I was only 6 years old when my mother told me we were moving away. I can remember that cold morning, the sun hadn't yet risen. She told me to grab only what I could carry in my little arms as she led me down the dark alleyways of London. The pungent aroma of rotting flesh oozed out from the many corpse, laid out on the streets from the victims of the black plague. I ran as fast as my little feet could, tumbling about as I clung on tightly to my nana's teddy in one hand and my mother's picture in the other.
Along the way, I bumped into a mister, dressed in a long black cloak, his mask a long beak like arch drooped down into a curve and goggles that completely covering both eyes. He, too, reeked of death but more strangely, flowers.
"This way Sereen." My mother whispered. "Hurry, the ship to Iceland is about to disembark."
Once we arrived at the ship, my mother quickly searched around until she found a wooden crate big enough for me. "Get in here. Hurry!"
I hopped into the crate of potatoes and she pulled the wooden lid shut. From outside the wooden crate my mother whispered to me, "Now be as quiet as a mouse. Remember, I will always be with you, my sweet love."
I wasn't long afterwards when the bickering voices of two men lifted my wooden crate, and brought me onto the ship. The bumpy ride of being lifted, dropped, and rearranged, was intensely uncomfortable, but it was short lived before all went quiet and I finally drifted away into a deep slumber.
I woke up to someone removing the wooden lid and screaming.
"Ahhh it's a child! Everyone, quick, look…someone left their child in the potato crate!"
I peered up to the opening and all I could see were faces hovering over me. Their ragged apron and dirty clothes places them in the cast system of cooks and maids.
Back and forth they talked about what to do with me.
"We should sell it."
"No, we should just throw it overboard…it's too much work to take care of a child!"
"We shall raise it and name it, Thelonious!"
Then a shout came from the back, "the most logical thing to do is to bring it to the Master!"
Immediately, everyone nodded in agreement.
"Yes, the master will know what to do with this little bugger."
One of the ladies hoisted me up and set me onto the floor. I still had my nana's teddy bear in my arms and I had tucked mother's picture into the inside of my shirt.
"It's such a skinny one and it could stand on both feet."
"It's got trousers! Can it walk?" asked the fat one and they all stared at me.
I took a step forward and everyone cheered, "It can walk!"
The fat one asked again, "Can it talk?"
Everyone became quiet again.
But I choose to say nothing.
"It can't even talk! It is probably a mute!" one of the men yelled.
"oh, boy, it's a defective child! No wonder it was abandoned." Cried the fat lady.
"Stop with the bickering!" The voice from back yelled again. "I will take it to the Master. You are all too dumb to know nothin' bout no child nor raising one!"
Squeezing through between the people to reach the front, popped skinny adolescent boy. He lifted me up off the ground and carried me away.
Still, I say nothing.
There were many staircases to climb and even a ladder. When we got to the deck of the ship cold breeze of the ocean grazes across my face.
The sun was high up in the sky, surrounded by blue everything. Blue skies, blue waters, and a blue horizon.
The boy carried me up to a door and he knocked loudly while shouting , "Master, it's Jerell! I've come bearing eerie news with unwanted findings from the kitchen!"
There was no answer, just loud man's laughter followed by multiple female voices giggling. So the boy knocked again, this time louder and heavier.
"MASTER, IT'S JERELL, YOUR THRALL! I'VE GOT NEWS TO GIVE YOU FROM THE KITCHEN!"
The door jerked open and there stood a tall brute man with a mohawk, standing in the doorway, just glaring at Jerell.
"What is SO important about the kitchen that you HAD to come all the way up here to disturb your master?!?" The man said sarcastically with erratic disperse of anger.
"Master" Jerell cower, " this thing…" and he pointed to me, in his arms.
"What about that THING?"
"Well, they found it in the potato crate."
The master covered his face, " Why did you bring it to me?!?!?!" he shouted, " What if it's infected? Get it away!" He backed up into the closest corner of the room, covering his mouth and nose. All of the women screamed in horror and jumped off of his bed, still half naked. Some with their pink nipples barely covered as it bounced around with their perky breasts, while others with their mane-like pubic bush and buttocks exposed for all to see.
Jerell carried me into the Master's chamber, "Master, I don't think it's infected. Look…" he pulled out my hands and feet for the master to see. "There is no blackening anywhere. It is clean. There is no visible marks or pox or anything. Just tiny hands and feet…" Jerell and the Master are both observing me now. "Can we keep it, Master?"
The master pauses for a brief moment and then says, "Keep it safe, Jerell. Once we reach Iceland, I will to sell it to pay off your debt." Then he broke out in a malicious laughter that haunts the soul of anyone who hears it.
He pointed to gesture Jerell out of the doorway and yelled out to the women, "Aw, my darling things, please do come back. Everything is okay." All of the naked women ran back into his chambers and the master slammed the door shut in Jerrell's face.
That night Jerell had me tucked in on the floor below his bed. When he fell asleep, I finally allowed all my emotions to do its thing and cried. I gripped onto nana's teddy and then I hear mother's voice from the corner.
"Shhhh… now now… don't cry my sweet sweet love. I told you, I will always be with you." Mother came out of the corner and laid next to me. "Shh, not too loud or you'll wake the others." She smiled at me and started to sing a quiet lullaby. And like a snap of a finger, I feel sleep.
*
Four years came and went when finally, the ship embarked onto one of the Iceland docks. It felt like a century, but Master is trader. He rarely docked for long and everything he trades always moved with urgency. The people on this ship were merchants of some sort and were traveling from England to Scotland and Norway, back and forth. I didn't mind this because every night, mother would sneak into Jerell's room, sing and cuddle with me until I fell asleep and when I woke, she would already be gone, most likely back downstairs with the people of the lower deck.
I knew she was hiding for my own good. If we were caught, we'd both be thrown overboard and fed to the sharks, that was a risk I was not willing to take.
But here we are, in Iceland and I've been slaving away in disguise of a little boy for the ship.
Jerell was now a grown man at the age of twenty.
Jerell took me to the market. Never have I ever seen so much snow and ice everywhere. There were areas where mounds of salt were being shoveled and areas where big chunks of ice were being shaved.
When we finally reached what seemed to be a giant stage, Jerell walked me up to the center of it. He crouched down to me, "Little one, you will be okay with a new master. Our fate ends here. Good luck to you and I bid you farewell." Jerell stood up and was about to walk away.
"It's not." I mumbled.
He turns back to look at me. "Did you say something? Little one, you can speak? "
"It's not." I said again.
"It's not, what?" Jerell asked while chuckling.
"It's not it the end of our fate. I will see you again, Jerell. When I'm bigger, smarter, and stronger. I will see you again and you... you will try to kill me." I cried, swiping at my tears.
Jerell looked at me in confusion, shook his head and walked off, disappearing into the crowd.
I don't know why I chose this time to finally speak after four years, but my intuition was readying me for something new.
An announcer then started to say, " Little boy. Ten years of age. Mute and keeps to himself. Easiest to teach when they are so young. Can do any work! ANYONE?? Do I hear a bid?"
Slave owners shouted from all around.
"One shilling"
"Five shillings"
"Ten"
"Twelve"
"Fifteen and I will include my brown hen too."
"Twenty-five shillings"
"Twenty-seven"
"Fifty shillings" a man rose up from the crowd with his arms crossed. The crowd grow quiet, parting ways to reveal the man.
"Fifty shillings, sold to Yuqin, Thrall of Leifae Arkson!" they announced, and my fate was sealed.
(Thrall is equivalent to servant/maid/or slave with a master to who they have to serve)
*
I was discovered and sold like an animal. I wondered about my mother. Has she been discovered? Where is she now? Does she even know where I was going?
I haven't heard from her, so maybe she doesn't know.
I was brought into a even bigger ship about three times bigger than the one before.
Yuqin was the thrall of Leifae Arkson, the mightiest of the Vikings.
Yuqin brought me and a few others to the Master Leifae Arkson's chambers for inspection.
Once we were all inside we were forced to line up, eyes glued only to the floor. I was the littlest one, so they had me stand on a chair.
We were told not to look at Master Leifae Arkson's face and that we are NEVER allowed to talk.
One by one he would comment on each of the new crew members boarding his ship.
"This one is too skinny. Have her work in the kitchen."
"This one is too fat. Have him maintain the deck floors and stock."
"Very beautiful. Have her join the artisans."
"Strong! He can learn to wield an ax. Bring him into the blacksmith."
Finally, it was my turn. I looked me up and down and I looked him straight in the eyes.
"What is this little thing, Yuqin? Is it a dwarf?"