#azra01

The snow hadn’t stopped falling for days. Cassidy knew this because every night when she was rushed out to a car to take her and the others to one of the brothels, the banks on the sides of the pathway to the street grew higher and higher. The air was cold and it smelled like snow, something Cass used to crave as soon as the first day of winter rolled around. A snowstorm meant a day home from school, running from house to house to gather friends to frolic in the park with, then gathering in one of their families’ sitting rooms to drink hot chocolate from a mother’s ancient china. Or at least, that was what it used to mean.

The white light that bled through the windows, ones that were placed near the very tops of the warehouse walls, was the only source that illuminated the room. A nearby door slammed and Cassidy’s eyes shot open, then immediately squinted against the bright light, a hand slowly raising to cover her face. Laying there on the concrete floor with only a thin mat beneath her, it was impossible to tell what time of day it was.

Eyes slowly opened again and Cass removed her hand from her face, blue hues now scanning the room. A few girls were still sleeping, a few were quietly moving around…but Cassidy was looking for two in particular, a pair of sisters who were all but inseparable.