The Accidental Slave (Aya's story Part 1) (15 page)

“I already told you,” he said dismissively. “I
lived in England, I was engaged. I worked a lot.”

“What did you work with?” she asked.

“Computers.”

“Did you like it?”

“My job?”

“Yes.”

“It’s the thing I miss the most. My job was my
hobby and I loved it.”

“What did Diana look like?” The question
surprised even her.

Kato looked at her with a suspicious look. “Why
do you want to know?”

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

“Diana is pretty and very…” He stopped
talking.

“Sexy?” Aya suggested and met Kato’s surprised
eyes.

“I was going to say classy, but yeah, she’s sexy
too. Aya, what are these questions about?”

“Have you been with anyone since Diana?”

“I don’t like these questions. I would rather
have my own questions answered.”

Aya turned and mirrored his position on the bed,
propped on her elbow. “Alright, then let’s exchange answers. You go
first.”

Kato seemed to be thinking and then he asked,
“How long has it been since you had sex?”

Aya smiled innocently. “I wouldn’t know exactly
because I don’t have access to a clock, but it was early this
morning.”

Kato smiled wryly. “Before me, Aya.”

She counted in her head. “It’s been almost a
year now.”

“Who was he?” Kato asked.

“My ex-boyfriend.”

“Did you love him?”

“I thought I did.”

“What happened?”

“He moved to another city and it just faded
after that.”

“Do you miss him?”

“No, Kato, I don’t miss him. I don’t have any
past that I need closure on if that’s what you’re asking. There is
no Diana in my life.”

Kato was quiet.

Aya let her hand caress his face; it felt and
looked so different without the stubble. “What’s going to happen
now?”

“I don’t know.” Kato ran a hand through his dark
unruly hair. “I didn’t exactly plan this and I don’t know what I’m
supposed to do with you.”

“You could let me go. I would never tell on
you.”

Kato frowned and sat up. “I already told you, it
won’t work. Others would find you.”

“But there must be a way out, for both of us.
You don’t seem to be the slave-owner kind of guy.” The minute Aya
said it she could see the absurdity of her statement, since they
had just sealed his ownership of her this morning.

Oozing with discomfort, Kato lay back down on
his back again. “I’m not expecting you to understand.”

“But I’m trying to…” Aya watched him.

“Well, don’t! It won’t make a difference.” He
sounded upset.

“Did you have other slaves?”

“No, I never had a slave and I never wanted a
slave.”

“Did Jonul?”

Kato sighed. He clearly didn’t like this
conversation. “He had one when I arrived. She was younger than
you.”

Aya swallowed hard. The way Kato avoided looking
directly at her told her that this was a story with no happy ending
“What happened to her?”

“She died.”

“How.”

“She got pregnant and Jonul didn’t want the
child, so he punched her in the stomach until she miscarried. She
died from the loss of blood.”

Aya felt overwhelmed with grief. Her eyes filled
with tears. “Did he at least take her to the hospital?”

Kato shook his head. “What do you think,
Aya?”

The stain on the floor in Jonul’s room. That was
her.

“It could have been me,” Aya whispered and tears
started running down her face. Kato pulled her down to his chest
and caressed her hair with soothing strokes.

“Can I get you anything?” Kato asked.

“You can get me home,” Aya said with a sigh and
waited for his answer. It never came; instead they both drifted
back to sleep.

Aya

The next morning Aya was craving fresh air.

“Can’t we open a window and get in some fresh
air?” she asked optimistically.

Kato just shook his head as if her question was
plain stupid.

“What?”

“This is a war zone. I don’t want any unwelcome
visitors, and the windows are barricaded so light won’t give the
pilots a signal on where to drop a bomb.”

“Ohh…”

After that Kato didn’t say much. He would soon
have to leave for what he referred to as work, but for now he sat
in the living room in deep thought. Aya didn’t mind. She was trying
to process and to think herself. She took time to scan the
apartment and found manifests and books claiming Masi to be the
only true God.

Kato watched her touch things and pick up things
but seemed to register it only from a remote place where his mind
had taken him.

She recognized the pamphlet on slave owners,
rights and obligations.

“Did you read this?” she asked, breaking Kato’s
deep thoughts.

Kato looked at her and then his eyes dropped to
the paper in her hand.

“No,” he murmured.

“I have, and it made me sick. I dare you to read
it and tell me you want to defend this kind of belief.”

“Aya, don’t.” Kato held up his hand. “I don’t
want to discuss politics with you. I have to go, so stay away from
the windows and, Aya… please stay here.” And then he left, closed
the door, and locked it from the outside.

So much for “please
,” Aya thought.
It’s not like I have a choice, since you trapped me in here as a
prisoner.

Kato had been right; peeking out through tiny
cracks in the window she saw only a handful of people throughout
the day, and they all looked like Masi fighters. No one in this
area would save her.

Aya was going crazy with worries and thoughts.
I need something to do.
She thought and paced around the
apartment like a trapped animal in the zoo.

When she entered the filthy kitchen the second
time she stopped.
If I’m going to eat any food from this kitchen
I have to clean it.
She searched for cleaning supplies and
found a broom, a bucket, some sponges, and a bottle of liquid soap.
It’s better than nothing
, she thought and got started by
doing the dishes. But once she had a stack of clean cups, plates,
and pans she realized that every cabinet was greasy and dirty as
well. In the end she washed down the whole kitchen. And then she
proceeded to the fridge that was almost empty with only beers, some
fruit, and a bowl of old food that stank horribly. With her nose
wrinkled in disgust she flushed the food in the toilet and washed
down the fridge before she moved to the oven. It felt good to do
something with her hands, and it helped her stay active and sane
and focus on something familiar. Taking a step back, Aya looked at
her project. Every surface was clean; she had even scrubbed the
walls.

When she was done with the kitchen she continued
to clean the bathroom, transforming it from unsanitary to decent.
She couldn’t do much about the cracks in the tiles or the mirror,
since she didn’t have any remedies to clean them properly. The soap
she used to clean away the toothpaste splashes left a foggy layer
on the mirror. But at least all the splashes of toothpaste were
gone.

To Aya the act of cleaning was healing. With
every bucket of dirty water she threw away she felt she was
removing the ghost of Jonul. It was like she scrubbed his presence
away from walls and surfaces. It made perfect sense in her mind,
and was the best alternative to setting this whole place on fire.
Several times she looked at the door to Jonul’s room, but she was
scared that if she entered into it, she would be transported back
to the rape scene and the feeling of being powerless. She couldn’t
risk that, now that she had reclaimed a bit of control by washing
him away.

After the bathroom she went on to the living
room. The room was small, so it didn’t take her long to wash away
the dust, sweep the floors, and wash them. She threw away the empty
cans and other trash that was lying around. With the trash from the
kitchen, she now had four big bags of trash that Kato would have to
deal with when he got home.

Aya had no idea what time it was, but she felt
hungry and went to get some crackers she had found when she cleaned
the kitchen. She wasn’t sure if she could drink the tap water and
there were no more of the plastic bottles of water that Kato had
provided her with so far, so she drank a beer for her thirst. It
felt good and gave her energy to continue her manic cleaning
project in Kato’s room. She removed all the linen from Kato’s bed
and searched for clean sheets. She found them in the completely
unorganized closet. Aya put fresh linen on the bed, washed the
floors, and folded all Kato’s clothes neatly and put them back in
his closet – and that was when she saw the letters. There were five
hidden in the back corner.

Normally Aya was very respectful of others’
privacy but normal was long gone, and without hesitation she took
the letters and sat down to read.

Dear Aidan,

I miss you. I truly do. And it surprises
even me. Who would have thought I could miss my annoying younger
brother?

Do you remember when I took you on my
motorbike and you promised you wouldn’t tell Mom? I’m sorry I got
so mad at you. I know you were only eight and it slipped out.

It wasn’t your fault that Mom grounded me.
To justify my insane anger with you, I want you to know that it was
because Diana had told me she was ready to have sex that night.

I guess anyone who gets in the way of a
hormonal teenage boy and his sexual debut will be in trouble, but I
always regretted being so hard on you. You were so little and I
couldn’t possible explain it to you.

If you get this letter, it’s because
something has happened to me. Don’t be sad, Aidan.

Just know that you, my brother, are
everything I always wanted to be. I’m proud of you and I will
always, ALWAYS love you.

Love, Kato

Aya put down the letter.

She knew Kato had brothers, and if Aidan had
been only eight when Kato got a motorbike, it meant there was
around ten years between them. Kato had told her he was twenty six,
so Aidan would be sixteen now.

Why did Kato want to be like his brother? She
pondered and continued to the next letter.

Dear Dad,

This is the mandatory letter. My last words
in case I die.

I know you are proud of me for fighting this
war.

Myself… less so.

Spirima isn’t what you remember. At least
not anymore. Jonul has changed too. He is not the happy, joyful
person I remember from my childhood. He has become bitter and hard,
and I see him inflict pain on others.

The war has scarred him and I fear it will
do the same to me.

Even if we win the war, what will happen to
us?

I doubt there will ever be a normal life for
us again.

I know you want what’s best for me. But Dad,
this isn’t it.

Please take care of Mom and Aidan, and
despite the cruel things that happens in a war I hope you will
remember me for who I was and not what I’ve become.

Love, Kato

Aya swallowed hard while her subconscious was
scolding her.
These letters are very personal. You are sticking
your nose in Kato’s business without his accept. It’s unacceptable.
STOP IT!
But her curiosity made her open another letter.

Dear Mom,

I know my departing will break your heart
and that pains me. But don’t cry for me. I want you to live your
life. Make that amazing tomato soup of yours, put basil on top, and
bake the bread loaf I adore.

Fill your kitchen with the scent of homemade
food, because that is how I remember you – smiling, dancing to your
favorite tunes while cooking for the people you love. I feel so
privileged that I am one of them.

Never stop loving me, Mom, because I will
always love you. ALWAYS!

Love, Kato

These letters were short and concise, and yet
they expressed so much of who Kato was and the kindness he held.
Aya felt bad about prying into the deepest part of him – his last
words to his family. She had no right, but she wanted so
desperately to know more about him. If she was to convince him to
help her escape, these letters could prove very powerful. It wasn’t
right of her to read them, but Aya was in an extreme situation. She
had always known there was more to Kato than a hardcore Masi
warrior, but reading his private letters and seeing in black and
white that he was also a brother and a son who loved his family,
missed his mom’s cooking, and regretted being too hard on his
little brother made her like him even more.

She opened the fourth letter to read it when she
heard the key in the door.
Shit,
Kato is home.
She
quickly put the letters back.

Kato

The minute Kato walked into the apartment he
knew something was different. The smell of old dust that he was so
used to had been replaced by a fresh citrus scent. Kato was looking
down at the four bags of trash in the entryway when Aya approached
him.

“Hi,” she said with a small smile.

“Hi,” Kato answered without looking at her. He
had spent the whole day trying to block her out, but she was like
an obsession to him and memories from yesterday morning kept
running through his mind. He couldn’t forget the look of desire on
her face, and he kept blaming himself for interpreting her signals
so wrongly. He had felt loved by her and he knew it was ridiculous.
They barely knew each other and to her, he was the villain who held
her captive. Being in a war zone for a year had clearly made him
delusional, and so hungry for love that he couldn’t trust his own
judgment.