I didn't think that it would bother me. I didn't think that it was a good thing, as surprising as it was. I didn't think that it would even bother my little brother, Azu, who had always shrugged most things off with a large, goofy, grin.
I didn't think that the huge scary forest that had always towered over our small cottage, that had always chained ourselves in the middle of nowhere, that had always struck us with fear ever since we were abandoned here by our parents, that had always been simply there; I didn't think that it would suddenly disappear.
And I don't mean as in the trees grew legs and migrated to some country in the Far East. I mean that the forest had put a pause in my morning routine. Effectively.
Every morning up til now, I kept myself on my toes by looking out the window. The second I woke up, the first thing I would do was to scuffle towards the window and open it, tentatively sticking my head outside and scanning the entire forest.
All I would see each morning was large oak trees and rotting bark. Dead grass. Glowing eyes; a present from the mythical creatures occupying this forest, and in the far right side of my view would be a dead carcass of whatever poor creature was victimized lying on the edge of the flower bed.
This morning, however, would be what some would call "a pleasant surprise". When I opened the window to poke my head out, I almost fell out instead.
There was no large oak trees and rotting bark. There was no dead grass. There were no more glowing eyes, present from the mythical creatures occupying this forest, and the dead carcass of whatever poor creature that was victimized was no longer lying on the edge of the flower bed.
Aforementioned flower bed was not there either.
Instead of this stupidly terrifying forest surrounding us, there were these tall buildings made of what appeared to be glass surrounding us from all sides, the sun glinting off of each pane no matter where you looked, blinding you instantly. In fact, that was the exact reason why I had nearly fallen out my window this morning.
After recovering my bearings, I slammed the window shut and hastily covered it with my dark grey drapes. Dreary, like my life.
Heading down the staircase, I took note of the fact that Azu was already downstairs in the kitchen, waiting on one of the chairs. Strangely enough, Azu was rapping his fingers rapidly on the kitchen table, glancing back and forth as if someone were about to jump out at him.
"Azu." I called out simply, my voice at a steady volume, on the quiet side as to not startle him.
Ironically enough, Azu had immediately jumped at the sound of my voice. I frowned, a thought scratching the back of my mind, though I hastily shut it down. There was no reason to still be thinking about the forest that had mysteriously disappeared, right?
Azu's chocolate brown eyes flickered between my feet and my face repeatedly before his tense stature relaxed. "Maya. I bid you a well morning."
I side-eyed my brother as I walked into the kitchen, opening the cabinets and searching through them for the loaf of bread we had stored. "I bid you a well morning, too, Azu."
Nothing was said after that. Usually, we both would have plenty to say, despite our day having just barely started out, but it seemed like today we were both too tired to converse properly.
At some point our bread was nearly finished, Azu was first to break the silence. His first question was not an opening to a conversation that I would have preferred. "Maya, what has happened to the forest?"
Swallowing the piece of bread in my mouth, I replied, "Azu, finish eating your bread before beginning discussion."
Azu didn't appear to appreciate that response as he set down his knife down on the table heftily. "I have already completed eating my bread, Maya." He pointed out. I glanced at his plate to see that he had, in fact, completed his bread, though it had done nothing to improve his thin figure. Much like how it had not improved mine.
"And before you say anything else," He continued, breaking off from the professionalism way of speaking that we had been brought up with throughout our entire lives. "You can't just ignore what's happening outside. You know what those building mean, Maya! Why are you just ignoring it?!"
"Azu!" I finally snapped, having had enough of my brother, though I knew his words rang in my head like a bell. "Even if it is true, there is nothing we can do about it. We will simply have to move on." I swallowed as my stomach turned itself inside-out. "Like we always have." I added softly.
Any attempts at further conversation were nigh impossible after the elephant in the room had been finally addressed, as indirect and vague as it was.
Our parents were coming home.
My feelings towards my parents were similar to what I thought of the forest. A raging conflict between different emotions, all fighting for dominance in the dreary mindset that I've always held on life.
Maybe it was because I've given up expecting anything akin to that of love from mine and Azu's parents.
After all, those two were forest creatures their-selves, unable to express any love for their only two children.
The two children they have abandoned in a forest, as they have done so multiple other times.
After I finished my loaf of bread-having eaten at a slower pace than Azu-I cleaned the kitchen, though there was not much to clean.
Azu simply sat at the table, watching me with his glittering brown eyes, which unfortunately did not hold the ignorance and youthfulness one would expect from a boy his age. I was sure that mine didn't either.
Our lives did not need ignorance, according to the wicked hands of fate that led us to have such callous and aloof parents.
Having finished cleaning, I ventured into the library, Azu following me at an even pace. The library itself was small, about the size of a child's bedroom-like mine and Azu's-though it was filled to the brim with books.
The books were a present from our parents, holding the key to an escape from the forest that stood tall around us. Or rather, as it once did.
Selecting a book and handing one to Azu, I sat down and began immersing myself in the wonderful world of fiction.
The book that I was reading was quote humorous, despite some serious moments, which was a nice escape from my life-and an escape from what was going to happen once my parents arrived at our cottage.
The story told a tale about an old woman and her pet lion arriving in a hidden village inside a mysterious mountain. I felt a pang of sympathy as I read about the past behind the old woman, and how she had grown up isolated from other children due to her parents strict teachings. I smiled at the lion, who was able to take on creatures larger and scarier than any other with ease, yet was wholly petrified at the sight of a daisy.
Though, I did find it strange that the lion was scared of a flower. Or maybe that was simply because I had gotten used to the towering bunch of oak trees circling around our little cottage.
The reminder of the forest was the first thing that caused my gaze to darken.
The second was the loud rapping noise at the door.
I set down my book and hesitantly walked towards the door, Azu's eyes following me the entirety of the way.
I stood in front of the door, which strangely felt as if it were stretching miles above me, towering over me, threatening me, mocking me, filling me with an orchestra of emotions-so much that I couldn't differentiate one from the other...
And yet, despite my internal struggles for emotional control, I clasped my sweaty hand onto the door handle, and opened the gates to hell.
The light from the outside poured in all at once, momentarily blinding me and causing me to shield my eyes with my arm. Instead of the smell of rotting flesh and oak wood that I associated with the forest, the pungent odor of smog poured into the house, causing me to wrinkle my nose.
Two figures stood in front of me, both as tall as the doorway which towered over me and caused my uncontrollable orchestra of emotions.
My parents.
I didn't think I would ever see them again, in all honesty. When they had left Azu and I here in this forest; to test our skills, to assess the durability of us two adolescent children, to evaluate the psychological affects the forest would have on our wills, to observe how much change a small library of books can have on a child's mindset...
I had hoped that the two of us would die before our parents got the chance to complete their experiment. At the very least, Azu. He didn't deserve this, as much as another part of me did not wish for my brother to depart from this world.
"Father." I spoke, addressing the larger of the two towering figures first. That was how it was. Father simply had more authority than Mother did, and as such, he must be the first I bend my will to. I then turned towards the woman who stood next to the large figure. "Mother."
They said nothing, and simply walked past me into the house. My eyes scanned over their features.
There were none. If you were to ask me to describe them, it would be impossible, for all I know of my parents' appearance, is that they towered over me-physically and socially.
They towered over Azu, too.
After staring for a while longer, reality caught up with me, and I closed the door, and followed my parents to the kitchen, where they sat themselves down on one of the stools.
Azu was sitting there too, his hands in his lap, staring at the floor. Staring, with no emotion. Staring, with his dead eyes. Staring, with a building sense of dread that we were going to be moved again. That once more were our parents ready to abandon us in another location, simply to test us. To experiment.
I could tell Azu felt these feelings, because I felt them too. Nonetheless, I took my seat next to Azu, across from our parents, and sat in the same position as him.
There was a lingering bout of silence, until finally, my father spoke. "The experiment has been completed."
Azu and I said nothing. We did not move a muscle either. This was simply routine. As unfortunate as it was.
"We are getting ready to replace Scenario Forest with Scenario Cave." Our father continued, his voice reverberating through my soul, leaving my heart feeling heavy. "The same conditions will apply. Only a small supply of bread and this library of books. Unlike this time, however, the fictional books will be replaced with textbooks written by important scholars. You will try to learn as much as possible, and survive. Any attempts at death will result in immediate termination of contract."
Ah, yes. The contract. How could I forget? The only reason our parents had started this experiment. The sole reason why Azu and I were destined to spend the rest of our life in misery. The contract that we signed with the devil.
Termination of contract would mean one thing.
"As I am sure you know, if your contract is terminated, the experiment will fail, resulting in the death of Madam and Master Ebony."
Termination of contract would result in the death of the only two people who did not want us to get in this situation in the first place. Termination of contract would result in the death of the only two people Azu and I both knew would never wish harm upon us. Termination of contract would result in the death of the only two people who ever cared for us.
It was a lie. I did understand why my feelings towards my parents were this symphony of negative emotions. I did know the true reason.
The real reason was that these were not my parents.
My father, or rather, this complete fake of a parent, continued. "Though, I believe that you already know as much. As you do not want the death of your beloved parents, is that right, Experiment Number 001 and Experiment Number 002?"
We didn't reply.
We weren't supposed to.
Because this was our life.
And even if we did get caught up in living in the forest.
We were the ones to sign the contract.
The contract that signed away our souls forever.
That contract was the reason why the forest had disappeared.
She didn’t own a soul. Just a body. A body that was forced to work in harsh conditions for an even more horrible man. A man who would buy the souls of others without much thought, only thinking of how strong they would be. She had a strong and agile body. Extremely resilient. Perfect for the work she was put to.
She didn’t have a name. Her Master just referred to her as “Number Nine”, so that was all she was known as. Nine.
Nine had gotten used to the harsh conditions. A small room with only a small blanket in it. Her shovel was right next to the door, which had a huge metal padlock on the outside. Her only clothes consisted of one pair of undergarments and an old, tattered, white dress. She was worked to the bone every day, for exactly fifteen hours. For the other nine hours of the day, she would either try her best to succumb to sleep or read a book.
Oh, how she loved books! It was such an incredible invention that she was amazed at the thought that anyone could come up with something so ingenious. A thick leather cover with thin, frail, pages. A wonderful aroma leaked out of the book telling her the age of the book and when the last person read it. It made her ecstatic to know she was able to sense these things.
Even more amazing was the words. The script was so beautiful even if it was always in the same color: black. Words could mean the same as another. One word could mean one thing, yet another could mean something different. Like how there were different languages. One language that captivated Nine was French. It was such a beautiful language, that she decided to learn it. It was slow going, but she managed.
As for how she managed to get these books in the first place, it was from the factory. The factory she worked in was ginormous. Long, curved, hallways that always seemed to make her feel small. There were hundreds of rooms and large spiral towers that black smoke came out of and was unleashed into the atmosphere, polluting the lands. Despite this horror, there was a small room where she always found comfort from the horrendous mess that was the factory. It was called a library. Shelves aligned the walls of the small, square-shaped room, filled head to toe with books of all colors, sizes, and languages. It had been many years, but she completed every single book in the library. Never once getting caught.
At least until the day she finally stepped out of her comfort zone-the beautiful masterpiece that was the library-into the demonic, horrific, evil, mess that was her Master’s office.
The reason she had snuck into her Master’s office was simple: to find a new book. She knew that he HAD to have a book somewhere in his office. She crept inside, wincing at the loud creak the door made. She stepped inside carefully, holding her breath for the fear that if she even breathed she would get caught. ‘Not that anything worse could happen to me.’ She thought numbly, thinking of the pain she endured every day shoveling piles of coal. Fifteen hours of work and pain. Rumbling sounds from the factory, cries of pain from her fellow “inmates”, the thick scent of burning coal stifling her sinuses…
She shook her head. ‘Don’t think about that.’
As quiet as a mouse, Nine scanned the office until something caught her eye. The office was pretty small. Just a desk, chair, and a coat rack. Her Master slept somewhere else. Where, however, she wouldn’t know. What caught her eye was one of the drawers that was left open. In the drawer was an incredibly thick, leather-bound, book.
Nine crept over and pulled the book out, running her hand along its rough surface. “It’s beautiful.” She breathed.
Without a second thought, she pulled the book open and began to read its wonderful secrets.
“Wonderful” couldn’t even begin to describe what was in the book. Descriptions of large, tall, buildings covered head to toe with glass panes that reflected the morning sun, stories about warriors called Samurai who fought with honor, pictures of beautiful plants and animals with even more beautiful names, and the best part of all...was the map.
A passage described a land known as the “Free Land”, where people would go to become “free”. Nine pondered that for a moment. ‘Free?’ She wondered how it would be like to have such a luxurious gift. The gift of freedom was certainly one she would love. The Free Land was known as Caledonia. It had strange machines and inventions that made daily life easier for anyone who lived there. Jobs were easy to get and paid steady. Peaceful and interesting creatures were owned by almost every resident that lived there. The more she read, the more she longed. ‘I want to go there…’
Then came the next page. A map. A map to Caledonia. Nine’s heart did a somersault. Could this lead her to freedom? The gift she had always longed for?
In her deep thoughts, she did not notice a door across the hallway creak open. She did not notice the stiff footsteps stomping against the wooden floor. She did not notice her Master standing right behind her, face twitching, and hands clenched.
“What do you think you’re doing, Number Nine?” Master demanded harshly.
The girl was at a loss for words. “Uh...I-I...I was…”
Her Master cut her off as he roughly snatched the book out of her hands and stuffed it in the drawer. Grabbing a key, he locked the drawer and put it in his coat pocket. He then grabbed Nine’s wrist with such strength, Nine couldn’t help but cry out in pain.
She whimpered as he dragged her through the factory. She began to lose feeling in her wrist. ‘Stop…’ Her mind frantically thought of dozens of horrible scenarios about what would happen to her now. Would she get beaten? Would she get killed? Was she going to be sold off to someone else?
What happened next, made her jump out of her thoughts. The man roughly shoved her in her workspace and threw her metal shovel at her. “Work.” He hissed. “Twenty hours.”
She couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her mouth when he slammed the door shut and shut the large, metal, padlock.
***
‘Leave,’ Her mind told her.
‘No.’ She told it back.
‘Leave.’ It said once more. ‘Leave to Caledonia. Leave this filthy place and go to the Free Land. Leave.’
She stopped shoveling the coal for a minute and stared at the clock on the wall. ‘It’s been twenty hours…’
She sighed and slid to the floor, curling up into a ball, with her face in her knees. “I want to. I want to go. I really do, but I’m too scared…” She whispered, tears slowly pouring out of her eyes.
Her life was a mess. All because she did not have the gift of freedom. Was she a horrible person? Was that why she had to endure this suffering? Was this her fate? Her destiny? Was it written in stone that she was never to have a free soul?
Free soul.
‘I want that.’ She admitted to herself. ‘I want my own life. A life I can control. I want to go to Caledonia!’ With every thought, her motivation grew in waves, drowning her previous fears of getting caught by her Master. What could one man do to her? Her confidence gained, she made a final decision as she stood. ‘I want...my soul to be free.’
Snatching her shovel up from the ground, she slammed it into the door. The hinges shook for a moment, dust falling on the floor. Nine shoved her shovel through the cracks of the door and pushed, using her shovel as a makeshift crowbar.
SLAM!
‘I WILL be free.’
SLAM!
‘No matter what!’
SLAM! CRASH!
The padlock fell on the floor, echoing throughout the hallway. At this point, it was too late to turn back now. Nine held the shovel tightly in her hands as she scurried across the hallway, running through the factory.
She knew her destination. Her Master’s bedroom. Because of the recent incident, she now knew where it was.
Master had slipped the keys to the drawer in his coat, which he had to have kept in his room.
Nine hesitantly opened the door, listening closely to the loud snores coming from her Master. ‘No.’ She thought angrily. ‘This man is not my master. I do not have a Master. I have a life.’
Softly stepping into the room, she swiftly snatched the silver key to the drawer from the man’s coat pocket. She left as swiftly as she came.
Next came the easier part. She ran through the hallway to the office where her freedom was held in a leather-bound rectangular-prism of words as softly as she could.
‘Like a ninja.’ She thought amusingly to herself as she recalled a book she had once read on ninjas.
Stepping into the office, she inserted the key into the lock and turned it swiftly. It opened with a click! and slid open. Nine had to calm down her over-excited heart, which was beating at about one-million-beats-per-minute.
Carefully grabbing the leather book, she ran out of the office, not caring who heard her footsteps. If anyone could hear her footsteps, that is.
She ran down the long stairs, she ran past the furnace-room, she ran out of the factory doors. ‘RUN!’ Her heart and mind spoke in unison, only fanning the flames of motivation that ignited inside her.
She ran on the gravel, catching the attention of…
Nine mentally cursed a fit of words she read from a book once as two guards shouted with surprise and ran after her.
They were bigger than her. Taller. Stronger. Faster.
Her heart began to thump more violently now. ‘What to do, what to do, what to do…’ Her mind worked in a panic as she told her legs to run faster. Her legs, thankfully and miraculously, complied.
Nine suddenly remembered a fact she read in a book. ‘If ever in the event of fleeing from someone, run in a zig-zag…’
Right. Left. Right. Left. Back and forth she ran, confusing the two guards and causing them to tire out until they eventually stopped.
Sweat beaded her forehead. She was exhausted as well. But she could not stop now. Not when she was so close to freedom…
Nine suddenly heard a train whistle in the distance. The sound became louder as she continued to run.
‘Almost there. Almost there. Almost…’ Her eyes danced with joy when she finally arrived at the trains, about to set off. She knew that the trains that were near the factory were always headed towards the direction of a port, by the name of Port Glasgow. How she knew this was because of another book she found in the library, which was a more modern book on the current train systems.
With an incredible amount of stamina, she increased her speed and leaped onto one of the train cargo cars, the book still held tightly in her hand.
As the train drew further and further away from the factory, Nine let out a large breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. ‘At last.’ As the factory became nothing but a small black dot on the horizon, Nine let exhaustion and sleep consume her until she fell unconscious with a small smile on her face.
Ten years later, 1912
“Excuse me?” A man’s voice startled her from the book she was reading. “Do you know how I can get…” The man fumbled with a bunch of papers in his hand. He grabbed one paper and held it out. He pointed at a name on the paper. “Here?”
She gasped inaudibly. “Ah, yes.” She gestured for the man to follow her to a strange machine that looked like a cross between a tuba and a payphone. It was a ticket machine.
The man nodded slowly with understanding as the woman explained how the machine worked and handed him a ticket. “I’m actually heading on the same boat myself. Would you like to go together?”
The man smiled and nodded, his eyes relaying a silent thank you message.
As the duo stepped on the boat, the woman asked, “Excuse me, but do you live here?”
The man shook his head as expected. The fact that he didn’t know how a ticket machine worked was proof. “I’m an immigrant.”
The woman smiled with understanding, as she herself was an immigrant. “I am as well. If you don’t mind me asking, why did you come here? To the Free Land?”
The man cleared his throat and took out immigration papers from inside his brown coat. “My name is Edmond Benjamin. I came here because my family is poor and I wanted to have a better life. My wife and daughter are at home, awaiting the day when they can come here as well.”
The woman smiled sympathetically for the man who held out a picture of him, a woman standing next to him who was obviously his wife, and a little girl who stood between them. All three people in the photo were smiling. “My wife’s name is Winter. My daughter’s name is Mina.”
“Those are pretty names.”
“Thank you. Mina is such a wonderful child. She cares for everyone, and always looks out for people.” The man, Edmond, smiled fondly as he stared at the water.
‘Edmond must miss his family a lot…’ The woman thought. She herself had no family. After all, just ten years ago she was in a factory working for a cruel man under the name of Number Nine.
Yes, that’s right. It’s been ten years since that fateful night, and Nine has changed immensely. For one thing, she was more confident. For another thing, her hair was long and she had cleaner clothes. There was also the fact that she wasn’t called “Number Nine” anymore.
She needed papers to get into Caledonia, so she went and found a person to forge papers for her. The forger had asked her what she wanted her new name to be, which she did not know. What did she want? She knew that there were only two things she always wanted. A soul. And freedom. Nine thought about her old life and how she loved books as well. She scanned her memory for any good names in the books she’s read. Most of the books she read were in English, but some were in French, the language she loved. Then it hit her. ‘French…’
***
“Thank you for showing me how to use that machine.” Edmond thanked the woman, previously known as Nine, with a tip of his fedora.
“No problem.” The woman chirped. “It was nice to meet you, Edmond. I wish you luck in getting your family here.”
“Thank you. I hope so too.” The two had gotten off the boat and were about to part ways before Edmond suddenly turned around and asked a question. “Oh, by the way, I never did catch your name. What is it?”
The woman paused. Her name? A smile made its way to her face as she thought about the name she had chosen. “Ame.” She stated confidently, happiness shining on her face. “Ame Gratuite.”
She had chosen her name accordingly. Ame Gratuite was French. French for the two things she had wanted in life. Her biggest gifts.
Ame Gratuite- which directly translated to Soul Free.
Because now she had a soul, that was free.
A free soul.