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
“What did the specialist say today?” Sherry was lying on the couch with her bump pointed upwards.I giggled, staring towards Jacques.Jacques adopted a serious expression on his face, looking glum. “Erm, she needs a long series of therapy sessions to recover. That’s for occupational therapy.”“For psychiatry, it will depend on herself. We won’t know for sure.”She immediately pushed her bankbook towards him. I widened my eyes curiously at the massive number of zeros in her account.“Hey, you’ve got a lot of money!” I chuckled, bouncing on the nearby recliner. She instantly cupped her hands protectively over her bump.
When I got back to the house, I found the door was left wide open. Immediately, I rushed into Sherry’s bedroom, but the door, too, was open. A few of Sherry’s belongings lay strewn over the carpeted floor, including her phone and a few toiletries. But she was nowhere to be found.A pool of liquid, most of which had dried up by now, left a mark on the black carpet.My intuition told me it must have happened minutes while I was unconscious earlier. Emotions rushed inside me.What do I do now?“Piper.”I heaved a sigh to hear Jacques’ voice.As he came towards me, I flung myself into his arms, still panicking, “Sher…Sherry… she&hellip
We were in the hospital, and I held onto Jacques, while watching Sherry holding her baby and talking to him.Though I didn’t say it out loud, her son resembled her, but also had inherited part of Anderson’s features. It made me think of how I wished I could give Syl a family of his own. And now, I wanted to give Jacques a family.I didn’t want to tell him that right now, but I was eager to get to a gynaecologist to determine whether I could ever have a baby.Jacques, however, wasn’t keen on sending me to the gynaecologist, as if he was afraid the outcome of seeing the doctor would traumatise me. Thus, I put down my plan to see the doctor, and just went for my usual appointments.During this time, the neighbours offered to help Sherry with the baby
Sherry hadn’t noticed the difference in me, nor did she see the tear of my dress. She handed Jacques a sum of money. As Jacques had his back turned to me, he didn’t see me enter.Her son, Andrew, was asleep in the Pack and Play in the living room. I understood she must have just received another instalment payment from Lee Jung.As usual, I had to fake a cheerful smile, speaking in a high-pitched voice, “I’m heading to my room!”She didn’t keep me at all. Neither did Jacques follow. I knew they were discussing. Probably discussing my matters, or possibly what Sherry wanted to do in the future.I locked myself in the bathroom and broke down in tears. Tears that I was reluctant to allow The Master to see. I couldn’t understan
I saw a few holes at the top of the bag, probably to prevent me from suffocation, but most of it made me feel it was dark and dizzy being inside the bag. A hundred questions flooded my mind, which was thinking whether I would make it back alive, or who it was that wanted my life. But being in hell before changed my mindset about everything. During my occupational therapy sessions, I used them as an opportunity to rebuild myself. Starting from my strength and my stamina. I worked out until I couldn’t any more. So, if I would fight to the death, if that was what it took for me to live. Instead of screaming in panic, I calmed my senses and took my time to figure out an escape plan. The atmosphere outside the bag felt chilly, but I bore with it. A chance to be taken while you were in your bra and panties was rare, I had to make the best out of i