Men entered and left the brothel, and the old lady had me doing chores around the establishment as some kind of repayment. As I was sweeping the floors, I found myself in a room with a ceiling made of glass. There were pillows and blankets scattered haphazardly across the room. Some shelves were full of glimmering memorabilia.
Was this some sort of storage room? I took a closer look at the items on the shelves. There was a picture frame of the old bag with two other women. She looked incredibly young in this photo and awfully beautiful, unlike…
"Unlike when…" I heard a sharp voice behind me.
I slowly turned my head and saw the old lady looking at me with a belligerent smile. She picked up the picture frame and analyzed it with strained eyes.
With her wrinkly, saggy hand, she pointed at the white-haired girl in the picture. She was tall, had long white flowing hair, and a tired expression. Then she pointed at the other one who was shorter, a kid with blonde hair and blue eyes.
As she pointed at them, she smiled a bit and said that she had not met them for over two years.
"Who are they?" I asked curiously.
"Very dear friends I rarely see. They come to visit me every decade. And before they even knew it, I was the one with hair whiter than Sekito's."
"Wait, what?"
"Ah, do not worry about it, kiddo." She waved me off and told me to take care of the room. She put down the picture frame and left.
I continued tidying the messy room and found a necklace on a nightstand. It was shaped like a crescent moon and seemed to be made of glittering diamonds.
When I picked it up, it felt incredibly heavy and cold. That was when I heard a voice from the corridor.
Aylin was standing in the hallway staring at me, the necklace in my hand.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THAT!"
She stood there with pure anger in her eyes. Her teeth were grinding, and her fists were clenched. She rushed toward me, and I quickly put the necklace back on the nightstand where I had found it.
In an instant she snatched it up and left the room without saying anything.
I stood there, unsure whether I should continue cleaning or leave and ask the old woman for another chore. I chose the second option and left to ask her. As the sun descended and the night enveloped the sky, I finished all my chores and returned to the room the old lady had prepared for me.
My eyes wandered and saw that one of the doors was slightly open, and I decided to close it. I realized it was the same room I had cleaned earlier. When I reached it, I peeked through the small opening and saw Aylin on her knees, holding her necklace with both hands. She bowed her head with her eyes closed as if in prayer.
She then looked up through the glass ceiling to view the night sky. She lay down on her back on the pillows and blankets scattered on the floor. Moonlight pierced through the glass and washed over her.
She suddenly removed her shirt and bra and lay flat on her back, closing her eyes as if in anticipation. I knew I was not supposed to be watching, but something more than lust was going through my mind. Something bizarre was happening. Moonlight filled the room and touched Aylin's stomach. Her eyes shut tightly, and her face twisted as if she were in severe discomfort. A coarse moan left her lips as her body convulsed. She covered her mouth with her hand and turned onto her side, then back onto her back.
She groaned in pain, and something shocking emerged from her chest. Roots manifested on her delicate skin and dug into her stomach. From those roots a pink flower bloomed and grew out along her cheek.
I could not believe my eyes and looked away. That did not just happen. I looked again and saw Aylin sleeping soundly on the floor, her shirt back on. Surely I was hallucinating. I gently closed her door without making a sound and returned to my room.
The next morning all the workers said that they felt energetic and happy for no apparent reason. The old lady seemed to be in better spirits as well. I felt no different from the day before and continued with my tasks.
I wondered what I should do once I finished repaying my debt. Return to the slums and risk getting arrested? Definitely not. Move to a smaller city and find a job there? I had no identity and could not even prove I existed, so I could not get a job. I sighed and continued brushing. That was when I saw Aylin talking with one of the workers. Seeing her made my thoughts return. A hallucination of a pink flower…