Soulless

ONE

POV: Skye Aprile

After I was born, I never received any kind of affection or adoration... not from my parents, not from anyone. I do not remember much but I have been here for a very long time. To be honest, could you expect any love for a girl who was abused everyday of her life, she had scars and burns, bruises and lumps.. I was ugly. My parents used every form of torture and torment; whips, knives, fists, needles and rape. I've been sexually assaulted more times than I can count, roughly at the age of seven I had been raped an estimate of, ten times. Many wouldn't be able to believe what some people could do to other human beings, especially a child.

I had survived a lifetimes worth of hell, pain and suffering but finally they had  finally decided to give up. 

"You're boring, you show no emotion. Your a void, an endless black hole, just like your soul." My father had chuckled, my mother had to add "Just like a doll, well apart from you're totally ugly, you'd never look like a china porcelain doll with high cheekbones,  flawless skin and flowing golden silk hair"

I thought I had grown numb of the negative things they had said to me, but the mental and emotional stuff haunted me. Being a doll sounded nice and i could imagine the look of perfection she had described. 

Little did I know their real reason for stopping was so that they could go out and buy more play things to use on me. They'd been gone from dawn till dusk and when I heard thundering footsteps and jolly voices rushing down the basement stairs, I'd cramped myself up in my cells corner. Cowering in the darkness, they burst through the door exclaiming, "We're rich! Filthy rich!". They appeared to be complete psycho's as they jumped and swung around in circles.

Upon the news, my eyes didn't light up or widen... they just died, my pupils turned inside out and burrowed into my sockets. They'd leave me alone, they have all the money they need and would forget about me... yes its what I wanted but that means I would be locked in my cell with no food or water. Day by day they stopped coming, they did indeed forget about me. The building was silent, and my body could finally find time to heal. However, just because they were gone didnt mean I could escape or end my life as there was nothing to do it by. I knew I would die in this cage if they never returned.

After a few weeks of nothing but silent darkness, hunger and thirst, I was finally discovered by the services. Ten whole years of pain; nothing would ever make me light hearted or happy. I've seen the deepest depths of my dark heart.

I was a girl with no soul and no sign of life... just like a doll. I couldn't move as I had no muscle, my bones were weak and protruding from my body, and I was starved. The people who found me had expressed deep concern for my physical and mental state. I didn't look them in the eye and struggled against them with my frail body when I was touched, I'm afraid that if I talk I'll be punished and I'm afraid I'll have to experience hell all over again.

Rehabilitation... to the government, it was the only solution for me to get back up on my feet. So I went and for six whole years, I was learning how to eat larger balanced portions, drink enough water, i learnt how to read, write and talk. I learned the basic skills you need to live a proper life. Despite learning to become a better person my mothers words remained in my head, i was an ugly doll. My body healed over time but the scars remained and served a constant reminder of my suffering and hideous self . I decided that once I had enough money; I'd get plastic surgery. 

The day I got out of rehab was the best day of my life. I had a conference with a few older associates, I attained the information that my parents were dead. 

"This is some heavy news Skye but your parents are dead. However, they aren't biologically your parents, they were your adoptive parents. You were a baby when they took you in. There aren't any documents of the adoption process so they could have aquired you through illegal means like human trafficking. But, they were found dead a few thousand miles from here in an ally behind a restaurant." Jackson informed me.

Adopted. Those words hit me like a pole to the face.  All those years of torture and I was never supposed to be with them in the first place. Was I kidnapped? Where are my biological parents? Did they sell me? 

Jackson continued, "I am sorry for this news, i know its a lot to absorb but we are here for support if you need it. Although you're not related to them, we have come to the conclusion that we should let you inherit their money. We are unsure of how they got a hold of so much but it is a large sum. All you'll need to do is sign a few papers. You will no longer need to have an adult with you, so you can sign for everything yourself and maybe even get an apartment of some sort. Of course, if you still feel unstable you can remain here until you're ready. You are healthy and ready to move on but you will need to check in with us every so often, so we can see how you're getting on and support you if you need it." 

Jackson was the head of the child support department and had been there when I was taken out of my cage. He was the first one I trusted and the only one I would talk to for years. He was supportive of my baby steps in trusting him and anyone for that matter. I liked to think of him as a much much older brother, he treated me with care and always did his best. I held him in high regard. 

"I will need some time to process this but thank you for telling me,", I said as he slid a few papers over the table and rolled me a pen. I began scanning through the paper work and came upon an extremely large number, "What is this?"

"That appears to be your inheritance," he chuckled in response. My face must have been in complete shock. 

"You've got to be kidding me, this has 10 digits? I'm a billionaire? How did they get so much money?"

"Well, we still dont know the means of how they got this but this will all be yours; once these forms are filled out. We are also trying to find your biological parents at present, so we should hopefully get a hit soon. You can take as much time as you need to process everything and if you would not like us to notify you of your birth parents just let me know."

I did want to know who they were, but they had put me in the hands of devils and made me suffer. I knew it would be hard to decide on if I wanted to know or not. I'd filled out the forms and handed them over. 

"For now your room in the dorm is still available but you will have to make the decision within the next two weeks on if you want to stay. Within that time the documents will be processed and wired to your own bank account. If you want to move out after it has been processed then we will help you find an apartment not too far from here. You will have me available to you anytime if you need help." 

"Thank you."