The Bastard Daughter Part 1

"Your imagination

Rules beyond reality

It's either makes you

Or breaks you"

~Harpreet M. Dayal~

Winter. It is the time when the sun will never shine, and small flakes of snow falls from the darkened sky. It is when the first snow fell that young Aurora hated the most. The time when she became alone in her life and everything became unbearably hard. The time of her loss for the only person who gave her love.

Young Aurora was once happy. She had her loving mother to care for her. She was contented on how they live their life as a maid servant at her fathers household. Her mother was the personal maid of the mistress of the house – her fathers official wife. Young Aurora was helping her mother to serve at day while her mother will always teach her at night. She couldnt wish for more.

At 7 years old, Aurora noticed how her once healthy and beautiful mother became sickly pale and thin. She was always sick, and she wasnt getting any better. Then her father suddenly restricted her mother to go outside and work. Auroras mother (Anastacia) was confined in a white beautiful room with machines and tubes connected to her body. Aurora couldnt understand what was happening to her mother and her strange sudden sickness. She thought her father was helping to cure her mother, but little did she know.

Auroras life became miserable, with her mother sick and not on her side. At a very young age, she replaced her mothers place at the house work. But instead of serving the Mistress, she was to serve all her six older half-sisters. She took it without complain because Aurora knew that it was her only payment to her father for helping her sick mother to get better. Her sisters were bad and mean. They always assault her verbally and sometimes physically. One time when she tried to fight them, she ended up being punish by the Mistress. They didnt give her food for the whole day and she had to work extra hours. In addition, she had to sleep in the barn of horses for the whole week instead of the small cottage that she and her mother live. Aurora then learned her lesson not to fight for herself from her bully half-sisters. But its all okay for Aurora so long as they cure her ailing mother. She rarely sees her now that she was working. They couldnt even let her sleep beside her mother. Aurora can only visit her once a week.

At her 10th birthday, Aurora was so happy that her mother was strong enough to celebrate her birthday with her. She was too excited to think for a reason nor to notice the strangeness of everything. Her mother surprised her when she took her in the rose garden – their favorite place. In there was laid a picnic mat with a lot of foods and one big cake. Her mother was laughing with her, smiling happily and enjoying everything there were to eat. It was then when the happy atmosphere disappeared that young Aurora noticed the pain behind her mothers smiling face. She saw the tears in her mothers lovely caramel eyes – the same eyes with her. The dryness of her mothers skin and the darkening of her mothers reddish lips.

Momma are you okay? Aurora asked her concerned, forgetting everything around them.

Her mother only smiled and hold her tiny hand tightly. She kissed her little fingers and embraced her lovingly – almost tightly.

Yes honey, everything is okay.

Then why are you crying momma? Are you hurt? Aurora insisted to her mother as she felt her mothers tears on neck. The loving arms around her tighten even more.

Momma will just miss her sweet little Aurora, thats all baby.

Are you going somewhere, momma? Will you leave me? Aurora faced her mother and was exposed to see the sudden paleness of her mothers skin.

Momma will never leave you, my sweet. Momma needs to rest but she will never leave you sweet Aurora. Momma will be everywhere. In the air, the sun, the moon, the sky, the rain, the snow and even in the sea. Momma will always watch you, my sweet. And I will be forever in your heart.

Why are you saying that momma? You said you will never leave me. Aurora cried confused to her mothers words.

Shhh Dont cry my sweet. Dont cry. Her mother wiped her wet cheeks and kissed both of her eye, her forehead, her nose, both of her cheeks and lastly her lips.

Then dont leave me momma Aurora embraced her thin small arms around her mothers neck.

I will never, baby. Momma loves you so much always remember that. Her mother whispered on her ear.

Aurora nodded in return and said, I love you too, momma.

After that, they lie down on the picnic mat that was now cleared with all the foods they ate. They stayed there laying until the sky darkened and the first snow, falls from the cloudy sky. Aurora looked to her sleeping mother and tried to wake her but the stillness of her breathing and the sagginess of her mothers arms around her was the indication of her mothers deep sleep. She tried and tried to wake her until they were both freezing in the open garden and the sky was completely dark accompanied by the coldness of her surroundings as well as the falling snow. Aurora then realized that her mother will never going to wake up again. She now realized that her mothers goodbye was this especial day of her life. But it wasnt especial anymore and it wasnt joyous. She cried while embracing her mothers cold body. She cried for the loss of the only person she loved and who loved her back. She cried for the reality of her situation as being alone.

How could her mother promised not to leave her when in fact, she was already saying goodbye to her?

Why didnt her mother take her?

How could she have left her alone in this cruel world?

What will happen to her now?

Aurora cried her broken heart and the missing piece of her soul until she couldnt take the coldness anymore and passed out.

That day, everything changed from Auroras life. She became even more miserable while working herself out until her small body gives out. Her supposed to be family didnt even sympathize her nor mourn for her mother. Her half-sisters became unbearably mean. They always hurt her physically. She couldnt do anything but accept all the abuse she receives from them. Her half-brothers were not helping either. They were assaulting her verbally and sometimes they put pranks on her that ended her being punished by her siblings different mother. She always took the blame and never complain about it. She knew better than to fight for herself. If they want – they can toss her out of the house, then where will she go? None. Her supposed to be loving father was always busy to noticed everything.

Aurora thought her life was already in hell. She was poorer than a rat. She was suffering more than a criminal. She was being abused like a toy but boy, how wrong she was!

It all started when her mothers Doctor, Stanley Heill dragged her into a laboratory room by the strict order of her father. It was the same room of her mother but different bed and machines. There was a single white bed in the center of the room. Aurora was confused at first as to why the Doctor needed her presence there. She became even more confused when she saw her father entered the room with two scary looking man at his both sides. She asked her father, but he didnt hear her even though he is near to her. Her father then nodded to the two men before looking at her. Aurora then felt that something was wrong when the two men grabbed her and forcefully laid her on the bed. They locked her neck, arms, hands, small waist, legs, and feet.

Aurora was so scared that she started to cry for her fathers help. She begged her father, but it was all heard by a deaf-ears. She watched as the doctor put on her white gloves and get a big syringe in the small tray beside her bed. Again, she looked to her father beside her bed but all she saw was a cold man – looking at her like she was nothing but a stranger. She cried even more and shouted his name. begging him to help her. To free her and take her away from there but she received nothing in return. Not even a single reply from him. Aurora watched her father as he watched her back. The doctor injected the thing in her neck with a golden color liquid. She then felt it, the cold burning sensation crawling inside her body. Painful cries and broken sobs escaped her lips.

Father. The supposedly person to love her, cherish her and take care of her. But in her situation, Antonio Murray – her own father, didnt acknowledge her as his daughter. She was his bastard daughter, the youngest among her other half-sisters. Her mother wasnt one of the Lords Concubine, so she had not the title of a young lady. Aurora was fine with it. But still, she hoped that even for a pinch, she has a spot for her fathers heart. She longs for a fathers love and embrace. She wants to be also looked by her father with the same warmth and love, the way he looked to her other half-siblings. Aurora now realized that it was an impossible dream.

Must a father watch his daughter to struggle?

Must he not listen to her cry of plea?

Must he order her to be shackled and suffer?

Must a father be this cruel?

Why does her father hate her so?

What have she done to deserve this?

Had she angered him?

Does her job wasnt enough for him?

Is this a punishment?

How could a father do this to his own daughter?

She didnt ask for anything a father should give to his daughter. Acknowledgement, title, attention, affection, not even when her mother died, Aurora didnt ask her father to stay by her side.

Aurora passed out when she could not bear the pain anymore. When aurora woke up, she was never the same girl again. She didnt know that it was just the beginning of the never-ending pain and suffering she had to bear for life. Aurora learned that she will never going to step out of that room again.