Whenever I close my eyes, the same scene plays in my mind over and over. But this nightmare never ends.
Waking up is the true nightmare. I am stuck in a series of harrowing encounters. One that will never end.
- PIPER
~~~~~
Lenard’s Den
My name was Piper. As far as I remember, I was a happy-go-lucky twenty-three-year-old working at Lin Corporation, a corporation that does everything from production to sales and deliveries. But one day, because of defending my best friend Sherry from her attacker, I fell into his trap. Then they abducted, abused, and broke me in cold blood.
I lost count of how many days had passed since they kept me in an icy prison. Perhaps it was thirty. Or it could be forty. I counted days, which turned into months. With everything torn from me, I felt lost, broken, and confused. Nobody came for me. It is futile for me to even think of leaving this place.
I, who once had a positive mind and a smiling face. Smooth dark hair that cascaded like waves down my back. Now, they reduced me to a cripple with a mop of unkempt hair. Nobody ever cared about how I look, and only see me as an object for their enjoyment.
They had crushed my dreams and destroyed me. I could never ever do what I used to do. No martial arts. No dancing. Every movement of my limbs resulted in pain. But that wasn’t all. I knew I had to stay alive. Even if it meant succumbing to their demands and playing a fool. To the point of being taken for a toy, to serve as a master and his lackeys.
Once, I was a silly girl in love. I dreamt of marrying a man who loved me more than he loved himself and bearing him a big family. I told myself I would also be the greatest karate master in Australasia. And now, I could never do that again.
I heard my name being called, and a man turned a key in the door of my cell. My limbs were rigid when the man, a different one this time, brought me a tray of food while hovering over me with a domineering attitude. I directed my gaze away from his arrogant narrow eyes. He had a face that would work extremely well as the main villain of a drama. Knowing he was one of them made me unable to look at him a minute longer.
“Eat up. You know what will happen if you disobey the words of the Master,” he breathed over me.
I do, and I don’t want to think of it. The Master referred to by the man was no other than the leader of them all. He was the cruellest I had ever seen and was the one to start my ordeal. It was by his orders that they broke me and victimised me each day until I submitted to him.
He thrusted the tray before me without a single care. I ignored him, looking down at my feet. With my limbs locked in chains and the pain of my disability, there was no way I could have escaped.
“What’s with you? Gone deaf? Or are you seeking your doom?” the man roared. He cracked his whip against the wall of my cell. I flinched as he seized my chin with his left hand and began shoving mouthfuls of rice and vegetables down my throat with the other. The food tasted rancid, and I coughed out morsels of food, raining them down on the rough floor.
He was getting angry with my non-confirmation. I felt the urge to break down and cry, but I didn’t allow myself to. As weak as I am right now, I wouldn't beg.
I heard the thundering of his whip again, but this time, a sharp agony that radiated through my thigh accompanied it. I already lost my ability to fight. I couldn’t let them cripple me further.
I reluctantly swallowed, much to the man’s amusement. He continued pushing the rest of the food into my mouth. As horrible as the food tastes, I would rather have that than for them to flog me like a defenceless animal. My tormentor let out a few vicious laughs. I quivered, clutching my rags closer to my weak body. Finally, he stopped when the plate was empty.
But the man didn’t leave. He looked me up and down, as if inspecting broken goods. I closed my eyes, praying that they would spare me. Since he was probably a newbie and I have never seen him before, I hoped he would not treat me as the past wardens had. Thus, I heaved a sigh of relief when he finally walked away.
I turned out to be wrong. Opening the door of my cage, he announced in a clear voice, “Guys, we’ll have some fun today.”
I heard my own screams. But the men's vicious laughter drowned any sound I made. The noises swirl inside my head, reverberating in loud echoes. But my cries reach no one. No God. No soul. They ignore my tears and cries of pain, binding and gagging me up so that they can have me any way they like. They were like monsters, ripping me apart.
The torture seems endless as they took turns to ravage me heartlessly. Nobody came to my rescue. I was as good as dead.
The metal edges of the chains cut sharply into my hands, reminding me of my need to survive. In my heart I asked, What have I done to deserve this? Just because I hurt one person, did it warrant this inhumane treatment? I was like them all, a human being, not their enemy. Would they have avenged their sister or family member, had she suffered the same fate?
Their fun was the deepest torture of my life. And years from now, I would come to relive the worst of my nightmares, those memories embedded deep in my soul, with no hope of release.
My eternal prison.
Feeling the man pull out from me intensely, I knew it was over. But knowing that I would meet with the same ordeal repeatedly, hopelessness overcame me. It would never be over. Not until I found a way out of it all. They secured the den with plentiful guardsmen. Bulky chains covered my hands and feet, leaving me with no way to break free easily. I lay motionless like a log all this while, allowing them to do whatever they wanted to me. The men chattered, laughing among themselves outside the door to my cell. “The Master is very kind, letting us enjoy his toy while he is away.” “Maybe he was tired of her, lying like a corpse while he did all the hard work.” “Anyway, he will have a new bride soon. Then he’ll ha
Milanda’s room As I knew, it was a dream. I woke up again with puffy eyes. I had to be crying in my sleep. Milanda was sitting on the far end of the bed, watching me like a hawk. “Hmm, hmm. So very interesting.” I cowered, pulling the soft duvet closer around me. “What are you talking about?” “I meant your little love story. Thought you are an innocent victim that Lenard Lee just brought back to satisfy his cravings. It turns out you aren’t too pure yourself, being the other woman in a relationship.” She uttered her words so confidently as if she had just bore her X-ray vision of me and seen the memories I kept in my heart.
I forced myself up, and ignoring the pain in my knees, clambered up the nearby bed. In my mind, it concerned me he was going to tear me apart again. Ever since I stopped seeing Jacques come for me, he had likely departed on his trip as well. I heard from the guards’ chattering that he had left to conquer some territories and only today I had known that he had left for his impending marriage. Not that it would help me. The only way I could stay alive was to not die. After waking up from the dream with my injuries somewhat healed, I felt calmer and thought more rationally. Even though I had no explanation for it, I suspected it was the childish version of Milanda- the witch. What she had done to me had helped me. After I successfully left this place, I would plot my revenge, I swore silently. Closing my eyes, I wis
I was so mistaken when I thought he would have allowed me to spend the night in his bed. Instead, he had kicked me off his bed in the middle of the night. He ordered me to sleep on the icy floor. It was even worse than being in prison. Humiliated and used me to satisfy his desires for Milanda. I persevered, all for the bigger picture. Three days later, Milanda summoned me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Milanda’s first question was how the Master had been. It was a hard question for me to answer. Thinking of how he was careful with me while I was the ‘Milanda substitute’ but going all cruel with me when he grumbled about how Jacques was taking a long time made me weak with pain.
It was a cold rainy morning when a scruffy guard awoke me. Knowing everything in my enslaved life had been laid out for me, I wasn’t interested in paying much attention to what he was talking about. The torment by the Master had gone on for over a week, and I wasn’t keen to think about what games would wait for me today, or his volatile attitude. All I just wanted to do was survive. Where was Jacques, and when would I finally be free from my cage? “Hurry. The Master is waiting,” the guard muttered impatiently, throwing the dress they expected me to wear on the ground. I took a quick glimpse, barely making out a purple silk-like dress with bows on one side in the dimly lit room. Had I been the Piper I was before, it would have been beautiful to me. But all these material things didn’t matter to me anymore. I was as used and broken as they made me to be.
I awoke to find myself in total darkness, with no remembrance of where I was. My first impression upon feeling my surroundings was that I was in a jungle. How did I even arrive to be here? I didn’t know the answer. But then, I heard him. “I will break you,” his words echoed in my mind. Immediately, I didn’t think of where I was or how he got there. My instinct was to run. And I ran as fast as I could, but the next thing was that the Master was right before me. I saw his face as clear as day. His venomous laughter instilled fear in me. I was like the little pig running from the Big Bad Wolf in the stories I heard as a child. Scared out of my wits, but unable to run from him. “What do you want from me?” I trembled so hard that my teeth chattered and took a few steps backwards. I sought the courage
When I saw Sherry outside in the living room, I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or to be upset.First this woman was the cause of my demise, I wouldn’t be damaged or even held in confinement if not for her.But in the past, she was the most important person in my life. I had sworn to protect her, just because she was my friend.Back when we worked in Lin Corporation, we were each other’s own shoulder to rely on. But everything changed after Lee Jung came in. He was the true villain, not Sherry.“Remember what we spoke about earlier.”Jacques’ kind voice bounced off in my mind. We had to be cautious and make every step with care.And that involve
- Two weeks later -“May, wake up.”This was the beginning of my new life. I would be living in Bangkok with Jacques and Sherry, who now went by the name Everleigh. According to Sherry, Lee Jung had provided us with a new identity each, and Jacques changed his last name as well, from Jacques Jones to Jacques Jensen.My new identity was Maybel Wright, May for short.I didn’t know how the last two weeks passed, but out of my cage, everything seemed to get better as Jacques promised. While I no longer felt my body was disgusting as before, it was only that fear of darkness in me that struck at night.He was always there for me.His voice always calmed me, and