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He has me at the furthest end of the house. The space in which he has locked me is small, there is a bedroom and a bathroom in this little suite and not much else. This was clearly his plan all along, as the closet is stocked with all my old clothes. At least I have a large window to look out of. I can see the garden, the sky, and also the guards that are tasked with patrolling the grounds to make sure that I don’t leave.
They pay me no attention. I tried to wave at one; I know he saw me, but he just ignored me. Nobody has come to clean the space, and I haven’t said a word in hours. There is only one way out of here, and that is to give my father what he wants.
It’s late at night. I turn to the clock and see that it is one o’ clock in the morning. Even throughout the night, the guards still patrol. There is not a moment this room isn’t being watched.
The sound of fluttering catches my attention. I turn onto my back and stare at the ceiling. A small moth bounces against it, and I feel like it is as much a prisoner as I am. Still, there is something comforting in knowing that I am not the only living thing in the room.
I observe the moth for a few minutes and my eyelids start to get heavy. I long for sleep, hoping that when I wake up, I’ll learn that this is all a bad dream. It would be nice to fall asleep and stay asleep for a few days at least.
I tried to request some sleeping tablets but I was refused. In fact, my request was barely acknowledged at all. Nobody will speak to me. They open the door, shove some food through it, and slam it behind them. Later, they come back to retrieve the tray just to hand me the next one.
Watching the small moth is like counting sheep, and my eyelids eventually flutter closed. My breathing is heavy, and I concentrate hard on what I would like to dream about. Edoardo. I hope that my dreams take me back to the time we spent together on the island before all this mess.
Just as I doze off, a sound startles me awake. It is coming from the window. I sit upright and listen as the sound of the window being pried open sends my heart into overdrive. I am not safe anymore. Although I do not wish to live like this, my own well-being is not the only thing on my mind. There is a life that grows inside me for which I am responsible. I’m no longer the only one whose safety is on the line here.
I quietly slip off the side of the bed and push myself as far underneath the bed as I possibly can. I’m terrified; it’s difficult to calm myself down, but I take shallow breaths so that I don’t give away my position. Within moments, I hear the latch on the window click and a soft creak as it’s pulled open.
The sound of two heavy feet on the carpet is what follows. The intruder takes a few steps and I know that he is looking for me. Has my father sent him to kill me? It isn’t entirely impossible. The thought has crossed my mind before, and I’m sure it’s crossed his as well.
Whoever it is, they aren’t here to rob me. They don’t look through anything. They don’t touch any of my belongings.
“Aria, where are you?” he whispers. “It’s me, Mattia.”
I gasp for air as my head spins with relief. I have never been so happy to hear his voice. I crawl out from under the bed and I am so relieved that for a moment I think I might cry. And when I see his dark figure in the room I run to greet him, throwing my arms around him.
“I’m so happy to see you,” I say in a soft sob.
I feel Mattia soften to my embrace. But he quickly steps away from me and takes another look around the room.
“Are you alright?” he whispers. “Are you hurt?”
I shake my head. “I’m fine. Just tired, that’s all.”
“Good,” he says. “I’m going to get you out of here. Just follow me.”
He wastes no time. He leads me back to the window and instructs me to climb through it. The cool night air outside hits my face and I know that everything will be alright. My bare feet hit the damp grass outside the window.
I know that this is far from over, but I also know that I am safe now. Mattia jumps through the window behind me. He instructs me to keep close to him, and I follow his orders. As we sneak through the property we pass countless guards sprawled out on the ground. He must have knocked them out as he made his way to me. We tread carefully, making sure not to disturb any of them.
“There’s a car waiting for us up the road,” he whispers.
He leads me up to the edge of the garden. There, he points me to a tree. In the corner of the property I see that there is one corner of the wall without fencing. The tree is in the way.
“This is the hard part,” he whispers. “Step where I step.”
I follow his movements up and through the tree and onto the wall, but the drop on the other side is steeper than I anticipated. But before I can say anything, a ladder is placed against the wall and I drop down.
Even though I am utterly exhausted, I run as fast as I can toward the car and as soon as I climb in, it starts racing forward.
“Are you alright?” Mattia asks me again.
“You rescued me,” I say with teary eyes. “I’m better than ever. We need to get Edoardo out of prison.”
Mattia hands me a bottle of water which I gladly accept. He then pulls out a bag of my favorite takeout. All the hunger that my body suppressed over the past few days hits me in an instant, and I grab the bag, making quick work of its contents.
With my belly full and the reality that I’m out of my captivity, the emotions finally rise and make themselves known.
“My father is a monster,” I say quietly. “He will stop at nothing to get his way, even at the risk of his own daughter.”
