Chapter 3
As soon as I said it, my dad's face went dark.
He grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me into the back room.
He picked up a dusty old leather whip that had been sitting in the corner forever and brandished it at me.
"What did you just say?" he growled. "Say it again."
Seeing that whip, I felt the wounds from yesterday's beating were screaming in protest all over again.
But I still lifted my chin and stared him down.
"Dad, I don't want to marry any of them. Whatever price they offer, I swear I'll work hard and give you every penny I make. Please, don't sell me off," I pleaded.
My dad just let out a cold, mocking laugh.
He spat, "You? Make money? Don't think I don't see through your little schemes.
"The only reason we let you go to high school was hoping you'd snag a scholarship and save us some cash. And what did you do? You got one of the villagers tossed behind bars.
"And now you still want to run off? If you really manage to get out of here, are you planning to send your mom and me to jail too?"
I opened my mouth, but I had no idea how to get through to him. He was stubborn as a mule.
Just then, my mom walked in and shot a look at the whip in my dad's hand.
"Enough. Don't waste your breath on her," she said coldly.
She walked right up to me and tugged at my clothes.
She said coldly, "You should be grateful. Girls your age around here already have kids old enough to run errands. Keeping you unmarried till twenty is already a huge favor.
"I've already made arrangements with Walter, the cripple, from the next village. He's offering over 60 grand for the wedding gift. You're getting married next week.
"Just get married, have a son, and take care of your family. That's the life a woman should have."
I just couldn't understand it. Why did my parents think my only destiny was to be sold off as someone's wife?
I refused to just accept this fate.
I thought about Linda from the village. Her family sold her off too, but she managed to escape and find work out in the city for a while.
But in the end, they tracked her down and dragged her back. Now, she was stuck right back where she started—waiting on her husband and kids every single day.
Once my parents were asleep, I slipped out of the house.
I bolted straight to Linda's house and started banging on her door.
She opened up, bleary-eyed, and looked stunned when she saw me standing there.
I grabbed her hand like it was my last lifeline.
"Linda, please, can you lend me ten bucks? I need to get out of this village. If I don't run now, my parents are going to sell me off," I begged.
The sleepiness vanished from Linda's face, replaced by a mix of pity and sarcasm.
She scoffed, "You wanna me to help you run away?
"So you get to live free, and I end up pissing off the whole village for you?"
She yanked her hand away from me. "You really think you're still that smart girl with a future? Wake up. You're nothing but damaged goods now. Nobody's ever gonna want you."
Before I could even react, she spun around and yelled into the yard, "Reeds! Your girl is trying to run away!"
Soon enough, my parents, Jake, and a bunch of neighbors, half-awake and clutching flashlights and sticks, closed in around me like a mob.
I got dragged back home, and what was waiting for me was the village's twisted idea of justice.
They called me shameless, said I'd disgraced the family, and decided I deserved the severe punishment.
They tied my hands and feet tightly, then shoved me into a reeking, filthy cage.
A group of men hefted the cage and started lugging it straight toward the pond at the edge of the village.
I thrashed desperately, my muffled screams lost in the water, but it was useless.
In a flash, water flooded over my mouth and nose.
I couldn't breathe. My lungs were burning, ready to burst.
All I could feel was suffocation and pure hopelessness, crushing me from the inside out.
The icy water poured through the wooden cage, filling my clothes and robbing me of every last bit of warmth.
My consciousness began to blur.
Was I really about to die?