A Kiss For Every Lifetime

Chapter 2: Third Lifetime

Another lifetime with another misfortune. I was named Ruth in my third reincarnation. This time, I was born in Rome. My mother and father were both slaves to a powerful man and they had me by accident. My mother died upon giving birth of me, leaving me in the hands of my father who in everyday of my living, make me not forget that I was a mistake.

"Go scrub the floor you sloth, if your mother had died with you inside of her, my life could have been better," I heard my father shouted and a pang of hurt hit my chest.

I dip the cloth on the pail of water and started scrubbing the floor. My hands were already bleeding from all the work my father had put me through today. The first task that I did was make food for him and me. Then he made me bathe the pigs in the pen and wash off the manure on the ground. By lunch, my father sent me to the market to do his errands as a slave and went back home carrying loads of cloth.

When he saw the cloths had smudges of manure, he hit my head and shove me in the river. The whole afternoon, I struggled to get myself out of the water before any animal would start feasting on me. By sun down, I went home completely soaked by water from head to toe.

When my father saw me creating a puddle of water inside the house, he started shouting at me and push me out of the house and lock the doors so I was forced to sleep outside the house with nothing to warm me up against the cold night air.

The crow of the rooster awoken me by dawn. My head felt light and airy. My hands were blue and trembling and so was my lips. The front door slammed open and I saw my father standing by the door frame with a hoe in his hand. He shove the hoe in my sides and I winced as the tip buried in the bruise forming in my torso.

"Go do my errand and don't be back until you do so," my father drop the hoe beside my head and I push myself out of the ground.

By the time the sun had completely risen, I was halfway done with my job. I ignored the slight pound of pain in my temple as I swing the hoe from my head and to the ground.

"What have you done to my land?"

I froze from where I stood and my blood run cold. I turn to look and a gasp escape my lips. I drop the hoe to the ground and knelt on the ground as my knees gave up from underneath me. "I was only doing what I am supposed to do sir," I replied and something hit me in the back of my head and I cried out as pain erupted at where they hit me.

Something dripped down from my face and landed on my hand. I bit my lip in pain as I caught sight of my blood. "I do not remember having you under my command, who are you and name your intentions!" I raise my head to see who was talking and I met two cold eyes staring at me intently.

I drop my head as quickly as I could and winced at the sudden gesture. "I was only doing what I am supposed to do sir," I repeated and squeeze my eyes shut as another blow came to my arms and I fell in the ground.

"And that would be?"

"Doing my father's bidding sir,"

Footsteps appeared and when I glance up to see, I saw my father running towards us carrying a hoe of his own.

The man riding the horse turn his body to look at my father and my father knelt to ground. He bowed his head so low to the point that his nose was touching the dry ground. "Are you responsible of this vermin?" The man asked venomously and my father nodded his head.