Soulmate

Chapter 1

***WARNING*** I will rewrite the beginning, changing it completely from the cringy cliche that it is. I will possibly rewrite the whole book after that I'm finished writing it. So, yes I know that the beginning is bad, and Yes! I will change this!***

Maria stood alone on the stage. She briefly looked down at her bare feet, rubbing against cheap black wooden planks roughly put together. Someone could fit one or two dimes between each of them. Some of the planks were even unequal, breaking their typical pattern with a split or a bigger crack. The bottom of her feet were darkened by the dirt and dust accumulated on the stage. The girl shyly looked up at the empty seats, with only one row filled with men who all had intimidating faces. They glared at her, as if she was wasting their precious time. She didn't have much of a chance to get a good look at each of them, the camera crew flashed their bright lights on her, blinding her. A circle appeared around her, and her shadow appeared behind her.

The girl anxiously looked over to her father, standing behind the curtains. She thought he'd bring her some relief of her nervosity, but his harsh eyes only grew colder. The pressure her father had dropped on her shoulders was now becoming overwhelming. She swallowed her fear, the best she could, and took a few steps forward near the edge of the stage. Maria loved her father, though he didn't do anything to show his affection toward her, she naively stayed optimistic. The girl should have felt betrayal when her father announced to her that he was bringing her to a black market to sell her like cattle, or a slave, but it was worse. She felt bad. She felt guilty. Maria understood that her father loved money more than anything, and apparently, more than family.

She looked to the ceiling, and closed her eyes.

What would mama think of this?

Maria took a deep breath and squinted to the men in their seats. Most of them had an impatient grimace on their faces because of the shy girl taking her time. Her father made a hand movement that caught her eye. He was urging her forward, to get going and get it done. She didn't need to heard him speak to know that it was what he wanted her to understood. The girl looked ahead and nodded. She heard a man speak behind her father.

''Cue the music!''

** ** ** **

            The girl felt disgusted with herself. She was only dancing ballet, but it wasn't from the heart. Maria didn't want to do this. She wanted to go home, to be with him... But she couldn't always get what she wanted. Maria had to respect her father's wishes. She had to be a good daughter for him. For him, she had squared her shoulders, and lifted her arms. Just a thing as simple as music had given her enough confidence to pull through. She was good at dancing; it was in her zone of comfort.

            When the music finally ended, the girl slumped her shoulders, her body going soft as her muscles relaxed. The lights turned off, making her invisible to the intimidation men. She turned around and dashed away, to join her father behind the curtains. At least, here, she felt a little safer from the glares of the rich business men watching her every moves. Her father put a stiff hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

            ''You did good.'' He said in a voice empty of all emotions.

            She looked up at his face, and his raspy, dry voice made her shiver from head to toe. Maria was sadly unsurprised when she saw dollar signs glow in his eyes as he watched the screen and the numbers. The girl was almost too scared to look herself, it made it all seem too real. Her father watched them bid their money on her, biting his nails and jolting of joy every time it went higher and higher. He had hoped for a biding war, and he got one. He had babbled about it on the drive to the market. He had told her at that moment, the men didn't look at the price or the value of the object, but more on who would win. It was a matter of pride and ego. Of who was the best, the richest. The one who had more power.