Chapter 30

"Anahi? My dear? My love," It's been minutes since she has been like this. No sign of life. I have already covered her with a warm blanket but she's still cold.

My heart has never been at ease ever since, especially because something keeps telling me that this is what her destiny would be, to be punished on earth so that she can go to heaven.

But I am not ready to let go of her yet. She is my daughter after all. No mother gets tired of being a mother.

"God, Please show me a sigh. She can't leave like this!"

The door slams open, "I heard you shouting, is everything okay?" Steve asks.

"My daughter. Anahi. She can't have been gone right?" My heart panics even more. Steve says no other word but takes her in his arms like, his eyes expressing fear of losing her.

"Madam we have to take her to the hospital. Now!"

"She cannot go to the hospital! She just can't!"

"Do you want to kill your own daughter then?!" He panics, probably more than I already have,

"I have a friend we can trust!" With that, he rushes her to the car outside. We both hop inside and he starts the engine. The speed he reaches is far worse than that of a bullet. It took a while before we reach the dispensary.

A man with a beard was already outside waiting for us. The animal dispensary did not have anyone at all, located in the countryside with a quiet neighbourhood.

Steve takes her inside in one bridal style carrying her in his arms. Reaching inside the room, the young man takes us to a private room possibly only he uses. Steve places her on the bed.

"Oh, God! Was she kidnapped?" The man asks in disbelief. The Anahi we are looking at right now is red and purple, "Who would do something this cruel to such a beautiful woman?"

"Stop staring and see if there is anything that you can do for her please!"

"This is a dispensary for animals. She's too wounded."

"I ask you to do what you can to save her, she is not someone you can take to the hospital. Please," It's more than clear that he has panicked.

He starts examining her and asks us to wait outside. My heart silently pounds a little bit faster as I pray a rosary. Mary the Virgin is also a mother, she will listen to the prayer of another mother. She will save her. I'm sure she will.

"If you are this afraid to lose her maybe you should not do it next time," Steve sighs.

"It had to be done. Her sins are to blame for this," I tell him. As a mother, I do not regret what I did. I knew I could wake up to see a day like this. But it was for the better. She needed this. I know one day she will remember this and thank me. For now, let her want to throw stones at me. It will all end sooner or later.

Looking at her always reminds me of the tunnel that I have to go through. I was an only child with a mother who barely could afford one meal a day. Our house was on the further side of the countryside.

I thanked God every day for that because no one would know exactly how pathetic my life was and because of that it became less pathetic and a little bearing. At least two or three times a day, I would just eat fruits that nature provided. That was how I kept myself from hunger.

Mother told me it was Father himself who built the house for he could not afford to pay a constructor. Unfortunately, he kissed the earth goodbye a few months after I was born and life became how I was living at the moment.

My mother worked as a cook in the wine industry. The wage was too low for even one person to take care of him/herself. The boss was a pervert and a bitch. He had power that not even the government could question. He funded most of their projects, and arresting him would be their bigger loss.

My mother had to bear it all. Having a kid as stubborn as I was for I always wanted something that needed more money than she could afford, School. All of the kids around my age only attended high school, but I wanted more.

I wanted to become bigger and better than the owner of the wine industry. I wanted to become so big that not even the government would question my actions, only God. What I did not know was what price I had to pay.

It was around 8 PM. Mother came home with excitement displayed all over her face, "I guess something happened from where you are coming from, Mother," I was currently sitting in our little dining space on one of the two chairs studying for my final high school exams.

"Better than ever." She came and gave me the warmest and tightest hug one could ever get, "Finally, your dream will come true. Mr Levy told me he would take care of everything. All you need to do is study hard,"

"Wait," I was surprised. A man with a personality such as his sponsoring me without anything in return? "Did you do anything? Exactly, how did you convince him that he's willing to spend his money on me?"

"I did not convince him. He heard about you and was satisfied that his money would not go to waste," She started crying as she hugged me back again, "I am so proud of you. I am so sorry that I can't take care of you on my own, my deer. Now let's go. You need to express your gratitude personally,"

"Can't we say them tomorrow? Mother, you're tired,"

"We need him to know how important this is to us in case he tries to change his mind,"

"Then I will go there myself, I will be back in a while,"

"But it is dark already. You can't go alone!"

"Mother, I will be okay," I wish I listened to her that day. Everything that happened afterwards is what has made me into who I am today. Angry, nervous and anxious all the time. I went there, exactly what he wanted.

The offer turned out to be a deal. I give him my body, and he gave me his money. Of course, I refused. I was never going to give up my girlhood to a despicable man. So I rushed out. I started running. My mind was blank. Tears started flowing like water. Just a moment ago I felt like the luckiest girl, but now I feel nothing more than a pit that anyone can throw anything they want to.

My mind became clear again. It had to be clear. I needed to do that for my mother. I wouldn't want her to lose the only job she had ever known. Walking along the road, another misfortune, way worse than the one I have already faced arrived, "Hey beautiful!"

Two men who seemed very drunk and in need of woman's service were now in front of me. I didn't know what else to do, so I ran. They started chasing me. My chest was out of breath. My whole body was sweating. I have no idea how I fell and that was the moment they caught me.

"Look who fell," They both started to laugh, so hard that it hurt their tummies. Then they took me to the woods. Where no one would hear my cries and do what they craved so much to do to me the moment they saw me.

That night I went home, completely different from when I went out. My mother was sleeping on the couch, the only one that we had, waiting for her one and only daughter to give her the good news. I was glad she was asleep. She didn't need to see me like that. I was a mess.

After a few days, I went to Mr Levy. I let him do what he wanted with me. There was no point in preserving my dignity. It was already ruined. That is how Anahi was born. No one should and will ever know that she is that man's child. Not even her. Everyone thinks that My first daughter died of a disease. The other truth is, she is not 35, she is actually 37.