Desired

31. Petrified

Staring at the playground, it reminds me of the time me and Zach stopped at one. Most of it was rusty, the swings creaked and swung jerkily, the roundabout hardly moved and the slide left brown marks all over my hands and clothes. Yet we spent hours there; talking, laughing and kissing. We'd had fun.

Both of us had fun. I'm sure of it.

I shake away the memory and look through the windows of the houses which give me glimpses of family life. People reading, talking, playing with children. It reminds me of my family; of Mattan who's about to have his own.

I'm an emotional memory wreck.

I exhale shakily and focus on Klein's house. It's dark and still.

'Is the grassy area where they light the fire to jump over whilst naked?' Cas asks.

Roman sighs but doesn't respond.

'Are there armed guards monitoring the village?' Cas asks.

'There are guards allocated to stand at the road leading into the village but they don't walk around the village.'

'And none of the victims of Klein and his gang of rapists try to escape?' Casa asks surprised.

Roman rubs his forehead. 'No. Klein is manipulative, he'll play on your weaknesses and twist everything so you think you have no better options. Also, he's ensured everyday life is comfortable which further prevents people wanting to leave.'

'This place is making me want to punch myself in the ovaries,' Cas murmurs.

'Why?' I ask confused.

'Because I don't want to get pregnant for at least another fifteen to twenty years, but the amount of pregnant teenagers I'm seeing is making me think it's contagious around here,' Cas shudders, gesturing towards the playground.

I squint and notice Cas is right. There are several teenage girls in the playground who look heavily pregnant. Are some of those younger children theirs? I assumed they were siblings.

'It's no joke, Cas. Children shouldn't be having children,' Roman says sombrely.

'Some would argue as soon as you reach puberty that's natures way of indicating your body is ready. Also, throughout history lots of countries and cultures allowed marriage and sex to occur once a child had hit puberty,' I say.

Cas arches an eyebrow and Roman frowns. 'You agree with what is happening here?'

'No, I don't.' I shake my head. 'When I was nine the council leaders where I lived held a meeting about what the minimum age should be in regards to people settling. A fourteen-year-old boy and a fifteen-year-old girl wanted to settle but people felt they were both too young. The argument the girl and boy used were that if your body is capable of making children than it should be allowed.' I look at the children playing. 'The parents kicked up a massive fuss so the council leaders set a minimum age of sixteen. Even sixteen seems too young. My body may be capable of carrying a child but my mind is definitely not ready to bring one up.'

'Exactly. And even when you are ready, you should choose who that happens with not raped by some pervert. Who knows how many of those girls are victims of Klein or the others,' Roman spits

'Roman seriously you go from normal to intense in a second. We get it,' Cas says. 'No one thinks rape is ok.'

'You'd be surprised,' Roman says.

We continue sitting and watching. The sun disappears completely and dim lights turn on; illuminating a path weaving around the houses. Everyone has gone inside, most of the houses go dark as people go to bed.