"You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated."

-Maya Angelou-

***

Levana was walking back from her work like usual that evening. She had night shift that day so after cleaning up and everything, she returned at around midnight.

Usually, nothing really happened to her and she managed to get back home safely. However, she forgot that the street of London could be unpredictable at times.

When she was about to turn around, someone grabbed her and quickly placed an alcohol infused cloth over her mouth. She was struggling to fight back, but it was futile.

Whoever kidnapped her was far stronger than her. She was running out of oxygen and inhaling the alcohol only made things worse. In the end, she passed out and everything turned dark.

The next thing she knew, when she fluttered her eyes opened, she was already placed in a cell and they had changed her clothes as well into a white night gown which resembled a lingerie.

“Ah, Cinderella is awake.” She heard another woman’s voice and turned her head around. In the same cell, there were four other women.

They were all wearing the same clothes as she were and the one speaking earlier was this woman with bob cut black hair and blue streak.

“Who are you? Where am I?” Levana asked. She was panicking inside, but showing that she was panicked wouldn’t work in her favor, so she tried to maintain a calm composure and asked with a firm tone.

“You’re at the back of the auction house, just like the rest of us.”

“Auction house? No, I can’t be here. There has to be a mistake.”

“Oh, believe me, everything that’s happening here is a mistake. But just like us, you don’t really get to make the choice.” The woman said, there was despair in her voice.

Levana took a few more minutes to observed her surrounding better and realized that there were two guards guarding the door to the outside and they had their eyes on the women.

“Do you know why we are here?” She asked the woman again.

“I didn’t at first, but I shouted at the guard there, asking him some questions. Apparently we are going to be auctioned off to some wealthy folks.”

“Wait, are you telling me we are held hostage by human traffickers right now?” Levana was still in disbelief. Just a few hours earlier, she was a free woman who was living her normal life like usual.

“Yes, you can say that.” The woman replied casually. She was not sure if the woman was already hopeless on the inside or if she was naturally that chill. She believed no one could be so chill at this situation, so it must be the first option.

“Hey, no talking!” Looked like her conversation with this woman caught the attention of the guard and one of them shouted from the door, silencing them.

Levana had no choice but to remain silent since she didn’t want to find out the consequences of doing otherwise.

She was in an unknown territory, uncertain of the rules, she needed to play safe for the time being and not surrendered to her impulse to cry and scream.

As she waited in silence with the rest of the women, her mind started to wander around. How did things end up like this?

As an immigrant from Palermo, Italy who moved to London in hope for a better life, she was just trying to create a better life for herself by working as a retail sales associate and as a part time content writer and creator as well.

Her life couldn’t be more ordinary. Levana was a woman who already had her whole life planned out in advance. She loved her routine and structure.

To have all of those plans, dreams and hope shattered in a blink of an eye because she was kidnapped made her feel so frustrated.

She didn’t have anything to do, so she closed her eyes and before she realized it, she fell asleep. The next time she woke up, it was because she heard the sound of her cell being slammed with metals.

“Wake up, here’s your last meal here. In a few hours, each one of you will be auctioned off. You better pray whoever’s buying you has good intentions.”

The guard shoved a tray of bread and mineral water inside the cell. There were five of them yet he only gave three pieces of bread and three bottles of water.

“I’m hungry.” One of the woman slowly walked toward the bread and grabbed one of it along with the water bottle.

Two others followed and the two people who didn’t get their share was Levana and the woman from earlier.

“Looks like we will have to fast this time. If the guard’s words are true, it’s our last day here. What are you going to do once you’re out?” The woman from earlier asked her.

“I don’t know.” Levana answered truthfully.

“Well, I am not a religious person, but at this point, I am hoping for some kind of miracle.” The woman answered.

Although she looked a little scary at first, so far, this stranger was the friendliest person she met in that cell. The others weren’t really interested in talking to her at all, which was understandable considering the situation they were in.

“What’s your name?” Levana asked her.

“My name? Oh, it’s Morgan. Morgan Phills. What’s yours?”

“Levana, Levana La Rosa.” She replied.

“You have a beautiful name and a beautiful face, I am sure you will be bid at a higher price. Who knows, maybe some wealthy old man out there falls for you and you can have a better life than you did before.”

Levana was not sure if this woman was being sincere or sarcastic, but she thanked her either way.

Around an hour later, the guards returned back again and opened the cell.

“It’s time for the auction, you’ll be going first.” He said as he grabbed one of the woman on the cell. That woman was fighting back and tried to free herself by kicking the guard in the balls.

However, the other guard came inside and quickly punched her, causing her to fall to the ground.

“Shit! You punched her face!? Now she’s not going to sell well.” The guard who was recovering from the ball kick said as he pulled the woman from the ground.

“See, you made some bruises on her face!” The guard said angrily.

“Well, what do you want me to do!? She was kicking you at the balls and tried to escape, if anything you should be thanking me. Just put some makeup on to cover the bruises and we should be good.” The woman who got punched was sobbing uncontrollably before she was dragged out of sight.

Levana’s heart nearly dropped when she saw what happened to that woman. These people were violent. She could only imagine what would happen to her if she dared to resist like that woman did.

“Are you shocked? Well, that’s a normal reaction. This is why we shouldn’t fight back. These people are way stronger than us. We need to keep our composure and do what they want us to do.” She paused for a moment before smirking.

“At least for now.” Levana didn’t understand why this woman could be so casual and chill about it. She could only imagine what kind of life she must have been through.

Within an hour, the other two women were dragged out to be auctioned off. It was only her and Morgan left in the cell.

“You know, Levana. We only know each other for a short while, but I think you’re a good girl. One day if we ever meet again in one piece, I’ll treat you a drink.” She said before the guard came back and opened the cell door.

“Now it’s your turn.” He came inside and pulled Levana’s hand. She learnt from the first woman not to resist and she turned her head around to glance at Morgan one last time.

Not sure why, but she had a feeling she would see her again in the future.

After she walked pass by the door, she walked upstairs and was led through the hallway. What surprised her was how different the rest of the building was compared to her cell room earlier.

It was like two completely world. The ceiling was high and adorned with several crystal chandeliers, the floor was made out of marble and the interior could only be described as luxurious.

While walking, she could see all kinds of expensive and antique looking things on display. It was a world she had never seen before.

They finally stopped in a backstage room and she saw this large round cage which reminded her of a bird’s cage.

“Get inside.” The guard from earlier pushed her and she had no choice but to enter. The moment the door was locked. The floor underneath her suddenly opened and she was going down ever so slowly.

“Dear Lord, what’s going to happen to me now!?”