Chapter 4: Escaping, Hiding, Home

                        Shilan hesitantly climbs out of the car albeit a little too slow for her father. Which he then grabs her forearm and impatiently drags her to the two stories building in front of them. The front of the building is just like any ordinary places. There were two large windows with advertisements about their loans and products.  The place feels like an insurance office. The only thing that was odd about it is that it was still open this late into the night. When they enter the office, Shilan begins to shiver. The bells on the glass door rang loudly as they enter didn’t help her nerves either; the sound only makes her feel more alarm. Shilan felt an odd tingling like she was on display. She quickly looks at the surroundings and tried to memorize the layout.  In front of her, there is the stairs leading up and down to their respected floors. To the left, there is a large and long counter with different brochures and behind that counter, there is a door leading to another room. Then to the right of the room is a set of sofa for people to sit comfortably while waiting.  To the far back of the room were two doors. One, for employees only and the other is the bathroom.  There didn’t seem to be anything out of place. It looks plain and business-like. Her father led her to the sofa to sit down while waiting for someone.

After a minute, a huge man enters the room from the door behind the counter. He had dark short hair and was dressed in a black suit. His enigmatic eyes slowly take in the image of Shilan. The way that he was staring at her, made Shilan even more uneasy.

“Well, welcome to our office” said the man. He walks toward Shilan and extended a hand to her. He waits for Shilan to take his hand for a shake.  When she did in greeting he continues, “My name is Chu Feng. I am the manager here. And you can sit here while you wait for your father.”

Shilan nods her head as she sits on the seat closes to the front door. The name Chu Feng sounded really familiar. She couldn’t remember where she had heard the name from. But it bothers her. It feels like she is missing something. As she continues to mull over the name, her father Cha Neng had follow the man to his office.

After Cha Neng settles himself in front of the desk, Chu Feng seated himself before him.

“You are scum” Chu Feng said derisively. “What kind of a man and a father will do this? Although, it is a loss for you, it is profit for us.”

Even though Chu Feng and his boss, Liu Ye, work for the organization there were still some codes of rules that they abide by. Even if they are atrocious men in the underground world and money and power is everything, selling one’s own flesh and blood is looked down on in disdain, especially a young and innocent one. Though, it is in bad taste, it is not uncommon for many desperate loaners to resort to this and the organization will take it if it means payment.

“She looks innocent. Her worth will be higher if she is still a virgin.”

Cha Neng quickly reassures him. “She hasn’t even gone out with friends, let alone a man before. My daughter is still pure.”

Chu Feng looks at Cha Neng in disbelief. When he first laid eyes on Cha Neng’s daughter, he had to take a step back to catch his breath. Shilan stands at 5’4 with a lithe figure. She had long thick silky black hair which fell down to her hips. Her face was arresting, her eyes enormous, sad, long lashed, and mesmerizing. They were a vivid, brilliant gold, holding secrets, and unimaginable pain. Even her mouth was sculpted and inviting. Her complexion was fair and smooth with a healthy glow. Even though the girl looks cold and aloof, it only made her more desirable.

‘The girl’s stand offish attitude probably made it hard for people to approach her. She’ll be auction off at a high price’ thought Chu Feng. There are many jobs that a girl can do in this underground world. Most of the jobs concentrate in the sex and drug industry although there were some exceptions. He wonders how Cha Neng’s wife looks like now with how their daughter is so beautiful. ‘This bastard seems to have all the luck.’

He takes out some papers and pushes them to Cha Neng. “Sign them and you can clear your debt with us.”

While they were in the office, Shilan had sneaked behind the counter when she finally remember the man and overheard what had been said. She was so shock that her pale skin turned even whiter than usual. With her heart beating fast, any hope that she has towards her father dissipated. She felt the world spinning before it stop and crashes down all around her.

‘I need to get away before they come out’ thought Shilan as she makes her way towards the front door. ‘I need to stall them first though.’

She looks around and quietly ran to the two doors in the back of the room. She opens the bathroom door and flushes the toilet. She takes off the ceramic lid of the tank and proceeds to remove the chain to the floater and unplugs the flapper so that the water will constantly run. She then went to the sink to turn on the faucet. Then she grabs the door knob and quickly locks the bathroom door before she closes it behind her. She opens the door next to the bathroom and left it ajar to make it seem like she had probably gone out that way. Then with fear and adrenaline aiding her courage, she slowly makes her way to the front door. Shilan carefully opens the door as quietly as she can so that the sound of bells will not alert the men of her escape. As soon as she got outside, she rushes into a group of young men and women who were in the middle of bar hopping. She wanted to blend in and lose her trail so that she can find a way back home. She wants to know if her mother is in on this and if not, hopes that her mother will save her. After all is said and done, her mother had given birth to her. That is the only hope Shilan have left.

After walking for a few minutes with the crowd, she left them to find a bus stop or better yet to hail a taxi so that she can get further away from the shady office. She is still numb from the fact that she had been sold. Without realizing it, tears so deep with pain and fear, fell from her amber eyes. She had tried so hard. When they had beaten her and worked her to the bones, she thought that it can’t be helped, because she is still underage and had nowhere to turn to. She had heard and read of all sorts of scary things about being a foster child that relying on the system was out of the question. At least with her parents, she wouldn't be afraid of being molested or raped. Plus, it was not fair to break up her brothers only home. Shilan was the only one that their parents abuses anyway.

In the small corner of her heart, a furious voice penetrated into her mind, ‘I hate them. I wish that they will die.’

Horrified at the thought, Shilan shakes her head and tries to push the angry thoughts away. She inwardly cries, ‘They’re my parents and family.’

But the seeds of hatred had already slowly emerged as she looks for a safe place to hide and plan what to do next. She stops inside the 7-11 store and takes out her wallet.

“Where in the hell can a lone girl go?” yelled Chu Feng as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He had made a mistake. He thought that with Cha Neng in his office, the daughter wouldn’t budge in fear that something might happen to her father. He was wrong on all accounts. The girl was smart and she outwitted them by misleading them that she was in the bathroom. It had caused them several minutes of pursuing her. And when they finally realize that the girl had run, it was too late to find which direction she had taken. Not knowing what to do, he kicks Cha Neng in anger. “Does she know anybody here in the city?”

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Cha Neng shakes his head, “No. She doesn’t even have any friends at home.”

Chu Feng punches the counter when the answer was not what he was hoping for.  One of his underlings came into the room and shook his head, indicating that there was no information on the girl.

“Umm, I already sign the papers, releasing guardianship to you” shakenly mumbled Cha Neng. “I already did my part so I am going home now.”

“Not so fast” barks Chu Feng. “The girl got away. So the bargain is off.”

“But, but it wasn’t my fault. I brought her here. Only you didn’t secure her well. You can’t hold it against me. I already sign the papers” insisted Cha Neng. “All I can do now is if she comes back home, is to call you guys to come and fetch her.”

He backs towards the door as he tries to get away from the furious man. Before he could get away, Chu Feng grabs him around the neck and slams him up the wall. “I am giving you some time. If and when she gets home, call us. Otherwise, we are going to be talking about some other compensation. You understand?”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Chu Feng pushes Cha Neng out the door and roars to his underlings. “Close the store. We’re done here!”

An hour and a half ago, she had stopped at the seven eleven to withdrawn 200 dollars to cover the expenses of a room and for the train ticket home. Now, Shilan is getting ready to sleep in a motel room about 30 minutes away. She had to ask a lady who was standing at the corner of the street to go in and procure the room because she was underage for twenty dollars. The lady probably thought she had run away from home and felt some pity for her since she didn’t ask much. Shilan was tired out from her experiences today. She just wanted some sleep. Luckily, the motel that she is staying in is only 3 blocks away from the train station. Tomorrow she’ll go home and figure out what to do.

It was afternoon when she finally got to Reeds. She wanted to go straight home but scratched off the idea. She was afraid that the shady men and her father will be staking out her home. There was only one place that Shilan felt that she can stay low at and it was the abandon house about three doors away from her home. It was closed down earlier that year and it had a public notice on it. The yard had a lot of overgrown bushes and it had a broken window in the back. The only reason why Shilan knew about the broken window was because she had seen it when she was peeking in the yard out of curiosity.

Shilan had decided to wait until night time to sneak into the house. But first she needed a few things like a flashlight, a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter and jelly, two bottles of water, and a roll of toilet paper. Shilan is sure that if the shady men did come for a stake out, they will give up in a couple of days leaving her father responsible for her capture. So if she waited a few days, Shilan was sure she can talk to her mother after that.

Three days later, when Shilan was sure that the men were all gone. She slowly sneaks into the backyard to enter her house through the back door when she heard her father yell, “Give me the god damn money woman. I will die if I don’t have it.”

“Bull! Even if I have the money which I don’t, I will not give it to you” shouted Ceila. “Why don’t you just get the hell out of our life? I have enough of you and your crap. Do you hear me? Enough!”

“You want me to hit you? You think you are so good that I wouldn’t dare divorce you?” Laughs Cha Neng, “Your stinky mouth and ill behavior will have all the men running the other way. It is only I, who can tolerate your constant nagging and it is only so because I have my opium, otherwise I would have kicked you out of the house like the whore you are!”

While her parents were fighting, Shilan slowly inched her way to the living room and hid behind the archway that leads up to the stairs. She sees her mother with a wooden bat in her hands while her father was gripping onto an empty glass bottle. Without warning, her mother swings the bat and hit her father in arm. Her father howled in pain and threw the glass bottle straight at her mother. It misses and smashes to the floor. Then he leapt forward to try and take the bat away from her mother. She didn’t let him, she swings again and this time got Cha Neng on the side of his thigh. He growled in pain and in frustration as he grabs Ceila by the hair. “Let it go, now” he orders.

“Never!” Ceila defiantly yells, “Why don’t you go suck your balls somewhere far away from here, you god damn loser!”

Ceila grabs Cha Neng’s free arm and bite him hard. He lets go of her and pushes her way as he inspected his forearm. “Bit*h, cough up the damn money!”

“Over my dead body! If you want it so bad, why don’t you sell me too?” 

Time seem to stop as the blood drained from Shilan's face. Laughing silently and uncontrollably as burning pain from behind her eyes started to pool together. Her last hope was gone. Tears streams down her face , "Her mother knew. She knew.'

“Fu*k you. If you won’t give it to me, I’ll look for it myself!”

Shilan presses her palm to her mouth, ashamed that she was too frightened to stop their fight. Yet, a part of her didn't care anymore as she knew the truth. All she can do was coward behind the wall and wait while they continue to hit each other. Then her father takes up the stairs with her mother close behind. There were muffled sounds and many fragile things shattering. Then Ceila, panting, ran down the stairs with a small safe in her arms, her father pursuing her. He had a small gun in his hand.

“Come back here!”

“No!”

Without any warning, her mother picks up a lamp and threw it right at Cha Neng. He blocks it and the lamp flew away a few yards from him. In furious rage he cocks the gun right at Ceila.

“Nooooooo!” shrieks Shilan as she instinctively ran towards her mother, trying to shield her.  Even if her parents were despicable and lower than animals, she just can't let a human die in front of her.

The second the gun sounded, Shilan saw her mother’s eyes widen in terror. Her mother was saying something but all the sounds seemed to have faded away. Shilan couldn't hear anything and time seemed to have slowed down. There was a sharp, mind blowing pain in her head and the last thought she had before everything went dark was, “I am finally free. I hope they pay for this.”