Arina

Chapter Nineteen

Sitting in the kitchen with her usual bowl of porridge, Arina rushed to finish it; she didn’t want Mustafa to come in and do what he always did to her in his office. She thought of her day with D yesterday and decided he wasn’t as bad as she initially thought. When he did cut out his serious facade, he was actually a fun person.

Even with the distraction of D, Arina couldn’t stop thinking about what Haden’s mother had said about him. Was it really true? Every time Arina had attempted to convince herself that Haden wasn’t worth her thoughts, all she could do was picture him with a  baby in his arms. She didn’t understand why this image was haunting her, but she just wanted to banish it from her mind.

The building seemed almost empty that day; there wasn’t Zoe customarily sitting there with a bowl of porridge too, nor was Kos rushing in and out undergoing her motherly duties. It seemed to be a peculiar day, and sure enough, Arina was right to think so.

It was only until there were hysterical screams that were heard from upstairs that Arina’s thoughts were confirmed.

                “Ah!” She heard wailing from upstairs followed by a some hushed voices.

The voices sounded familiar, but Arina decided to not get involved; she thought whatever the situation was upstairs, she’d only make it worse. She continued eating and thinking about her life and what to do about her various situations.

It seemed to her that everybody she now knew had a secret of their own. Nobody seemed 100% up-front to her.

Why was D working for Mustafa?

Why was Kos married and working for Mustafa?

Was Haden as real as she had first anticipated?

What was Haden’s mother’s problem with people she looked down on?

What was the real story with Natalie?

To what extent did her Baba know about what kind of life he was selling Arina into?

There were so many questions that continually bugged Arina. She just wanted to know the truth about everything. But Arina gathered that it’ll be a while until she finds out everything about the place. Nobody seemed willing to tell her anything, anyway, so she decided she should stop worrying about it. People in this place liked to keep secrets- that was just the nature of things.

The wailing from upstairs got even louder. It was a usual thing to hear muffled screams and moans around the place, but this was a different kind of wailing. One that screamed pain. Arina tried to block it out, but it was just getting louder and louder.

Arina started playing with her porridge, mixing it around in the bowl. She wasn’t sure whether she’’d have to go on a round today, but didn’t mind the possibility.

                “What is happening upstairs?” She heard a cold voice that could only be Mustafa’s. He stood by the kitchen door, blocking it completely. Arina jumped up out of her seat; the mere presence of Mustafa made her agitated.

                “Um, I don’t know. I was just about to check,” she lied. She put her bowl of unfinished porridge in the sink and began walking to the door that was blocked by Mustafa. She was hoping he’d move out of the way, however, considering this was Mustafa, he just stood there with an evil grin on his face, playing with his moustache.

                “Or, you could come to my office with me? To discuss some business!” He said the last part incredibly loud in case somebody was listening to their conversation.