Chapter Text
“Mom, where are we going?” I asked quietly. It was already dark outside, lights glowed in the windows, and snowflakes fell from the sky. At that moment, I thought it was truly beautiful.
“You’ll see soon,” my mother answered coldly. I didn’t even pay attention to her tone and kept enjoying the weather.
After some time walking, we turned into a dark alley, where a stranger in black was waiting for us.
“Mom, let’s go home, I don’t like it here,” I said without thinking, not even understanding what was about to happen.
At that moment, the man in black grabbed my arm, and with his other hand, he handed my mother an envelope.
“Pleasure doing business,” he said. Even though his face was hidden under a hood, I could still see a grin, like a snarl, on my kidnapper’s face. A monstrous fear enveloped my entire body, and I wanted to run far away.
At that time, I didn’t understand what was in that mysterious envelope, but later I realized: there was money inside... My own mother sold me... But to whom... Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I soon found out.
I was sold to the church.
“NO, MOM, DON’T GO!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as the man in black dragged me away. She didn’t even look back.
We walked through narrow alleys. All I saw were gray, ugly buildings. My cheeks stung from the cold, and tears wouldn’t stop flowing.
After some time, we arrived at the church. It was... small? Even though I lived in a small town, our church was large and beautiful, with golden domes that shimmered in the light. But this one... It was tiny, wooden, with a cross on the roof. It seemed like it would collapse from a single gust of wind.
I was forced inside.
And there... There were children around my age. Some were playing with others, while some had curled up in a corner, crying hysterically...
That’s what I did, too.