"Iris? Are you awake?" A timid voice called into the dark; it was Ari. I could feel her shift and walk closer to my bed because she knew I was awake. Slowly I uncurled from the ball I had pulled myself into and turned around to face her. It seemed pointless to even open my eyes since everything was equally dark and empty but I did it anyway. My eyes began to adjust enough to make out her white tattered gown and pale skin; she looked like a ghost. "It's cold."
I didn't say anything, I just patted my legs and she came. It was a pretty frequent thing for this to happen, her being cold, almost nightly. She put her head in my lap and pulled her legs to her chest but she didn't close her eyes. My hand automatically began to stroke her limp yellow hair, careful to avoid the wound on the back of her head. Eventually her emerald green eyes fluttered shut. As I began to hum some mysterious tune, I began to think back to when she got here.
I was in the shower, if you could call a water pipe in the corner of the room with a drain in the floor a shower. My skin began to regain the cappuccino color it usually is when clean, which was hardly ever. The lukewarm water did little for the scrapes and cuts on my skin. My hair wavy black and cascaded down my back until I pulled it to my front so I could wash it. The sound of the door being forced open was nothing new so I continued to wash my hair. Only when I felt their eyes boring into my form did I turn around to face them.
I didn't know either of their names because we was made to call them sir or miss, same with their sons. The woman walked forward dragging something, or someone, with her. "Clean it up and bring it to Michel." Who would have thought Barbie was so cruel. Her sea blue eyes were icey and distant as she threw the little girl face first into the ground by her golden hair. Her husband however, didn't look like Ken. He was older, with grey hairs taking control of his naturally black hair. His skin seemed a little paler because of the virus he was getting over.
A sharp sting across my face caused me to turn my head quickly and my lip to bleed lightly. "Did you hear me? I said clean it up!" She had slapped me before, lots of times, so the pain subsided quickly. Her hand was still up, perfectly manicured nails faced me, ready to backhand me if I didn't answer.
"Yes Miss." Voice sounding completely sincere, the opposite of how I felt, as I approached the fallen figure. Some crimson red liquid was streaming from her head. When I pulled her up and saw her face, my mouth dropped. "She's barley a teenager Miss, she can't go with Michel!" It wasn't a secret of what happened when one of us went with there sons. Michel was 16 and she looked 13 at the most.
"I didn't ask you now do as I said." She stormed from the room and her husband closed the door behind her with a soft click of the lock, leaving me with yet another girl.
Emerald eyes stared at me for about half a second before they filled up with tears and she began to cry. I took the string off my wrist and tied my hair up so it wouldn't be in the way while I cleaned her up. "Come on now hunny just relax. I won't hurt you." I didn't dare say it will be alright since her innocence and maybe her life will be snatched away from her in a short hour. "What's your name?"
She wasn't dressed, figured, but the man had left a white gown like mine in a crumpled heap on the floor. I helped her under the flowing water and began to wash the blood out of her hair. "I don't know." When th blood was all out I looked at the cut; it was deep. 'What did they do to get her here?' I pondered.
"Okay so your new name will be Ari."
The sound of the door opening pulled me from my reverie of a month ago. Maya walked in and lied in her corner on the far side of the room. At first everything was silent, but soon I could make out the silent sobs. "Come here Maya." I called softly so I wouldn't wake Ari.
