“Was that your first kiss?”

A voice of a man that I’ve never heard before. Did he just kiss me?

There is a strange lingering feeling on my lips. My lips tingled, and it ached slightly from his kiss. It felt like there was something that I wanted to say to him, but my lips wouldn’t move, and my chest felt tight as my heart beat wildly.

‘Yes, it was my first kiss,’ I replied to him silently in my mind.

“Relax. Your body is all stiff, and your cheeks are bright red. Are you shy or embarrassed? Or perhaps…both?” the voice asked teasingly.

I’d never heard this voice before, and I had no idea who the man was. Everything around me was shrouded in darkness like a heavy smoke clouded my vision. He was near, but I couldn’t see him or his face clearly. It was like he was here, yet he wasn’t.

“Did you enjoy your first kiss? Should we give it another try? Maybe your second kiss will feel so good that it’ll make you forget all about your first…” the man suggested seductively.

He’s going to kiss me again?

Although I had no idea who this man was, the thought of him kissing me again didn’t disgust me. Instead, I found myself looking forward to sharing that kiss with him. Without knowing what was happening, I found myself so attracted and captivated by his voice that I couldn’t think of anything else.

**Ring Ring Ring**

“Hmmm…”

My mind felt hazy, and my eyelids felt heavy from sleep as I drowsily reached my arm out to where I knew the alarm clock was sitting on top of the table next to my bed. The morning had arrived, and it was time to face reality again. My hand found the alarm clock and managed to silence the alarm without the need for me to open my eyes.

The sunlight shining in through the slightly parted curtain of the window stung my eyes when I slowly opened them. My room's familiar plain white ceiling greeted me, and I knew that I had woken up on my small, narrow bed in my bedroom. Where else could I be?

Summoning up all my effort, I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. Needless to say, I was alone in my bedroom, and there were no signs of a man ever being there. His voice and his presence, which felt so close to me, were gone. It didn’t surprise me; after all, this wasn’t the first time I’d had dreams very similar to those I had just had. Every time he appeared in my dream and I heard his voice, my mind would try to remember where I’d listened to his voice before, and the answer that I would arrive at would always be the same: I have never heard his voice before.

At least, not in real life.

A sigh escaped my lips, and my shoulder drooped at the realization that it was nothing but another dream. That made me realize I was slightly disappointed that he wasn’t here. I shook my head rapidly from side to side to clear my thoughts. Why did I sound like I wanted to meet him so much? I don’t even know who he is...and he’s probably just a pervert from all the suggestive things that he kept saying to me.

Milla, he doesn’t exist!

I reminded myself again, just like I had done countless times before. A dream is nothing more than a dream.

Oh no! I will be late, and being late today would be an absolute disaster! After all, today is the day that I’ve been anxiously waiting for. Today was the day that I would go into the city where I would get a decent and respectable job. I had worked hard to be recommended for a job in the city, and I wasn’t about to blow it by being late.

I got up hurriedly from the bed, and after sprinting through the shower and getting appropriately dressed, I headed downstairs to the first floor of the orphanage, where I knew that everyone would be waiting to send me off.

“Good luck, Milla!”

“Best of luck at work. I hope you like your new job. Come visit us often, ok?”

“Take care of your health, ok? Don’t work too hard, and don’t worry about things around here. We’ll manage…”

“It would help if you send back money, though…”

The other younger girls in the orphanage shouted to send me off. I looked at their smiling faces as I recalled our many memories. I will miss them when I’m gone, but I knew this was for the best.

“Don’t worry. I plan to do exactly that,” I promised, meaning every word I had just said.

“It’s time to go. We have an important appointment with your employee in the city, and it is a long ride from here to there,” Mr. Helkins said curtly.

“Ok. We’ll then, I’ll be off…” I told all the other girls before I smiled and waved at them.

Back then, I never thought that would be the last time I would ever see their faces. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would never see them again…

…

**Later that night**

I have never seen this much money before in my entire life…

The spotlight on me was so blindingly bright that I could hardly see far into the audience. That light was now blocked by countless green bank notes raining down onto me from above. I raised my hand above my face to grasp one of the falling notes to see if this was real or if I was dreaming all this up. Instantly, I felt the note in my hand and the weight of the chain attached to the metal shackle around my wrists.

--To be continued…