The Deal – Pt. 1
Introduction:
A young girl have to live with her uncle and aunt. She doesn’t know they have… some plans for her.
I strongly despise this kind of thing in real life.
—
Even today, after all those years, I remember clearly my first day after I moved in with uncle Carl and aunt Helen. A part of me was sad ’cause I knew I’d probably never see my old friends from my school again, and even sadder because my parents did something and I couldn’t live with them anymore. No, I don’t know what they did, I just know they had to flee the country and told me I’d live with my uncle, because they couldn’t take me with them. I remember crying and asking questions that night, but they said they couldn’t tell me anything else, and promised they’d return soon (a promise they never fulfilled, by the way). I’ve never asked again anything about them, or what they did.
You see, in my young mind, it wasn’t really a bad thing to live with uncle. My parents were poor, always struggling to make ends meet. But not uncle Carl, my mother’s brother. Definitely not.
Their mansion was huge. The idea I’d live there, all that luxury, his pool and several other things I could only imagine because my mother and my uncle weren’t really close (and today, I have a pretty good idea why) kindled some sparks on my 6 years old mind. I’d live there, I’d live like a princess. Well, not really, but I couldn’t have known that back then.
Truth is, as I discovered many years later, a deal was made. My uncle would help my parents flee, and in exchange, I would belong to him. Yes, that’s what you read. I was… kind of sold by my parents.
My first days there were great. Uncle and aunt were really understanding, they knew it would be hard for a 6 years old girl to change so much things in so little time, even if it’s a change for better. My bedroom was huge. Bigger than my old living room and kitchen together. And they filled it with all kinds of toys, dolls, and several girly ornaments that made me feel like really, really happy. Yes, I missed my parents, and yes, those first nights I’d silently cry before sleeping, but aunt Helen always checked on me, hugged me, and whispered sweet lullabies. Sometimes she’d take me to their bedroom, and I slept between them. That made me feel good.
About a week later, I already felt at home. Enjoyed the pool almost all day (even got a good tan), had wonderful meals, played with incredible toys and stuff, always with aunt Helen close by (uncle Carl was usually out all day long).
Well, things started to change the second weekend after I moved in. It was a saturday, and after I put on my bikini to enjoy a nice session at the pool, uncle and aunt called me. I sat with them on their huge living room, in the sofa, between them. They took my hands, and told me it was time to talk about their house rules.
Essentially, just boring things. Things like a schedule for everything, from using the pool or sunbathing, to meals time. But I was specially excited with something. I would be homeschooled. They told me they were about to hire a teacher or two, and my school would be there, at home. They even were preparing one of the rooms to function as a class for me.
That was truly amazing. I would never have to go to school again! But, on the other hand, I would spent most of the day studying, and it would be rather difficult to make new friends. I asked them about that – please, I wanted to have friends so I could share and those cool new things I had in my life – and he answered me: “Don’t worry, sugar, we guarantee you’re gonna have plenty of new friends”.
I was somewhat puzzled by that statement. There was something on his voice I couldn’t quite understand. Some kind of restrained excitement. I didn’t think about it too much, though.
The thing is, how could I possibly make new friends if I’d barely leave that house? But they were rich and gave me so many new things, how could I possibly not believe them? Oh, the things I didn’t know back then…
Anyway, some things changed after that, but not much. A few days later, I was having a quick snack in the living room, watching some cartoons, when aunt Helen sat at my side, saying she had an important thing to talk to me.
She asked me if she was beautiful. “Weird question”, I thought, but the answer was easy. “Yes, you’re very beautiful”.
She smiled and kissed my cheeks. “You’re beautiful too, princess. Do you want to look gorgeous when you grow up? Like those actresses you see on television?”, she asked.
She didn’t have to use those actresses as example. She did looked like one.
I nodded firmly. “Yes, I want! Like you too!”.
She smiled again… “You know, there are some things a girl must do in order to grow up beautiful and gorgeous. Some of them aren’t quite easy to do”.
“I’m not fat!”, I replied quickly. I was pretty sure she was talking about a diet or something. Come on, I loved ice cream and all that kind of stuff I knew made us fat!
She laughed. “Noooo, I’m not talking about that. You’re pretty, I told you. But you must prepare your body to grow. Like a flower… do you know what we have to do so a plant or tree grow beautiful?”.
“Yes, we have to sprinkle water and let it have a lot of sun!”
“That’s right. And a girl must have some care in order to grow beautiful, like a plant.”
“What kind of care?”
“There’s a special medicine you must take.”
So, that was it? A medicine. Yeah, I didn’t like it, my mom used to give really bitter medicines… oh, mom, I missed her… anyway, nothing news there.
“Ok… but is it a bitter medicine?”
“It may not taste really good at first, but I assure you you’ll grow fond of it.”
“Can I have something sweet after I drink it? Like ice cream”
“I believe so, sweetie. But there’s something else…”
“What?”
“There’s some kind of… ritual. You have to do exactly like we say, or the medicine won’t work. And you want to be a beautiful woman when you grow up, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but what do I have to do to take the medicine?”
“For starters, you have to be blindfolded.”
I was baffled. What kind of medicine requires you to be blindfolded?
“Why?”
“Because there’s a secret way to get the medicine, and you can’t see it before you reach a certain age.”
“Uh… okay, I guess”
“And you must have your hands tied to your back, you can’t touch the… uh… recipient. Not now, anyway”.
It was all so weird. Well, I trusted her, so, I had no reason to doubt it.
“Okay… when do I start?”
“Tonight, when you uncle gets home”.
“Why?”
“Because he’s going to give you the medicine.”
“What about you?!?!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be at your side, helping you with… it”
“Okay!”
I smiled, and she hugged me, telling me I was a very good girl, and that I could go back to my snack.
Gee, I couldn’t wait for it! It all seemed exciting! A secret medicine I had to take blindfolded, hands tied on my back!
(continues…)