Episode 28

My hands were shaking, a frantic tremor that seemed to mirror the frantic drumming against my ribs. Sweat trickled down my temples, stinging my eyes as I forced myself to move, to put distance between myself and the oppressive silence of the house. Each step was a struggle against the leaden weight in my limbs, the fear a cold knot in my stomach. I didn't know what I would find when I returned, what further pronouncements would be made, what new demands would be levied. The image of the tall man, his face obscured by dark lenses, his words laced with an authority that chilled me to the bone, replayed in my mind. He had spoken of buying me, of claims that felt both alien and terrifyingly real. I imagined my father’s strained politeness, the simmering anger beneath the surface, and the emissary’s unyielding arrogance. I didn't dare to think about what might have happened if I hadn't been hidden away, a silent, terrified witness to a negotiation that felt like a transaction of my very person. The corner market, with its mundane offerings of candy and chips, suddenly seemed like a sanctuary, a small pocket of normalcy in a world that had been irrevocably tilted off its axis. I just needed a moment, a breath, before I had to face the unknown consequences waiting for me back home.