It all began when I was a mere gypsy-child living in the caravans of a traveling fare and never remaining in one place for very long. That was I met him. He was at the time a young boy of nine when I saw him being dragged quite literally on his back towards my father's camp on his back. The white mask he wore soaked with the blood from hidden scrapes and bruises. My father came out and paid the boy's mother a large pouch of coins for bringing him his 'order'.
I was older than he, a young girl of eleven when this tale begins and often equated my father with the evil sadistic men who were stoned to death in the bible. They never caved in before their tormentors but I was not so strong, six years of rape and molestation had made me weak and frail, and I feared for the boy, he did not know what didn't know what kind of man my father really was. Knowing all too well that he would find out sooner or later I crept out of my tent and to the boy's corner of the shabbiest tent reserved for newcomers with the sounds of fair groundskeepers grumbling about the way the trash just piled up more and more. They stopped as I passed by turning to gaze at me with a mixture of sympathy and sadness for they knew full well what my father did to me every night.
"STOP!" cried the man the in front of the tent flap, who stood guard as he usually did to anyone who was out on ground after hours. I obeyed her and smiled as Jerry came up and knelt down before me lowering his spectacles to see with aging eyes. "Well I'll be! Whatca doin' der youn' lady, ya know yer father a'int gonna want yer outta bed a' this hour."
"I wish to see the knew one." I stated in a small whisper. Then added quickly, "My father sent me to make sure he was behaving himself." Now Jerry knew full well I was not telling the truth, but still he relented after making me promise not to say anything about my father to the boy before throwing back the flap. The heavy smell of some animal emanated from a large cage set in the middle of the room. The floor of the cage was packed with mangled straw. There was a bowl of water, a plate with some unidentifiable scraps of food on it, and a bucket. Huddled in the corner of the metal box was the boy, his legs drawn up and his breathing shallow.
"Hello." I aid softly as I tiptoed over the cage.
"Go away!" the boy moaned, but I ignored him.
"My name is Luna." I said and then reading the nametag on the cage said, "It's nice to meet you Erik. "
"What do you want, please don't beat me any more… please… please… no more whips and fists." He began sobbing and I ran to him and held him not knowing why.
"I've not come to beat you, but to warn you of--" footsteps were heading towards us.
"Hide!" Erik whispered I shook my head. I would not let my father take another victim. Erik seemed not to notice he pushed me behind the flap and the door banged open. Torchlight flickered on the walls, illuminating my father's monstrous silhouette. The man reached out and grabbed him, hefting Erik to his feet by the collar of his shirt. This time, Erik's little wrist was squeezed painfully as my father pulled him out of the wagon and into the freak-tent through a flap in the back. My father shoved the child through an iron door with a satisfied chuckle. He slammed the cage door and padlocked it. There was no way he would let this treasure escape.
"Welcome home. Don't speak 'less you're spoken to -hell, don't speak unless I tell you to-, and do what you're told. Do all that and maybe I won't have to smack you around too much." He pointed to a wall where a whip hung coiled. "If you can't do what you're told, then that's," he exaggerated his pointing motion, "for you." More low chuckles followed this introduction. "You better make me money, boy, after what I laid out for you." Just to prove his point my father unlocked the door and grabbed the cruel rope-like instrument and commenced to beat the boy.
His screams were hoarse and my father's cruel laughter was of no comfort. I waited until I could no longer bear it before coming out with a cry of, "leave him alone!" and then my father turned.
"You! What the hell are you doing outta bed? Come to see the freak have you Lu?" he smiled cruelly, "c'mere babe." He said and pulled me on my knees before turning back to the nine-year-old in the cage. "She purty a'int she boy." he asked.
"Y-yes."
"Yes what?" he raised the whip again.
Now the poor boy was so scared that he forgot he was supposed to call him master and as punishment he moved to whip the boy again. I was not about to let that happen. I reached up and punched him in the face, he yowled and I ran in front of the boy.
"You despicable wench!" he growled and reached for me and pulled me on his lap smacking me hard. "You will pay for that tonight." Infuriated he stormed out calling me to come with him. I lagged a moment to watch the boy in the corner crawl to the bars of the cage.
"Thank you for standing up for me…" he said softly.
"You're welcome Erik." I whispered. "I have to go now…"
"No…please…" he begged
"I must, but if you like I shall sing you to sleep…"
"Yes please, Lu." I smiled at my pet name and climbed over the bars to into the cage next to him, tripping once with an 'oof'. "Are you all right?" he asked as I crawled to his side and nodded sitting down next to him.
"I only know one lullaby, I hope you like it." I said and began to sing, allowing my hands to travel in the thick black hair and bring his hand to rest against my chest.
"Try
not to get worried, try not to turn on to Everything's all right, yes,
everything's all right, yes everything's fine. Sleep and I
shall soothe you, calm you, and anoint you.
Problems that upset
you, oh.
Don't you know
Everything's all right, yes,
everything's fine.
And we want you to sleep well tonight.
Let
the world turn without you tonight.
If we try, we'll get by, so
forget all about us tonight
Myrrh for your hot
forehead, oh.
Then you'll feel
Everything's all right, yes,
everything's fine.
And it's cool, and the ointments sweet
For
the fire in your head and feet.
Close your eyes, close your eyes
And relax, think of nothing tonight
(Disclaimer: these are Mary Magdalene's lines from the song Everything's all right from Jesus Christ Superstar)
I stopped when I heard the soft snoring of the boy coming from my chest and kissed his cheek, before going to warm my father's bed. When I arrived I was greeted the usual way by my father's fist. He then would kiss the bruise and shove his body on mine. I hardly felt it any more when he would shove his masculinity into the confines of my body. He moved and with brutal hands he squeezed me hard on the breast becoming abusive and painfully rough with gouges and bleeding teeth marks on my skin.
He would order me to cry out his name and moan as if I were enjoying his sexing as he rutted on me like an animal. As long as I did these things he would not prolong my torment, and when he finished he would sleep and I could sneak out and see Erik. When the time came I went back to the tent where Jerry had fallen asleep. I crept in and climbed back into the cage with a small clank and a mutter of soreness I managed to climb in and settle down next to Erik, who stirred and looked at me. Tears began to form in his eyes, "Shh, I am here…"
"I had a nightmare. Can you sing me another lullaby to make it go away?" I smiled and kissed his forehead and made up another lullaby to sing to him.
-TIME LAPS NEXT DAY-
I awoke to pain in my cheek and found the horrifying sight of my father over me, a knife in his hand and an unconscious Erik by my side. "That will teach you to sneak away you little trollop!" he laughed and stormed out.
"Erik! Erik!" I crawled to him and pressed his chest until he woke. "Thank god!" I breathed when the sobbing boy embraced me, and I returned the gesture.
"Luna? You're hurt!" he crawled away and brought his pale and cloth to clean the wound
"Thank you…" I sobbed for the wound hurt very badly.
"Don't mention it." He said.
"Oh, my, god!" I said as I gazed at my face in the water,
"I'm sorry Lu. I guess you're like me now." He said wiping the jagged slash in my face. "I tried to wake you but he knocked me out and then hit you on the head with a board." He explained.
"I'm tired Erik and hungry, can I stay with you tonight?" He nodded saying that he was also tired and would be glad of company. We stretched out on the straw and closed our eyes. I wanted nothing more than to scream and cry, but knew that would only bring unwanted attention, eventually despite our fear and misery, Erik and I fell asleep.