1. ARE YOU LOST?

"SELENE!"

Someone in the kitchen yelled. Her name has been called dozens of times, but she refuses to answer and instead struggles with her favorite red fleece blanket.

The girl shifted her sleeping position to the right side, pulling the pillow behind her and covering her left ear with the soft object. She is hoping not to hear her mother's angry yells.

"Selene!"

A middle-aged woman pried open the child's room door. She carried her legs with her hips towards Selene, who was suffocating a pair of ears with a pillow.

"Can't you be a helpful kid?"

The woman became enraged. She yanked and tossed the lavender-covered pillow around before grabbing the brown mane of the girl who was lying on her back at the time.

The girl sat on the edge of the bed, her head raised, staring at her mother with all her rage.

"You did manage to squander thousands of dollars that would have gone into my pocket, you son of a b*tch!"

After successfully venting her rage, the woman slapped both sides of her daughter's face. She felt wronged because the man who wanted to pay for her daughter's body was beaten by a group of unknown men as they were leaving for the hotel.

Between sobs, Selene laughed. It hurt, but she chose to laugh, masking the pain in her heart. She was well aware that money was far more valuable to her mother than she was to her.

Instead of responding with a defiant stare, Selene chose to say something else. "Do you have any information, ma'am?" Selene pushed her mother's hand away from the nape of her neck.

She rose from her seat with a stuttering motion, then walked to the other side, leaning against the wardrobe. Grace's face was perfectly reflected in the mirror on her right.

Grace's eyes balled up as she observed Selene's behavior, which appeared to be a challenge to an argument, and the girl folded her arms while casting a blazing gaze at her mother.

"Last night, the man who wanted to fuck me was a father from one of my school friends!" Selene screamed. "His wife is also dying in the hospital! Do you know what I'm talking about, Mom?" As her emerald irises met Grace's caramel beads, Selene rolled her eyes.

"You are truly heartless, ma'am!" Selene yelled at her mother once more.

Disgusted, angry, and hurt all rolled into one. Grace had no way of knowing the background of the person who wanted to sleep with her daughter. Worse, even the old man had the audacity to seek out another woman to satisfy his desires when his wife died.

If it was said in a movie that the world is currently ruled by bad people, Selene would undoubtedly confirm it. Her mother, as well as the mashers out there, are members of the evil faction that currently rules the world.

"Selene, for God's sake! Don't say anything!" Grace spoke up once more.

Selene rolled her eyes, shook her head, and said something that sounded absurd to her ears. The girl laughed and then said. "It turns out that you still dare to say the name of God!" Half of the monologue was mocking.

The woman with orange hair got up from her seat and crossed her legs in front of Selene. She flew her right palm to both sides of Selene's face in the next split second.

Selene smirked once more. She raised her head, her perfectly round eyes fixed on Grace's brown eyes.

"You talk a lot, Selene!" Grace is adamant.

Selene shook her head faintly, her valves seemed to shake, and replied, "Why don't you just kill me, mom?" she said bitterly at the end of the sentence.

"Mom, pay attention to what I'm saying. I don't want to give my body to any man for any reason, including money!" Selene went on, emphasizing everything she said.

Grace clenched her fists, resisting the urge to slap Selene again. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and returned her gaze to Selene's face with a slightly softened expression.

"Marcus bought you a lovely gown. I've stored it in the closet. You must put it on today. In an hour, a wealthy man will arrive."

Grace smiled warmly as she stroked Selene's right cheek. She stood up and walked out of the purple room with her legs. Selene let out a snort. Annoyed. It's completely unbelievable. Grace didn't give up on selling her body to the mashers out there for a second.

Thirty seconds later, she slammed the door to her room and locked herself in, not wanting to be disturbed by anyone.

The girl moved her gaze around the room, inspecting each object one by one. Then she focused all of his attention on the large duffel bag beside the bathroom door.

Selene quickly stood up, grabbed the backpack, and stuffed some of her clothes and important belongings inside. Selene left the house with a smile on her beautiful face, imagining some fun things.

"Okay. Let's get out of this hell!" Selene's monologue was delivered with a wide smile on her face.

Her smile faded when she noticed something that piqued her interest. Selene quickly turned her head, her gaze drawn to the two windows in her room. There is no way out of there.

Iron bars completely encased the bedroom window. There was no way she could escape by jumping from there, as she had previously imagined.

Selene sighed, defeated. In the next split second, she drew a white hoodie from the closet and slung it over her shoulders, then slung her backpack over her shoulders.

"There's nothing wrong with openly defying authority." Selene took her time opening her bedroom door.

She poked her head out, then swept her gaze left and right across the room. Marcus, Grace's stepfather, was laughing despite the fact that Grace was not present. Marcus, her stepfather, on the other hand, was laughing and watching his favorite television show.

"Okay. That jerk isn't a big deal. With that much fat on his body, he can't chase me." Selene persuaded herself before stomping her way to the stairs.

Selene carefully carried her legs down the stairs, one by one, without making a single creak or rumble sound.

"Hello, Selene! What are your plans?" Marcus was able to observe Selene's movement behind his back.

The girl came to a halt and turned to face Marcus with a slight smirk on her face. "Looks like... From now on, you'll have to serve those old farts when I'm not around!" Before finally running through the wide open door, Selene said.

"GOODBYE, EVERYONE!" Selene screamed as she managed to re-close the door.

Marcus stood up and ran back and forth, attempting to catch up with Selene, who had run far ahead. All he did after that was curse at Selene, hoping the young girl would hear his annoyance.

Marcus chose to return to the house, out of breath, to find Grace, who was busy talking to someone on her cellphone, and then told her about the incident he had done to reclaim his stepdaughter.

Grace immediately hung up the phone and slammed into Marcus with all her might. I'm upset and angry all at the same time. Marcus might not be able to guard their front door, or even pursue a Selene.

"Visit all of her close friends! And get her here before the rich man arrives!" Grace stated.

***

Selene had been looking for a suitable hiding place for three hours. Unfortunately, until the sky changed color, the girl was unable to find a hiding place willing to accept her in one night with only $50 in her possession.

"Okay, fine. The world is cruel to me. Lord, I will accept your punishment. Take your time." Selene dragged her legs out of the rundown Motel she'd just arrived at and went to investigate the sidewalk across the street.

She swept her gaze across the street corners and the skyscrapers that seemed to tower on her right and left while humming.

"Ooooh... I need a sugar daddy to pay my bills!"

As the passersby around her cast probing glances, Selene quickly kept her mouth shut. The girl quickened her pace and came to a halt when she came across a small alleyway between a hotel and a furniture store.

She narrowed her eyes and looked down the narrow passage with mixed emotions. Selene pondered going down the dark passage. Fear gripped her, but because her legs were trembling from exhaustion, she was forced to bring her legs in —along the narrow space.

"Tonight this this will be your room, Selene. Don't worry. Just tonight"

Selene reassured herself that the narrow passage was not dangerous. Because no one else would welcome it with open arms, even if it only had $50.

When she heard other footsteps echoing behind her, Selene came to a halt. Without saying anything, Selene slowly turned her body to face a large tall man who smiled broadly at her.

"Are you lost, baby girl?" said the man, stretching out his right hand in front of Selene.