Caged Bird

## Author's Note

**WARNING:** This is a story based on **human trafficking**, it will be **violent**, but it will not have any sexual content. If you're okay with the topic and the violence, proceed.

About the human trafficking thing, I read a book on it recently, it really opened my eyes. Many people who are trafficked are sold by their families, or come from poverty. Most of the trafficked are women, while most of the traffickers are men. They are often taken by people they are close to (friends, relatives, anyone else who they have a close relationship with). Stay safe you guys <3

This is the book I read.

This will take place in **Astra**, this is the map:

Don't Let Anyone Dull Your SPARKLE

## Prologue

*How did I get here?* I wondered, as I looked at my bloodstained hands.

*How did I get here?* I wondered, as I stared at my many bruises.

*How did I get here?* I wondered, as I remembered the sweet taste of freedom.

*How did I get here?*

The sun shone brighter than my future, the warm breeze howled louder than I could ever be, the clear air more welcoming than I could ever be again, so it really made me wonder, how did I get here?

How did I manage to be trapped in a million cages?

The Caged Bird.

How did I manage to be less free than a caged bird?

The Caged Bird.

Freedom a few bars away, but you just can't reach it.

The Caged Bird.

You're forced to look at how free everyone else can be, while you're not able to.

The Caged Bird.

Why can't I just be free? Why, no matter how hard I try, can I never break through the bars? Why did I become as good as a caged bird?

## Chapter 1

The day was as good as any others.

The sun was brighter than bright, the clouds softer than soft, and the breeze was colder than cold. A good balance.

I headed out to the farm, if I got through my daily chores, then Mother promised I could hang out with my friends, maybe visit the Tavern. Who knows? The weather was great, and there was so many options.

If only I used my time out there to a maximum, I was so spoiled back then, I had so much, but I always wanted more. I would kill for a third of what I used to have.

The chores were tiring, the warm sun suddenly grew hot, the gentle breeze suddenly got freezing and hard, the soft clouds suddenly were thin and long, but I just had to get through the day.

After I "suffered", I would visit the village Tavern, either I would visit the Library, or my friend's house, or I would come straight home. It all depended on my mood.

"Ma'am," the person at the counter said, tilting his hat, "A glass of cold water?"

I smiled, "What else?" I fidgeted with my pendant as I waited for my drink. "Hey, could I get half off on the glass? My Mother didn't have so good of a harvest, I can't afford the whole price."

He looked back at me, calculating what to say next, but then he shrugged. "Sure, why not? Everyone suffered this year, but the prices didn't go down, the owner just doesn't understand, but I bet a few dollars won't get me fired."

"Thanks, I really need this." I took a sip of the water. Pure, fresh water. I chugged the entire thing in a few minutes, it just felt so good! I placed the empty glass on the table and a few dollars, then I left.

Wherever I went didn't matter, did it? I was just free.

I went to my good friend James' home. A small cottage just like me, but he always had the wildest stories, he was so much older than me, but we acted the same, but that didn't matter, all I needed was another story.

"G'day Milady," He smiled as he opened the gate.

"G'day Milord," I returned the goofy smile.

He opened the creaking doors. "So what brings you here to my humble abode?" He asked, as I dusted off my boots.

"Oh nothing, just decided that I wanted another story.

He understood. This time the story was wilder than my wildest dreams. He apparently fought an Elf to get back a lamb from a local shepherd. "He tried to give me his firstborn, but I declined, I didn't need a child." He gave an awkward smile as he popped open a bottle of beer. "You want a sip?"

I laughed but declined. "My Mother said beer makes the brain spin in circles then throw up. I don't need my brain to throw up." He laughed, then I laughed, an innocent laugh.

If only it stayed forever.

## Chapter 2

We drank, we talked, we drank again, and we talked more. James had gone through so much beer, it was a surprise that he wasn't drunker than the men at the tavern on Friday nights!

Of course, I drank tea, it was good, a more proper and civilized companion to beer, it was like a calmer wine.

After a while of talking and drinking, James stood up at threw some blankets and a pillow on dusty wood floor. "That's where you're sleeping." He pointed to the pile at he straightened it out. "Is it alright if you sleep on the floor?"

I nodded, this setup was so similar to my actual setup with the only difference being James was here.

He made so many different kinds of tea, all delicious, but why? Tea was so expensive, why was he doing this? I asked him, only to get a "Because you're my friend." Of course we're friends, but why?

He made Chamomile, Green, Earl Grey, Sage Lemon, Blank, and Ginger. I knew that he would just keep making them. "How much tea did you purchase?"

He smiled, "Enough for a week with you, enough for a year with anyone else." A good answer.

"Don't be like that! Tea is great! You just wouldn't understand with your beer!"

He chuckled, "I think I understand tea just fine."

And with that, we drank more, we talked more, we drank his pitchers dry, and we talked our throats dry.

"Well, goodnight James, I'm getting sleepy." I yawned as I walked over to the makeshift bed.

"Wait!" He handed me another cup of tea, "Just drink this, I wouldn't want to waste a perfectly good cup!"

I shrugged as I chugged the tea, it tasted more bitter than the others, but I didn't want to waste it, he worked hard to give me every cup, so the least I could do was drink it all.

As the last drop left the cup and entered my mouth, I put the cup down.

I lumbered over to the bed, my vision getting blurrier by the moment. With a *bang*, I hit the floor, barely hitting the pillow.

My last memories were James looming over me, a wicked smile displayed on his face. I wanted to yell, "No! James, you're drunk! Whatever you're planning, snap out of it!" But I couldn't. Because this was James' plan all along.

With such a long life, you will always trust someone you shouldn't, and look where that got me. I would have been better if I never trusted anyone at all. At least I'd still be home.

## Chapter 3

By the time the horrific deed had ended, I landed straight on the other coast. Right at the tip of the coast on the Murderous Sea. I was too far away to go home, so I knew that if I somehow managed to escape, I would have to spend a few more years to get back home.

But traveling was a nightmare too. I woke up in a wooden crate, locked up like a piece of jewelry, was that all I was now? Something to brag or boast about, something to lock up until it was useful?

It was terrifying to think that many other humans like me were treated like jewelry. Locked away, and cared for only to keep it alive.

The journey took a few months, I was so far away from home, and the buggy was so slow.

I mostly spent my time thinking about how the future would be like, and reminiscing over the past. At night I listened to the owls, they were still the same. During the day I listened to the songbirds, they were still the same.

At least some things were still the same.

I would wake up whenever I felt like it, I would lay my head on the hard wooden floor. I only had a small sweater to keep me warm, my Mother gave it to me. Most days I had to choose between a sweater, a blanket, or a pillow.

After a few days one of the planks split open a bit, so I could look outside. It was nice to be able to see the sunset, to see the farmland and occasional city; although I knew that they look the least populated route. I would cry with joy whenever I saw another person, although I knew they wouldn't be able to figure it out.

I always wondered why my Mother never came looking for me.

The theory I had figured out was that I had eloped. It was common, a country girl running away from home? Happened every week, but they mostly turned up eventually. This wouldn't have happened if I lived anywhere else.

Eventually the crack split open even more, and a little songbird flew in. It would fill the room with beautiful music, and it never left. It feasted outside, but it always caught up. I named it Sunshine, because it was a ray of light in a dark void for me. Sunshine.

I guess eventually everything dies out, doesn't it?

One day that happened to Sunshine.

She just died, one day she woke up, and just fluttered weakly in my arms, then just died. I buried her the best I could when the buggy stopped. Now the void was here again, only the void.

It consumed me, I *became* the void. Strange what happened in a couple of months.

The darkness spread outside of me, touching everything else, oh how I longed for more Sunshine. Oh how I longed for Sunshine to just wake up and fly into the buggy, but no. The silky sheet of night murdered out the sun, but the sun always rises again, doesn't it?

## Chapter 4

The rest of the ride was spent wondering about how my new life would be, I regretted making friends with James, I regretted not making a stronger fight when I was strong enough to, and I regretted not being able to say goodbye.

A whole life, a whole village of wonderful, amazing people, slipping through the cracks in my fingers, but I couldn't hold on anymore.

When the buggy stopped in the alley of a bigger city, I knew we had arrived. I put on my sweater and got out when it opened. They tied my ankles and wrists together, then carried me, one at my feet and one at my head.

The place we stopped was at the end of a big building, a large mansion. Normally I would be in awe, but considering the circumstances, it looked haunted. Haunted by the lives that could be, haunted by the lives that never got lived, haunted by the lives that were taken.

This place truly was a haunted mansion.

Once I went in, they exchanged the metal binds with magic ones. I wasn't able to leave the house, it was like a force-field, I could still move around and do my daily things, but I wasn't able to go outside of the owner's property.

The only way I *was* able to, was if one of the high staff members turned it off, or moved the field in the path and place I needed to go. This was truly a crime. I was locked up without any locks, I was forced to do labor for free.

I was trapped by nothing and everything at the same time.

Why did I have to live like this? I brushed out my tangled brown hair.

Why did I trust James so much? I washed my pale, dirty face.

Why did James do this, with no visible shame? I stared at my boring, brown eyes.

Why would anyone *want* me? I was built like a twig, I was uglier than a toad, it just didn't make sense. I would be bad at chores, and they probably wouldn't be able to sell me.

What kind of world is this, where people are sold like meat? I couldn't believe someone had a business of this. How many poor guys and girls were trapped like me? What if they lost more? What if they are going through much worse things?

Why would *anyone* deserve this?

My faith in the scary, dark world was dwindling, it was like a candle. It once burned bright, but now it's growing dimmer until it one day stops. I knew that day would come sooner than I thought.

This world, is a hopeless, dark land, devoid of happiness. This world is a curse upon anyone who lives here.