I gathered myself from the floor and scrambled towards her, the man grabbed onto my arm and pulled me away. He forced me onto my feet, placed his hand on my shoulder and shook me until I stopped screaming. I composed myself and we stood there looking at each other. The lightbulb above us flickered quickly and burst, casting us into darkness.

“Are you going to kill me?” I asked the obvious.

“No. I have other plans for you-” His voice came out ragged and strained when he whispered. His hand travelled to my neck to trace my barcoded identity tattooed at the back, “- Miss Anima.”

Fear gripped me, I was too scared to ask him what he meant by that. He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder faster than I could register what was happening. I was a light weight because I was skinny. My braids fell over my face and the skimpy flowered dress I had on hiked up to my thighs. The man did not notice; he was walking away with me. I screamed as we headed down the dark corridor, no doors opened and no one came to help.

I was thrown onto the backseat and my hands bound behind my back. The backseat door slammed shut as the smell of leather filled my senses. The man lowered himself into the front seat before the car kicked forward. I looked at him through the review mirror as I sat up; his features were highlighted by each street pole we passed. His green eyes were set on a stern face, thin eyebrows and long eyelashes. His mouth was carved in a straight line.

I also saw myself, golden brown eyes, black messy braids and a button nose. I caught the man’s eye through the glass and he smiled at me.

“Castro.” he said.

“What?” It could have been a secret code or a new way of being killed.

“That is my name. Castro.” he cleared.

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me as we passed under a row of houses. The silence in the car threatened to swallow us.

“Are you going to sell me?” I asked.

“No.” He answered.

“Kill me?”

“No,” Castro laughed. “Are you scared of death?”

It was my turn to answer, I thought about it first. “Not anymore.”

The radio flicked on, the voice of an unknown woman sprang out. We drove for hours until morning crept in over the mountains and I realised that we were not in the city anymore. There were no trees around though, it was all dry land. As the sun rose higher into the sky, Castro stopped at the side of the road to untie me. He gave me some water and an apple. I hadn’t had fruit in so long, I nearly choked on it. He let me stretch my feet for a few minutes at gunpoint. Eventually, I was bound once more and we were back on the road.

“What is your greatest wish?” His question caught me off guard.

The thought of my grandmother’s murder flashed raw in my mind. My life hung in the hands of her killer. I said the first thing that came to mind.

“To be free. Free from the ways of the world. What is yours?”

“To start over. I want to give life not take it.” It seemed to come from his heart, like a confession.

“But you killed my grandmother!” I spat out in anger.

“I put her out of her misery. She was in too much pain to go on living.” Castro fired back.

I cried then. As loud and painful as I could master. At some point I am sure I begged for him to kill me before I fell asleep on the backseat.

“Wake up Anima. We are here.”
I ignored Castro and kept my eyes shut. Something cold and metallic pressed against my forehead. I forced my eyes open, blinked a few times and saw a gun was pointed at me. I let him pull me out of the car because I was too tired to cry or fight. The sound of water attacked me along with the wind. I saw the ocean first before my feet landed on the concrete floor of the platform raised above the water. Castro lowered his gun and he turned to look behind him. There was nothing but sand starting from the edge of the platform, stretching for miles.

“So you are not going to sell me.” I asked.

He shook his head before he pulled me away from the car.

***