Two

Serenity moved through the beaded curtains, through the storeroom, past the chiller and to rickety the stairs at the back of the building.

Joe had been letting her rent the small apartment upstairs for just over a month.

Well… rent was a big word. More like she was borrowing it, and he couldn’t remember how she had come to be there, or when the rent was due. So far, he hadn’t been too particular, and she’d not reminded him either way. He seemed to be happy to have her there and when she could, she’d help around the store for some groceries.

Climbing the stairs, Serenity moved along the small corridor, past Joe’s own apartment and up the next set to hers. Letting herself in, she closed the door and looked around.

Nothing had been moved or touched.

Taking the food to the kitchenette, she deposited it into the small refrigerator. Leaving out the milk, she opened the bottle and drank from it, while she moved through the small apartment, stripping off her wet clothes as she went.

Hanging the clothing over the shower rails, Serenity dressed in fluffy pajamas and returned to the living room with her bottle of milk. Sinking into the sofa, she adjusted herself so the springs wouldn’t dig in, tipped her head back and listened. 

One thing Serenity had always picked up on and was attuned to, was the sound of the city.

Dogs barking, kids playing in the yards behind the store, the sound of cars and trucks as they moved around. They were the sounds which reminded her, everything was normal.

Everything was perfectly fine.

It was when those normal noises stopped, she ran.

Fifteen places in as many months. It was hard to throw down roots when her gift started wearing off on people.

Serenity was an orphan. Discarded at the steps of a local brothel and bought up by the Madam. She’d had been taught how weak men’s minds were and she had mastered the art of not only seduction, but deception, from an early age.

Then her gift had materialized.

She could remember the exact moment she realized what she could do.

Thirteen. Sitting on the porch at the back of the brothel, waiting for one of her favorite girls to come and spend time with her, after servicing a John. She had picked up a stick and written on her thigh… Sing to me.

She didn’t know why those words came to her, but within seconds, a pure, crisp voice floated from one of the rooms behind her. Serenity had followed the sound and found one of the other girls, sitting in the kitchen singing.

When asked why she had started, the girl looked confused, then shrugged. “Because I felt compelled to.”

Serenity left her and moved back outside—then the pain had come.

It took her almost a week to try again, but when she did, she asked for a little more.

Money.

The madam did not know why Serenity deserved two hundred dollars, but she gave it up without question, a smile plastered on her face.

That had been the start of Serenity’s journey.

She hadn’t stayed in the brothel much longer after. Her gift had started to become more trouble than it was worth. People were questioning the madam’s gifts of money, clothing, and a better room. Of why a thirteen-year-old girl received so much, without lifting a finger around the brothel.

She had only two options.

Stay and stop.

Run and keep it.

She chose the latter…