Maybe

Maybe in another life, her family wasn't poor. Maybe, in another life, debts didn't exist. And maybe, just maybe, his parents hadn't died.

Kira was happy until much of her childhood life. He grew up in a whole family: mother, father, grandmother, except without siblings. He would have liked to have one.

When he turned 10, things began to complicate. Overnight, his father lost his job, which was a stupid argument about shifts and cleaning the machinery. But that alone was enough, that alone was enough to make an enemy, well, he was not the only one who lost his job that day.

The days passed, as did the months, and finally, the years.

She was twelve but remembered it perfectly. His mother's hand clutched in his, tears streaming down her face. The sudden movements of her body due to sobbing.

She had lost weight in those last few years, like everyone else. Kira considered that her limit would be near, there would come a day when she could no longer bear the hunger, the dirt, the cold under the bed, the laughter of her classmates, her mother's high cheekbones... one day... She couldn't stand it any more and leave.

Her mother was the first one to escape, she chose the roof to throw herself dow, in the middle of the night, without waking up anyone, without shouting, without making a single sound, not even a "goodbye".

Kira also remembered her father's cries. The gentleness in his voice when he said that everything would be fine. But that was not the case.

Desperate, without the little support of his beloved, he met new people, dangerous people who promised to help. And so they did.

After a year they got an apartment, managed to pay the bills, buy a new uniform for Kira and everything was actualy fine, but that happiness was happiness inded because they both didn't know the price for it.

It started with the letters, at first light in the morning, they were sent as soon as the sun rose.

The gold envelope stood out among the rest, so the white ones looked dirty, impure, not worthy. In incredibly beautiful cursive handwriting, it read: "It's time for payment."

She noticed how her father rushed in the mornings, just before taking her to school, to find the golden envelope and prevent her from seeing it.

The letters were followed by knocking on the door. What was the need to ignore the letters if those guys knew where they lived? None. People, when cornered, tend to choose to ignore problems and question their existence. That was simple because, when he opened the door, no one was there, just another letter on the floor.

A few weeks later, the envelope appeared decorated with a rose petal, red as blood. Upon seeing that for the third time, the man's attitude changed completely. Outings after school were not allowed anymore, Kira would go to and from school alone, in an armored rented car. They moved several streets down to a small neighborhood still under construction. She wasn't allowed to talk to anyone. See anyone outside.

The paranoia didn't take long to manifest. There were frequent times when he claimed to see a shadow through the windows, so he decided to remove them all and place thick cement in their place. He also claimed that if he slept, the chip in his body would activate, and they would be found.

The truck arrived a little later. Parked outside the house, didn't leave until the man came out, followed him, and returned with him. Following him like a shadow of death.

Kira used to hide in her room, listen to music, watch movies, and wait for her father to arrive. To avoid worrying in those hours, he completed his homework and, if there was time, wrote in her diary.

One night, the fears came true: he didn't come back.

The next morning, there was no letter in the door. Deep down, she knew the truth, so it wasn't a surprise to hear news reporting the death of a tall, thin man who had been shot five times in the chest. There were no records of relatives, and no one recognized the body.

Those days, Kira stopped attending school, and the neighbors would soon notice the loneliness. Her father used to talk to them in the mornings. Had to think about what to do then: she couldn't leave until the end of the year, had nowhere to go anyway. The savings under the mattress were enough to survive for many months, maybe a year, then she would get a job. Yes, that would be the plan.

She would do his best to avoid raising suspicions and spread the rumor of a work trip far away. And avoid going out during busy times. Nothing bad would happen.

When the year ends, then she will disappear forever.

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