We drove for what seemed to be weeks and months. Indian internal roads were as it is horrible to travel on. On top of it, going from an internal village such as ours to where ever they were taking us was no easy task. We weren't the only children taken. There were at least 20 – 25 of us. All huddled together, barely fed during those days, and only stopping for washroom breaks where the girls would need to be escorted by our captors. Soon hunger set in and fear. It was a repugnant odor that held us all in it's grimy grip. We'd only heard old folktale stories of bad children who'd been taken away. Of course, those were just to scare us into doing our chores. Now it didn't seem so trivial anymore and I wished desperately I could remember those stories, to keep from thinking about this one. Finally, we made it to our destination.

We were taken off the truck and lined up side-by-side, boys and girls separated. I looked at my feet and hoped that everything would be okay that nothing bad was going happen. Of course, this never seemed to be the case with me. We waited in fear, the anticipation more frightening than the actual event, as I recall.

After a long time, a middle aged man, kind of short and stubby came into the room we were being held in. Though his curly hair stood up on end, and his fat around his stomach and thighs hung out and dripped into tires, I remember that his most distinctive features were his eyes. I was so afraid of the way he looked at us – like pieces of meat waiting to be slaughtered. And that was exactly what we were to him. Looking at us real close he began to divide up the boys. The younger ones were in one batch and the older in another.

"Take the kids to the furnace," he instructed. "The older ones are going to the mine," he sneered, his mouth twisting into a snarling grin.

Finally he started to sort out the girls. The older girls that were over 12 were taken away immediately. The younger ones, were further sorted. I tried to get sorted with Diya, but luck was not on my side, and she was sent to the other group. He told the other men to take them away, and it was only after a long time that I learned that Diya was sold to a brothel and was raped and killed.

There were only 5 of us left now and he waited until everyone else left. "You 5 should be honored. Here sit down children, relax." I wasn't sure if he was being kind or not, but the tone of his voice did not match the intent of his words. "SIT DOWN FILTH!" He roared when none of us moved. We all scrambled and sat on a small mat in front him. "Better. Now you 5 will be my new children. Now all children have roles right? You must all take on you share of the work in this house if you don't want to be punished. I will give you each chores and you will do them without questions. You may not speak unless spoken to and can talk amongst yourselves only when you are alone." He paused, looked at us and then continued. "Now, to divide up the chores."

This won't be too bad, I thought. I used to do chores at home all the time. I could handle anything he gave me. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"You in the green, you're number is 11. In the pink, you're twelve," and like that he gave us each numbers. We were to forget our names and only refer to each other as numbers. I, myself was 13. But I never did forget my name.

We were to bathe him, clean his room and washroom, massage his feet everyday, cook, and do laundry. The chores themselves were tolerable, but it was the way he treated us that was brutal. We only got one meal a day and we all slept together in the cellar. He used to chain us to the wall to keep us from running away, even though leaving was impossible. I used to tell myself that it could be worse, and that I could be out on the street begging for money. Instead, I had a meal to eat here and a place to sleep no matter how awful it was. I suppose I should have been grateful for that.

I think I must've eventually gotten used to it, but I never got used to the beatings. I remember the first time I made a mistake. It was in the kitchen and I'd slipped on water, come crashing down right onto a plate. It shattered and cut my foot. The man outside grabbed my hair and dragged me to a place outside. Eventually, we called it the "Wall". He made me strip to "preserve" my clothes. That day I went to bed feeling crippled from the lashes I received. My back cut with the whips I was beaten with. It was like walking in perpetual fear, and as a child I would try my best not to make mistakes but it was impossible to be perfect all the time.

At the time, it was him and us five children in the main house. As it turned out there were many other branch houses as well and he used children like us to work as maids and servants in those houses. Growing up, I was devoid of any adult female interaction. Sometimes he'd have one of his whores come by and they would do their business. The walls were thin, and us children could hear everything that went on. Not knowing what they were doing, we would become terrified that he may be killing her. Though this theory wasn't far off the mark as I later found out. All of them would go home long before daybreak, looking spent and exhausted.

Then one of the girls got sick, or at least that's what I believed at the time. She would bleed from her privates and it continued a while. Eventually, she could no longer hide it and the man slapped her across the face for becoming so dirty. As punishment for not telling him before, he gave the rest of us lashes. We went to sleep that morning only to wake and find her gone. Since then, I have never seen her again. We were all too frightened to know what had happened to her. The rest of the girls and I were sure she had died of the illness. We spent the next few days sterilizing our room to get rid of the bacteria that may have caused it.

Then when I hit 13, I too start to bleed profusely from my privates. With no one to tell me what this change was and how to deal with the awful pain, I could only remember when my friend had been taken away. How she had disappeared the morning after. With no one to tell me anything, I thought I was dying. I was going to die without knowing love, without getting out of this miserable place, without ever seeing Arshad.

I was summoned to the master's room that night. Terrified I walked as slowly as the other servants would allow me to.

"I'm dying aren't I? Please help me!!" I sobbed. I knew it would do no good, the man was heartless, but in the face of death, I lost all reason.

What I received for my efforts was a stinging blow to my face. My ears still ringing from the feel of it, I stumbled up and kneeled on the ground with my face bowed. "You're growing older, bitch," he said finally. "You aren't dying. This blood is proof of your womanhood. You are now a woman. So now you'll pay off your debt to me. I have no use for children like you, I like my women mature. But you got some pretty eyes and hair on you so you'll make someone real happy out there."

"Master what are you saying?" I whimpered. Was he going to let me go? Where would I stay? What would I eat? How would I live? Even though this place was horrible, it was still some shelter.

"I'm saying you're going to fetch me some good money," Walking up, he motioned for someone to come in. "Make her presentable for next week. Fly our Japanese client here and let him know we've got someone for him."

The woman took me away and for the first time in a long time, I received a proper meal. I didn't know how to feel about it. I was just so hungry and starved of food I ate it without questioning too much. She dressed me in a white dress with delicate lace. The dress was more beautiful than anything I had worn in years. She washed my face, gave me a warm bath, and told me to get some sleep if I didn't want to be thrown out to the wall. For a week until the bleeding stopped, this treatment continued and the daily showers, clothing, facials, and hair treatment had turned me into a woman and I began to notice myself and my body more. I noticed I had a clear face and crystal gray eyes. My copper hair (after being cut by the woman) was thick and long. I was thin, but I had curves I'd never noticed before. I hadn't looked at myself in a mirror for so long I'd forgotten my own face. And staring back at me was a woman I'd never seen before.

After the week was over, and the bleeding had stopped, the woman explained to me the changes I was going through. That this was called a period, and that it would happen for 7 days every month. It was a lot for me to take in and the most I got out of the conversation was that I wasn't dying and that I would be okay. It seemed things were getting better than before. That this "period" had changed my life. How much, I had no vision off then. How was I to know that this was only the calm before the storm and that my real life was only just beginning? After the woman had explained everything to me, she took me to an underground basement.

"Well, well, you've really brought me a treat this time round haven't you?"

"Well, she was the one we told you about 3 years ago. You remember? Said we'd found you a real catch and that she just needed some time to blossom." The woman said.

"Lucky me," he said. Walking over he took a strand of my hair and felt it between his fingers. At the time, I couldn't help but be captivated by his charisma. He was incredibly handsome. I could tell he was well built, had a tattoo on his arm, cigarette between his lips, and one of the most beautiful faces I've ever seen. "Hello, baby, the name's Rei."

I withdrew slightly not wanting to touch him or answer him. Though captivated by him I was, I was also hopelessly afraid of this energy and strength. The complexities of his character are something I doubt I can understand even today.

I left the room and waited for him by his red car as he had instructed me. After a while he emerged and we both got in and he began to drive. "So, you're 13?" He asked.

Suddenly I felt rage at being called a number. I may not have been able to do anything there, but here, I was a human. "My name is YASMINE." I said, my tone angry and more aggressive than I had anticipated.

Slightly surprised and taken aback by my outburst, he burst into laughter. "I meant your age, Yasmine."

"Oh, yes. Sorry. P-Please, forgive me. I didn't mean to yell… I am 13 years old." I stammered now deeply embarrassed.

"It's alright, women who have some spunk are nice once in a while. So do you know where you're going?"

"I was not told anything." I was more surprised by his ability to speak fluent Hindi. "How did you learn to speak our language?" I asked.

"I've been dealing here since I was 15. It's been three years so I've caught up nicely. Just like you will learn how to speak fluent Japanese soon. My boss likes his women Indian."

So he was 18 years old, I thought doing the math. Then it hit me. "What did you mean? Your boss likes Indian women?"

"Haha, whoops, I guess I little too much slip. Don't worry, you'll adjust fine. I don't see how he'll let you go."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" This was the first time I'd felt comfortable speaking to someone so freely.

"Well, because you are one fine beauty. Only 13 and you already look like a model. A little malnourished, but that can be fixed with time. Our boss is a man of culture. He runs a very high class… hostess bar. You'll be a fine addition to his collection of women."

"What's a hostess bar?" I asked. I'd never heard the term before, it was foreign to me. "I'm going to Japan?!"

Smiling he said, "Don't worry where you're going, a fine lady like you will fit in just fine."

We reached the airport a little while later. I remember being impressed with the massive planes and that soon I would be in the air. I was sad to leave behind my country, but I had nothing left there anyway. If Rei was going to be with me, then I believed that everything would be okay. It wasn't like I was in the position to do anything anyway. The flight was probably the high light of my life. It was a phenomenal view and I felt like I could watch the cotton candy clouds forever. I felt light and the as we approached the ground, Japan looked like a toy city with tiny cars and tiny people. I was worried about the language but if I was to be living there, I was sure to catch on quick.

I was ecstatic by the time I got down. Over the past 24 hours, we'd spent traveling, I'd come to the conclusion that Rei had adopted me and that I was going to live a normal happy life from now on. The truth could not have been further off. He took me to a small bar and realizing we were in some shady area, I asked Rei, "What are we doing here Rei?"

"Sorry honey, but I gatta give you to your owner now."

"Owner?" I asked, my voice becoming more strangled as the time passed.

"Dontcha know? He's the one that bought you. Don't worry he's a handsome man. Most women fall in love with him. Too bad 'cause I actually liked you."

I could feel my heart sink. I knew this was too good to be true. I should never have mistaken his outgoing personality for kindness. And now, I'd reap what I sowed.