kill them. Those slaves' life completely belongs to the owners. No law could ever reprimand their actions unless the law is changed."

"Then why don't they change the law?" 

"There must be something that is preventing them from doing so," he explained, "I don't know much about the law of Gordom, but I do know that Kiel is working hard to put an end to the slavery."

"What about the other lands?" I asked, "Is slavery allowed?"

"Myltha yes, but not in ours," he smiled, "I have long abolished the slavery in Wonsvile. I don't want to see my people suffer in such a way."

What would happen if slavery was still allowed in Wonsvile? Would I have been thrown into a slave establishment and live the same life as that young woman? I could never imagine what kind of life a slave would have to live. It must be much, much worse than the life I've been living.

I have suffered a lot, but it was never to an extent where I was degraded into something less than a human. I was still given proper meals, treated like a normal human—though badly. Almost every day that I dreamed of escaping that place, dreamed of meeting someone who could save me. 

It has been a couple of weeks since I escaped, a couple of weeks since I last met her. Anna was the one person who always took care of me whenever I fell sick, and the one who prepared the food that I ate quietly every night. Though it was all done in secret, I have always been grateful for her kindness. She was the only one who gave me the kindness everyone didn't give to me. If it was not for her, I wouldn't have lived to this day.

I remembered asking Luke for a favor to help her escape from that place but never heard him mentioning anything about it ever since. I was waiting for him to tell me himself because I knew that he was busy with his works but... it has been way too long. I should ask him, but a part of me was scared to know the answer because I knew just how evil those people could be and how merciless they were.

I knew that there was only a little hope of her staying alive after the tremendous help she had given me, but at least, I wanted to hold onto that small hope. I was scared, but I needed to know the truth. 

"Luke," I called out, causing him to turned his head in my direction. 

"Hmm?" he hummed in response, smiling at me kindly. I started to fidget my fingers, feeling nervous at the question I was about to ask. 

"I've been meaning to ask you this but... what happened to Anna?"