| Mystery and Crime Fiction posted October 25, 2020 | Chapters: |
...6 7 -8- 9... 
|
  |
Anna tries to adjust to the new horrors.
A chapter in the book Where Are All The Children
New Way of Life
by Mistydawn
A heavy stillness falls over the crowded auditorium as the teary-eyed patrons wait for the speaker to continue.
Anna glances at the picture of her lost love one last time. She wipes her tears away and replies, Siempre te amare te amere desde ahora hasta el fin de los tiempos. "I will always love and cherish you from now until the end of time." Sniffling, she changes the picture to migrant workers in the field. Regaining her composure, she turns towards her audience and says, "I was thrown into the tobacco field the moment I arrived. Picturing the life-altering day in her mind, she sniffles and then continues.
July 1993
"I'll be good from now on if you take me back, I promise." I anxiously gaze across the endless acres of tobacco fields in front of me. I've heard horror stories about what goes on out here.
"You're our property now not his, so get your scrawny ass to work." The man shoves me half-dressed out of the pickup bed.
"Yeah, our property, and I'll take you whenever and however I want," the second man adds, zipping up his pants.
The first man grabs his crotch, smiles, and says, "We'll be seeing you real soon, doll." Laughing, they drive away.
After four years at the parlor, their actions, crude remarks seemed commonplace to me. Getting to my feet I look around. I didn't have a clue as to what I was supposed to do, so I just stood there and watched.
The hot afternoon sun pelts on my back. Nasty bugs swarm all around me. I shoo them away and then wipe away the river of sweat rolling down my face. I wanted to go back to the massage parlor and the luxury it affords. With its pastel lights, floral-scented rooms, and soft oversized beds. I didn't know how good I had it. I then recall the sleazy men I'd serviced and the vile things that they've done. I glance around the horrid field again. Will my nightmare ever end? I sob.
The foreman finds me dallying and heads my way. Realizing I was in grave danger, Zarita, a short, rounded Hispanic woman runs to my side. Her thick midnight-black, gray-streaked hair is pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She's wearing a thick, long-sleeved shirt. Her faded jeans are tucked inside her boots. Her hands are covered with tobacco-stained gloves.
"Why aren't you working?" the boss growls. His large bronzed body shields me from the merciless sun. "Well, answer me." He tucks his long, sun-bleached sandy brown hair behind his ears.
"I... I don't know what to do."
"I'll show her." Zarita nervously looks up at the man. The fear in her eyes tells me all I need to know. So did the other worker's reaction when they realized he was heading their way.
"Make it quick." He storms away.
She reaches over and pulls a pair of jeans and a shirt from a bag. "They're my son's, but I'm sure he won't mind." Noticing the look on my face she quickly adds, "I know it's too hot for these, but you're going to want the extra protection in the field." She then hands me a hat and a pair of gloves. I glance around to find the others are dressed the same. Modesty being a virtue I long since possessed, I begin to strip.
The woman notices my small, developing breasts. "Oh my, you are a young one."
Something about her stare makes me feel self-conscious, I pull the shirt around myself. "I... I just turned fourteen."
The woman shakes her head. "I don't know what they're thinking sending such a delicate thing like you out here." She sweeps her hand around. Seeing the look of horror on my face, she puts her arm around me and says, "Don't you worry, child, I'll take good care of you." She hands me a bottle of water. "Here, drink up, you're going to need the extra fluids."
Present, January 2020
She and her family watched over me from that day on. They even made sure I had enough medicine to make it through the horrid withdrawals, covering for me when I was too sick to work. Their love and understanding helped me adjust to this new way of life.
Alejandro helped his family care for me. He'd bring me basic essentials and deliver fresh linen on Sunday and he'd often tell me stories about their adventures before they came to the farm. The long, cold nights they spent searching for a warm place to sleep. The terrifying times they've had dodging the law. How they were forced to steal or do other despicable things just to survive. He then told me about the horrific night they lost his little brother. Anna pictures his grief-stricken face.
Past July 1993
Tears stream down John's cheek when he says, "He only wanted a few bucks so he could get something to eat. Oh, why couldn't the guy just have said no instead of using his gun? I should've never sent him over alone. I failed him as a brother, I failed him. It's my fault he's dead. It's all my fault that he's gone." Alejando sobs, pulling me in close.
His body pressing against mine sparks something inside of me. A feeling I'd never experienced before. My heart races in my chest. My stomach flutters. My head begins to swim. The palm of my hands begins to sweat. I feel like I'm in a dream. I then remember Mommy telling me how Pappy use to make her feel this way. My heart quivers. He must've felt it too because he raises his head, and then gazes into my eyes. My legs turn to Jello.
He strums his finger down the side of my face and says, "We were meant to be." He brushes his soft manly lips against mine. The kiss is slow, and gentle, unlike anything I've ever experienced before. He pulls me in closer. His hardness against me causes a heated passion stirs between my legs. The lust in his eyes, the hunger in his kiss tells me he feels it too. Stripping out of my nightclothes I fall across the bed.
"Take me, Alejandro, please take me I beg."
His mouth falls open. The color drains from his face. He turns away. "No, I won't do it, I won't. I refuse to be like them." He spat out his last words like they're poison on his tongue. He bolts towards the door.
Confused by his reaction, I spring to my feet. "No, please don't leave me, please, I'm sorry I acted this way. I'm sorry. I... I only did what I thought you wanted me to do."
He spins around. The look of disdain plaguing his face makes me feel like a helpless little ten-year-old again. He opens his mouth and then closes it. Shaking his head, he steps outside.
"Please, don' leave me, please," I cry. My pimps' last words echo in my head as I watch Alejandro fade out of sight. His harsh dose of reality tears through what little hope I've gained.
"I am a washed-up drug-addicted, a two-bit whore I am, I am. I was a fool to believe that he could care for someone like me." I sob, falling to the floor.
Anna glances at the picture of her lost love one last time. She wipes her tears away and replies, Siempre te amare te amere desde ahora hasta el fin de los tiempos. "I will always love and cherish you from now until the end of time." Sniffling, she changes the picture to migrant workers in the field. Regaining her composure, she turns towards her audience and says, "I was thrown into the tobacco field the moment I arrived. Picturing the life-altering day in her mind, she sniffles and then continues.
July 1993
"I'll be good from now on if you take me back, I promise." I anxiously gaze across the endless acres of tobacco fields in front of me. I've heard horror stories about what goes on out here.
"You're our property now not his, so get your scrawny ass to work." The man shoves me half-dressed out of the pickup bed.
"Yeah, our property, and I'll take you whenever and however I want," the second man adds, zipping up his pants.
The first man grabs his crotch, smiles, and says, "We'll be seeing you real soon, doll." Laughing, they drive away.
After four years at the parlor, their actions, crude remarks seemed commonplace to me. Getting to my feet I look around. I didn't have a clue as to what I was supposed to do, so I just stood there and watched.
The hot afternoon sun pelts on my back. Nasty bugs swarm all around me. I shoo them away and then wipe away the river of sweat rolling down my face. I wanted to go back to the massage parlor and the luxury it affords. With its pastel lights, floral-scented rooms, and soft oversized beds. I didn't know how good I had it. I then recall the sleazy men I'd serviced and the vile things that they've done. I glance around the horrid field again. Will my nightmare ever end? I sob.
The foreman finds me dallying and heads my way. Realizing I was in grave danger, Zarita, a short, rounded Hispanic woman runs to my side. Her thick midnight-black, gray-streaked hair is pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She's wearing a thick, long-sleeved shirt. Her faded jeans are tucked inside her boots. Her hands are covered with tobacco-stained gloves.
"Why aren't you working?" the boss growls. His large bronzed body shields me from the merciless sun. "Well, answer me." He tucks his long, sun-bleached sandy brown hair behind his ears.
"I... I don't know what to do."
"I'll show her." Zarita nervously looks up at the man. The fear in her eyes tells me all I need to know. So did the other worker's reaction when they realized he was heading their way.
"Make it quick." He storms away.
She reaches over and pulls a pair of jeans and a shirt from a bag. "They're my son's, but I'm sure he won't mind." Noticing the look on my face she quickly adds, "I know it's too hot for these, but you're going to want the extra protection in the field." She then hands me a hat and a pair of gloves. I glance around to find the others are dressed the same. Modesty being a virtue I long since possessed, I begin to strip.
The woman notices my small, developing breasts. "Oh my, you are a young one."
Something about her stare makes me feel self-conscious, I pull the shirt around myself. "I... I just turned fourteen."
The woman shakes her head. "I don't know what they're thinking sending such a delicate thing like you out here." She sweeps her hand around. Seeing the look of horror on my face, she puts her arm around me and says, "Don't you worry, child, I'll take good care of you." She hands me a bottle of water. "Here, drink up, you're going to need the extra fluids."
Present, January 2020
She and her family watched over me from that day on. They even made sure I had enough medicine to make it through the horrid withdrawals, covering for me when I was too sick to work. Their love and understanding helped me adjust to this new way of life.
Alejandro helped his family care for me. He'd bring me basic essentials and deliver fresh linen on Sunday and he'd often tell me stories about their adventures before they came to the farm. The long, cold nights they spent searching for a warm place to sleep. The terrifying times they've had dodging the law. How they were forced to steal or do other despicable things just to survive. He then told me about the horrific night they lost his little brother. Anna pictures his grief-stricken face.
Past July 1993
Tears stream down John's cheek when he says, "He only wanted a few bucks so he could get something to eat. Oh, why couldn't the guy just have said no instead of using his gun? I should've never sent him over alone. I failed him as a brother, I failed him. It's my fault he's dead. It's all my fault that he's gone." Alejando sobs, pulling me in close.
His body pressing against mine sparks something inside of me. A feeling I'd never experienced before. My heart races in my chest. My stomach flutters. My head begins to swim. The palm of my hands begins to sweat. I feel like I'm in a dream. I then remember Mommy telling me how Pappy use to make her feel this way. My heart quivers. He must've felt it too because he raises his head, and then gazes into my eyes. My legs turn to Jello.
He strums his finger down the side of my face and says, "We were meant to be." He brushes his soft manly lips against mine. The kiss is slow, and gentle, unlike anything I've ever experienced before. He pulls me in closer. His hardness against me causes a heated passion stirs between my legs. The lust in his eyes, the hunger in his kiss tells me he feels it too. Stripping out of my nightclothes I fall across the bed.
"Take me, Alejandro, please take me I beg."
His mouth falls open. The color drains from his face. He turns away. "No, I won't do it, I won't. I refuse to be like them." He spat out his last words like they're poison on his tongue. He bolts towards the door.
Confused by his reaction, I spring to my feet. "No, please don't leave me, please, I'm sorry I acted this way. I'm sorry. I... I only did what I thought you wanted me to do."
He spins around. The look of disdain plaguing his face makes me feel like a helpless little ten-year-old again. He opens his mouth and then closes it. Shaking his head, he steps outside.
"Please, don' leave me, please," I cry. My pimps' last words echo in my head as I watch Alejandro fade out of sight. His harsh dose of reality tears through what little hope I've gained.
"I am a washed-up drug-addicted, a two-bit whore I am, I am. I was a fool to believe that he could care for someone like me." I sob, falling to the floor.
You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.
© Copyright 2024. Mistydawn All rights reserved.
Mistydawn has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.