Chapter Two

AMALA

I suddenly have flashbacks in my dream. Like a motion picture revealing scenes of my life going backwards until it reaches my childhood.

Memories I keep hidden as it only brings me a reminder of my miserable life now.

When I was young, my father passed away, leaving the three-year-old me with my grief-stricken mother.

Not long after, she started selling herself and brought different men to our house. She called them her "clients".  One of them got interested in me when I started growing a pair of boobs and he started fondling them.

But I got so pissed and repulsed with his actions that I stabbed his hand with a fork. My mother beat me with a belt afterwards.

Honestly, I didn't have any fond memories of my mother as she always spent her time either with her clients or drinking away with her misery. I tolerated her whims as she was the only blood family that I ever had.

Until I turned sixteen, she got pregnant with one of her clients.

"Why wouldn't you just abort it, mom?" I said when she announced of keeping it.

"Why should I when Richard Bates promised to marry me after giving him his pup, Amala?"

"H-his pup? Wait, you slept with a wolf? You know that wolves looked at us like pigs in a pen! Abort it, mom! That hound only made a fool out of you! He wouldn't marry you!"

My words only made my mother’s face give an ugly, old scowl.

"You're the one who is making a fool out of me, Amala! You've never agreed to any of my choices!”

“That’s because every single damn choice you made was a mistake! Like wasting money on alcohol and drugs! Selling yourself even though you could have found other proper jobs out there!”

“So, you are embarrassed to have me as your mother, is that what you’re saying, Amala?!”

I gritted my teeth before I snapped. “YES! Because you didn’t give a damn about me at all!”

SLAP!

My left cheek stung, yet I am used to her physical abuse. I only gave her a cold stare as she returned it with her piercing glare.

“How dare you speak to your mother like that! IF YOU WEREN’T JACK’S DAUGHTER, I COULD HAVE KICKED YOU OUT ALREADY!”

Then she gives a sinister grin. “That’s right….you have to get out, Amala.

My heart throbbed. “M-Mom…”

“GET OUT NOW!”

That was our last conversation as mother and daughter as I packed my things and left just as she wanted.

Years of being homeless made me tick. I started sleeping under the gymnasium bleachers for the rest of my highschool life. My peers later found out that I had gone from the whore’s daughter to a homeless student that they enjoyed pestering me in my “home”. So, I kept finding sleeping places and a place to bathe.

But that changed when I started getting a job: street performance.

After working hard honing my acting skills, I started getting more roles and more recognition around the streets. My acting troupe were the kindest people I had ever met and they offered me to live with them so we could practice and rehearse together.

After that, I had a dream. I wanted to become an actress and be as convincing as that Marlon Brando guy or to become as charming as Vivien Leigh.

I wanted to be like them. I wanted to wow the audience with my skills.

However, my happiness was cut short when my "younger sister" came on that rainy day.

That was the day I later found out that my mother killed herself, leaving her four-year-old daughter, crying on the porch and a letter placed on her bunny backpack.

When I read the letter, I was mortified not because of the revelation of her planned suicide but also to warn me to get away from a certain loan shark agency.

And left me in debt of 1.4 million dollars.

My hands trembled after reading her suicide note and I crumpled it out of anger. I carried the child with me to the pub, which I heard rumors Richard Bates would often go there to splurge money on.

It was luck that I caught sight of him exiting the bar and I screamed, “Mr. Bates! Please wait!”

A tall, regal man in his late 40s turned to me with eyes screeching with prejudice. “What do you want, human?” He was accompanied by two men in black suits and they were alarmed to see me.

It gave me cold feet yet I remained resilient. “My mother, Amanda Gaines died recently and her child—your child—needed you!” I gave a light nudge for the four-year-old girl to look at her father and she tried not to cry, yet her feeble little hand grasped on my finger and was trembling at the sight of him.

He stared at the child for a moment before bursting out in laughter. I scorned yet I remained silent.

“That whore? Serves her right for being deceived!” He roared another fit of laughter as he turned against us.

“W-Wait! What about your daughter?!”

“No daughter of mine has the blood of a human.”

Surprised, my mouth dropped as he continued while they retreated away slowly from my view. “Sell her to the black market, I don’t care. It will make you earn a lot, human.” He continued laughing as they slowly disappeared from my sight.

I felt my blood rising as I gritted my teeth. HOW DARE THAT DAMN WOLF—?!

“I wanna go home! Where’s momma?!” The child sobbed.

I turned to her in disbelief.

If I keep this child…the loan sharks would recognize my relation to my mother. It would ruin my chance of achieving my dream.

I c-could…

I could just ditch the child and move on with my life. My fury was impeccable and I hated my mother for leaving a child like this alone in this cruel world!

But my baby sister didn’t do anything wrong.

I knelt down as I smiled at her. “Hey, my name is Amala. What’s yours?”

“A-Amy,” she said as she eyed me, carefully. “I’m Amy. A-are you my big sis?”

I hesitated for a moment before I nodded. “Yes.”

Then she gave me the most adorable smile I’ve ever seen and I couldn’t help but feel warmth in my heart. “I like you, Amala!”

My decision had been made during that brief interaction.

So, I left the troupe. I didn’t want them to get involved in my family problems and raised my half-younger sister alone while we ran away from the loan sharks. I started working different odd jobs—jobs that could bring more money so I could slowly pay these loan sharks back.

And we had been running and hiding for three LONG years.

But I didn’t care.

It was all for her sake.

For my younger sister, Amy—I would do anything so she could have a better life than mine.

==========

CRASH!

My body jolts and collides against the bottom of the barrel and my eyes shoot open from the impact.

"Well, that's the first one. Let's get the rest of them back in the truck."

"We need more backup, boss!" The other whines. "There are too many of them!"

"Quit complainin' and let's go!" The voices become distant as their footsteps move farther away.

But I can't believe that I dozed off into a deep sleep! The dream I have isn't exactly great either, but it reminded me of my resolve to return to Amy.

After all, Amy is alone at home, waiting for me.

I open the barrel lid and slowly peek to see if the coast is clear. The room is dark and I am surrounded by crates and barrels of berries.

Seriously, what's with the wolves' obsession with berries tonight?

"This must be the storage room of Diamond Hotel," I mutter to myself, seeing that no one is around.

I jump out of the barrel and slowly sneak out of the storage room. I see another room across the hallway.

A laundry room filled with machines that are still working and some clothes are hanging on the clotheslines.

My eyes flicker as a thought comes to my mind.