And finally, the long-awaited day arrived! It happened! I made it through! My ears were practically ringing with the unbelievable, joyful realization!
There were ten of us in total, those who were set to walk free today and leave these cursed walls behind forever.
“I can’t believe we actually survived,” Jane muttered, packing her things into a suitcase. “Feels like I’m an eighty-year-old nag. Time must flow differently here.”
“Charlie, what’s the first thing you’re gonna do when you get back?” one of the girls asked loudly, never bothering to hide her dislike for me. I, in turn, never hid my opinion of her either. Though… who knows, maybe I’d become just like one of those beasts whose cruelty I had to endure here.
“First, I’ll try to dodge my father’s errand boy and make my way home on my own. Because I can’t wait to settle the score with dear old Dad for his special kind of care,” I replied dryly through gritted teeth.
“And what, you gonna burn down the whole estate this time?” she sneered with contempt. “As for me, I’m planning to drag some cute guy into bed and not get out of it for a whole week! Then I’ll find the next one, and so on! I’m practically shaking just thinking about it.” Noticing my smirk, Moira narrowed her eyes threateningly. “What, you wanna say you’re not like that?! That you’re somehow better than me, huh?! Maybe I should take your virginity as a parting gift!”
“Go ahead and try, but before you get to messing around with any guy, you’ll have to stitch up your busted face first!” I snapped back, ready for her to lunge at me any second.
“Fine, Charlie, we’ll meet again. Don’t think I’ll forget,” Moira hissed, not wanting to risk punishment from the headmistress on her last day and get stuck in this hell for a couple more.
There was no real need to say goodbye to anyone, nor any desire to see them again. I hadn’t made any new friends here; we were more like cellmates than classmates, united only by one shared misery—Manakr Boarding School.
Oh, it’ll haunt my worst nightmares for a long time! I wouldn’t wish this place on my worst enemy. And even more so, I couldn’t find it in me to forgive my father for this.
I wasn’t even sure if they’d send a car for me, if anyone was still waiting for me at home. But I wanted to return to that area not for revenge, but for one simple reason—I desperately dreamed of seeing Bas again! Even now, at twenty, when our separation had lasted longer than the years of our friendship. Without hoping for much, I just wanted to look at the person I was genuinely grateful to for my inner strength. For so many years, I’d been almost certain that I loved him, and it was that crazy feeling that helped me, a scrawny, scared girl, survive and stay human.
First by train, then hitching rides. People didn’t try too hard to strike up a conversation with quiet, gloomy me. I respect folks who have the sense to mind their own business. I think that’s the right way to be. Why, tell me, collect other people’s troubles when someone isn’t in the mood to share? Just to chat? You might as well listen to the radio.
At Manakr, not a single soul knew about Bas, about my feelings for him, about my wild dreams. It was my cherished secret, one I’d stayed loyal to with every thought in my mind.
The small village near the farms and our estate hadn’t changed a bit over the years, except the people I passed by seemed unfamiliar. I have to say, I felt like a crazed savage. After so many years of confinement, the buzz of a crowd and the noise of cars put me in a dazed kind of euphoria. I wanted to breathe deeper, to touch everything—the policeman, the bicycle, the fur coat of some old lady, the hat of a little kid, even the smiling face of his happy mom. The life around me was intoxicating, making my head spin.
As usual, the best gossip and news are always known by the local bartender, pastor, and sheriff. I chose the first, heading confidently to a cheap bar.
“Can you tell me, does the Corwin family still live nearby? I passed through here a long time ago and would love to catch up with some old acquaintances.”
“If you knew the Corwins, miss, you’d know they don’t make friends,” the bartender eyed me suspiciously.
“The older Corwins, sure. I want to know about Sebastian. When did you last see him?” Handing the bartender a bill, I was surprised to see that instead of the expected greedy glint, his face darkened even more.
“I don’t need your money, miss. I’ll just say the Corwins haven’t gone anywhere. Now get out of here before trouble comes looking for you for free!”
Well, thanks for that much. I knew the way to the Corwin farm perfectly; I’d drawn it in my mind a thousand times, just like Bas’s face.
Maybe it was a good thing the bartender was either too scared or too tight-lipped to talk. I doubt I’d have wanted to hear all the details of Bas’s personal life. He must have had one by now, probably even a fiancée. I didn’t need all that gossip and speculation; I already drove myself crazy in the walls of my prison with the thought that Bas had long forgotten me and fallen for another girl.
I just wanted to see him! To see what he’d become, how he must have grown into a man, and whether he’d even recognize me.
My heart was pounding, and my knees were shaking! Though, you’d think after everything I’d been through, not much could rattle me like this. But it turned out anything tied to Bas was an exception, my weakness.
“I wonder if he knew that?”
…The closer I got to the farm, the more my knees trembled. My breath hitched, my mouth went dry. I looked more like a deep-sea squid yanked to the surface than a girl rushing on the wings of love after years apart.
Bold moves, like showing up at the Corwins’ doorstep, I saved as a last resort. Bas had loved horses since he was a kid, so it made sense to assume he’d show up at the stables sooner or later. Finding a convenient spot in the bushes on a hill, I started watching the buildings about twenty yards away. The last time I saw Bas, he was just fifteen; now he’d be a twenty-two-year-old guy, and I had no idea how much he might have changed. Though I’d imagined our reunion countless times. The hope of that meeting had helped me hold on and not lose the last scraps of my dignity.
But when I spotted a tall, dark-haired, muscular guy, shirtless from the waist up, on the horizon, I didn’t even doubt it was my Bas—especially because of the amulet hanging around his neck, a half-circle fragment of flat stone. He leisurely led a spotted stallion out of the stable and, with a smile, started brushing it with a wide brush on his hand, completely unaware of my hiding spot. Good Lord, just that smiling face was enough to make me faint!
…And as I watched him, I suddenly felt what it’s like when tears roll down your cheeks again, washing away the thick layer of soot from a frozen soul, bringing both relief and pain at the same time.
I clenched the fragment of my stone tightly in my fist.
…What happened next stunned me. Bas suddenly froze, slowly turning in my direction. At first, disbelief flashed across his tense face, but then it melted into a warm, welcoming smile!
“Charlie,” I read on his lips. A wave of joy swept me up and propelled me forward! Losing myself, I flew down the hill and, in a matter of seconds, landed in his open arms! I think I was squealing as Bas spun me around.
“Bas! Bas! Thank God, I’m so happy to see you! Finally! I missed you so much! I can’t even tell you how much!” I babbled, squeezing his neck with all my frantic strength.
“Charlie, you’re gonna choke me!” he laughed, his voice now deep and strong, gently prying me off. “Come on, let me get a look at you, little bird,” he said, playful warmth dancing in his brown eyes, a mischievous grin creeping onto his face. “Man, you’ve grown up, Charlie! I wouldn’t even recognize you now! All that’s the same are those amazing blue eyes, that cute button nose, and those full lips. Everything else has transformed in the best way! Look at that, you’ve got curves now!”
“Look at yourself, muscle man,” I said with a smile, gazing at him and feeling helplessly weak in the knees. “I missed you so much, Sebastian, if you only knew…”
“I didn’t forget you either, Charlie. I knew you’d come back. It couldn’t have been any other way. But I’m guessing you haven’t been home yet?” His face suddenly turned serious, and his wary glance around made me uneasy, wiping the silly grin off my face in an instant.
“Did something happen, Bas?”
“Let’s do this—tonight, at our old spot by the fortress ruins,” he said quickly, gripping my shoulders like he did when we were kids.
“Why? We haven’t seen each other in seven years, and you’re already ready to run off. Where do you want me to go?”
It felt like diving headfirst into a deep, cold lake and not being able to surface in its dark waters. My shattered expectations were practically twisting me up inside. But Bas’s warm hands, cupping my face just in time, pulled me back, saving me from a wave of disappointment and bitterness.
“Trust me like you did back then, Charlie. Right now, you need to see your father.”
“But I don’t want to see him. I didn’t come back for some family reunion…”
“I know. As much as it hurts, you have to talk to him one more time!” he said firmly before turning to walk away.
“Fine,” I nodded, confused, but called after the guy who was quickly moving away from me. “Bas, you didn’t say you’re happy to see me too!”
He stopped, sighed, and shook his head.
“Do you think it could be any other way, little bird?” Bas looked at me indulgently, the way he used to when he gently scolded me as a kid. “You’ve got no right to doubt me, Charlie. Would I still be wearing this silly thing around my neck if you didn’t mean anything to me? We can’t be seen together right now, but I really want to meet up with you tonight. Deal?”
I let him go with a nod of agreement.
I can’t say this was exactly what I’d pictured during the thousands of days and nights of my imprisonment. I’d imagined that when Bas saw me, he wouldn’t want to let me go, that we’d finally cross the line of friendship and kiss, then spend a few days in complete solitude, talking, laughing, and making love. But despite my shattered illusions, I was happy to see him. Of course, he’d changed! Now he was a handsome grown man with a sexy voice and an incredible physique. But he still had the eyes of my boy, my friend, who’d do anything for me. And that warmed my wounded soul.
The problem was, I couldn’t even imagine my inevitable meeting with my father. Just thinking about him made my mind spin with anger.