Two Villains

Ch. 31- Meet Prince Naseer

I kept slamming the wooden door in front of me so hard that I could feel the soft, white pads of my palm turn red and burning in pain.

But that was not the only part of my body that was hurt.

My throat was hurting as I screamed for help for almost an hour, calling out to my mother. I wanted her to open the door of the storeroom where she kept me locked as punishment.

I sobbed uncontrollably. My yellow-colored frock was covered with phlegm, tears, and dirt from that musty storeroom. I already had bruises all over my body from the acerbic beating with a cricket bat that my mother used.

But I knew very well that my screams were muffled on the other side of the house where my parents were entertaining their creditors. My parents, especially my father, had borrowed a huge sum of money for his lavish business, which he had failed miserably to operate

My constant slamming on that wooden door reverberated in the empty, dusty room. Hopelessly, I banged my head on the door once and slowly sat down in front of it, crying hysterically. A thin line of white light rayed from beneath the door, and I could feel the presence of others on the opposite side. There were movements, faint glimpses of shadows passing through the light. The world was alive and lovely outside, but nobody seemed to care about the helpless little girl trying to escape from the hell that everyone labeled ashome.

I was lost in my thoughts, silently praying to God to show me a way, to send someone to save me. Suddenly, someone clicked the lock of the door from outside. My little heart became drenched with fear. I felt the throbbing of my heart in my chest as if it was about to explode with anticipated doom.

I knew what would happen now. I would smell the brute scent of cheap perfume and betel leaf. I wanted to scream, but all the screams were muffled in my voice.

"Kay...." A sweet little boy spoke, seemingly out of nowhere. I jumped when I heard his voice.

"Kay, help me... help me..." The little boy spoke with a teary voice that trembled, sending shivers down my spine.

"Who? Who is that?" I asked in fear. The last time I remembered, nobody had ever accompanied me in my darkness, where I was always trapped in my childhood home.

"Kay... I'm Sameer... Help me... Please help me..." The little boy's voice echoed from the darkness, reverberating off the walls.

I sat frozen on the cold floor. Sameer...Sameer?What was he doing here? Was I hallucinating in my own dreams?

"I want to go home... please help me... please..." The boy cried out with his weak, teary voice. A billion possibilities raced through my mind. Was I dreaming? Was that a ghost or something? Was that Sameer?

"Kay... I'm scared. I want to go home... Please help me," the little boy wailed at me. I was left speechless, forgetting why I was there and what I was doing in this dark room.

The floor... once smooth, now felt like it had sharp edges of stones and gravel. There was a whim of wind coming from somewhere, and something flapped its wings above my head. A pungent, ammoniac odor assaulted my nose.

"Kay... Help me... I'm hungry...," the little boy's voice seemed to float from some abyss in the distance. I stood up from the floor, hugging my soft teddy bear tightly in my arms as I started to follow the sound's source.

"Don't leave me alone in here, please...," the little boy pleaded with me. Then, I felt it—a skinny hand grabbed my ankle.

I began to kick at it, but the boy continued to beg,