Chapter 3 - The Love Auction (dystopian sci-fi romance novel)

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Chapter 3 – I’m being auctioned off

I woke up with drool on my face. Ugh, I hope I’m not sleeping next to anyone like this. God, I hate getting shit-faced, and ending up in bed next to...

Hmm, I’m not in bed, I notice as my eyes peel open. I’m in some sort of glass box. This is new. Did I end up with some random BDSM folks who like keeping girls in glass boxes to get their jollies? Probably not. I don’t remember getting drunk last night, even though that is probably my first thought every morning. “Did I get drunk last night? No. Okay good.”

Being an ex-alcoholic has its issues. I switch off my monkey mind from going down the regret and sadness route of lost moments and broken relationships, due to alcohol. No point going down that route right now, Garisha.

Focus!

Okay, I’m in a glass box. I can’t hear any noises, and I am hungry. It must be afternoon time. I never get hungry in the mornings. It must be at least twelve to fourteen hours since my last memory, which was walking down this street and... going up to this random SUV to give them directions to Holly Street.

Damnit! I should have known better. No one in a nice SUV wants to go to damn Holly Street. But more so, no one in a nice SUV needs to ask for directions. They have all got GPSes. I smacked myself in the head for being stupid. They must have dosed me with something, so I conked out.

Very inconvenient.

I have clinic duty today and I need to not be late again for it. If I’m late again, Dr. Rustom said I would be fired.

That will not be good for this body that needs constant infusions of food.

Blast.

Suddenly, the light came on full force. I looked around. I’m not the only one in a glass box.

There are... so many others. Oh man. And they are all crying or throwing some sort of tantrum. Should I be doing that as well?

No, Stoic philosophy says you cannot control circumstance, you can only control your reaction to it. Be stoic, Garisha. Mean face on, and game time. We are going to deal with this in the best possible manner, without tantrums, crying, emotions, or random assumptions.

I could still be asleep. Maybe this is Lucid dreaming. Maybe this is a movie that I have walked into. Maybe this is a weird other dimension that I’m in. Whatever it is, no need to panic. What is the worst that could happen?

Death. Pshaw. Stoics laugh at death. We know death isn’t the worst that can happen. It is not having lived while you were alive. And boy, did I live while I was alive.

My glass box started moving. Towards some people on a sort of raised stage nearby.

Okay. This is good. Change is good. We can learn from change.

I got up and saw that I was dressed in a gown that I would never be able to afford on my untouchable doctor’s salary.

The glass box disappeared, and I was dumped onto the stage.

All of a sudden, I realized the glass box was sound-insulated, because an assault of voices, and noises came rushing at me.

There were people bidding on the women in the glass boxes. Now that I think about it, it’s all women. Of all ages, shapes, sizes, and colors.

And the bidders are all men.

Of course.

God, I would delineate myself a man-hater, but I think that’s not in accordance with Stoic philosophy. I took a deep breath, and looked at the man who was bidding on me.

He seemed quite Stoic himself. No grand gestures like the other men on stage. No big movements. Calm. Quiet. Solid.

Confident.

Interesting.

I wonder who he is, and why is he bidding on me.

I looked him in the eye. No fear now, Garisha. We, Stoics, aren’t afraid of anyone or anything. We live our lives with passion and verve to the fullest. There is no need to be apologetic about anything.

He looked back into my eyes.

Have you ever stared into someone’s eyes for a period of time? His eyes were dark. I felt myself entering a different dimension of time and space as we looked at each other.

I have met this man before, I realized.

Was it in another lifetime?

“No,” came The Whisper in my mind. “It was in this lifetime. But in another dimension. We are repeating this journey over and over again, so you can learn something you’ve forgotten.”

“What have I forgotten?” I asked The Whisper.

“Who you truly are.”

I felt a burst of light seep through the top of my head, and engulf my whole body. I didn’t realize I fell to the ground at that point. Maybe from lack of food, I told myself. But I knew it was The Whisper.

It wanted me to know to keep this in mind. Remember what it said. Don’t lose it. Here’s your warning.

I got up slowly with his help, and his hands seemed warm on my skin. I stepped back from him once I was standing to look back at the bidding process.

The numbers were zooming up at a rapid rate. Until they stopped at 2 million.

That number seems familiar. Why?

The representative with the heart tie seemed ecstatic. He shook hands with the man, while the man seemed almost bored with the process.

I rubbed my head as I could still feel the light emanating through my head. The representative left with the bidder’s information, and the bidder finally spoke to me.

He had been looking at me the whole time with that look in his face.

“Do I know you?” I asked. I had to know. Did we know each other? What did The Whisper mean?

“Do we? Does it feel to you like we’ve met before?” He said, stepping towards me. He was standing so close to me, that I had to look up to answer.

“I am an untouchable. How would I ever meet an Aryan?” I said, matter of fact. It’s the truth! I wouldn’t get an opportunity to meet you, unless you were buying me for sex. Is that it? This is my life.

Damn dystopian future. No one ever thinks they will come true. That’s what everyone thought when the racist administration first came into power in the early 2000s. They will go out of power, and no caste system would be established in this world.

How wrong they were. Everything went downhill from there. Freedoms disappeared so much so that colored people were put into a class of their own. Untouchables we are called and we are relegated to the slummish areas of town. Whereas the beautiful white Aryans live and work like Kings and Queens.

I was probably smarter than this man in front of me, but I was still working as a doctor in a shitty hospital, getting paid minimum wage.

I wanted to be angry about it. But there was no point.

He reached out for my hand. I had tears in my eyes, as I shrugged my arm back.

His eyes flashed with something. Anger? He grabbed my hand by force, and pulled me closer to him.

“Don’t step away from me, when I ask you for your hand. I didn’t pay for you so you could do that.” He said, as he noticed the man with the red-hearted tie walking back towards him. The man looked with approval at the exchange.

Oh Goddesses, please let him not be a cruel master. I have heard horror stories. I didn’t nod or acknowledge his words.

Unfair as it was, he did pay a lot of money for me. Money that was going back to the Aryans. Would my community get any of this 2 million? Not a freaking chance.

I tried to pull my arm out of his tight grasp. I would have a bruise on my arm from how tightly he was holding me. I kept my eyes on him. If he tried to kiss me, I am going to scream.

He didn’t.

He just watched me.

His blue eyes. My black eyes.

He breathed in deeply.

“Garisha. You don’t remember me?” He said. Was that sadness I detected in his voice? How am I supposed to remember him? Who is he that I would remember him? Why do I feel like I’m missing something here?

He pulled me even closer, wrapping his free hand around my waist, his other hand still holding onto my right forearm. My body was right next to his, so close I could feel the texture of his jeans through the thin fabric of my white long dress.

The dress of the Love Auctions. All the untouchables who are being auctioned off to the Aryans get dressed in these white dresses. The message being, even if we aren’t white-skinned, we can at least wear white dresses. He let go of my arm, and both of his arms creeped around my back pulling me to him.

He didn’t kiss me. He did something worse.

He hugged me so tight I could barely breathe. His nose in my hair, his arms around my body, his legs next to mine.

I felt his heart beating next to mine. Syncing.

What is this? I stood there confused, my eyes blinking with said confusion.

I have never seen an Aryan hug an untouchable with such purity. Is this the New Age? Is he one of those untouchable-loving hippie Aryan?

He let me go.

That’s when I heard a shrill scream from somewhere near us.

I looked up to see this beautiful-ugly Aryan woman stalking towards us. She was a redhead with that delicate beautiful pale skin that makes everyone sit up and notice. She was in a typical Aryan woman get up - short tight white dress. It accentuated her beautiful body as it should be.

“Daniel!” She yelled. “What the hell do you think you are doing? 2 million dollars? 2 million dollars? On this pathetic chit of a girl? She barely fills out this white dress they have on her. Gods. Have you lost your mind?”

I definitely didn’t fill out my white gown as she did her white dress. If she thought she was insulting me in anyway, she was mistaken. I didn’t ever take comments about my body as comments about myself. I knew who I was, and she wasn’t going to break me with a few comments about what I looked like.

“I spoke to the representative, and you can still get out of this auction. You don’t have to pay the 2 million. You can pretend you were high or drunk or something. Everyone looking at her would believe you were mistaken.”

I stepped away from both of them, wanting to let them figure things out, but Daniel as this man was called, would not let me.

He re-wrapped his hand around my waist pulling me to him, kissed the top of my head, and said to the obnoxious girl, “Zara, this beautiful girl is mine, and I’m not taking back the 2 million. I’ve told you a billion times to stop interfering in my life and business.”

I blushed. He called me beautiful. This beautiful man thinks I’m beautiful. I tried to recall what I looked like. Skinny chit of a girl is more accurate. Brown skin. Pitch-black hair and eyes. Big eyes on a small face. Knobby knees.

Hmm. Well, as long as he thinks I’m beautiful, I’m golden.

I looked up at him and smiled.

“Wow.” He said. “I knew you were beautiful, but your smile puts up that dial to a 1000%.”

I giggled a bit. I have to admit I kicked myself in the head after, but in the moment, being admired by this highly-admired man was nice.

It was seeing the red-head that reminded me of who Daniel is. I have seen the news. I have seen these two on the news way too often as well.

As the future Empire-builder, Daniel was on the news more than anyone else I knew.

Which surprises me even more that first he bid on me and second he thinks it was worth the 2 million.

Am I in a weird space-time dimension where I am going to have a rich Aryan admirer? Isn’t this what all the girls back in my school dreamt of? A rich man will come rescue them.

I didn’t want to be rescued. I want to change the system so the untouchable girls don’t need rescuing. So that we are not labelled untouchables anymore, but just humans, average humans just like everyone else.

The red-head wasn’t giving up so easily. Instead of focusing her anger on Daniel, she refocused on me.

“What kind of witch-craft have you played on innocent Daniel, you shit-faced untouchable?” She went to slap my face, when Daniel grabbed her hand, and very gracefully threw her on the ground. Her white dress rode up to reveal her beautiful crystal-thong covered bum.

Ugh, did I have to see that perfect bum?

Daniel kneeled down to whisper something in her ear, and then got up, grabbed my hand in his, and started walking out.

Outside, snow was falling and I slipped. They had given us ballet flats and they were not adequate snow shoes.

“Sorry! These ballet flats...” I said, as I pulled them off my feet. My bare feet would be better off with handling the snow and ice.

He looked at me in horror as I started walking in the snow and ice with bare feet. Made me laugh a bit to see that. I’ve done this before so many times it wasn’t even funny. Shoes were rationed out in our world.

He tapped me on my head lightly as if trying to push some sense into me. And then picked me up in his arms as if I were light as a feather.

“What are you doing?! I am fine walking in the snow bare feet.”

He didn’t reply. All he did was place me nicely in a warm heated SUV and get in behind me. When we were both inside and the doors were closed, I felt so cozy. He pulled me onto his lap, and with his hands, warmed up my tiny feet.

“Umm,” I tried to pull my feet away from him, but no sugar. “You should not be touching my feet like this. I’m not that cold. I’m fine...” I said the last words slowly with him staring right into my eyes.

“Are you... fine?” He said, with a weird guttural sound. I knew what was coming next, and I scrambled away off his lap to the far corner of the car.

I wasn’t fast enough. He had his hands on my face, and he pulled me in for those long, slow and deep kisses. The kind of kisses that Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara shared in Gone With The Wind. The kind of kiss I’ve been wanting to share with someone for a long time. The kind of kiss that leaves you wanting more and more and more forever.

Of course, he was a great kisser.

And of course, he knew how to manipulate his hands everywhere so the kiss felt more intimate than it was.

When the kiss finally stopped, I was breathing hard. I didn’t know where I was or where we were going, but for this moment, I was ecstatic. I had had my first kiss.

Instead of hitting him which I would have normally, I smiled at him.

“Stop smiling at me with all of your charm. It melts me. I expected more of the violence from you than the charm actually.”

“I just... Maybe this is pathetic, but this is my first kiss. So, I’m kind of celebrating.”

“It’s not our first kiss, but it’s nice that you think so.” He mumbled this under his breath, but I heard it loud and clear.

“Not... our first kiss. Not. What? When have we met before? I don’t remember…”

He looked at me sadly.

“Garisha... I wish I could tell you the whole story. I don’t know how this time travel thing works. If I tell you everything, will it break the time travel fabric? I want to tell you everything. But I don’t think I’m allowed to.” He put his hands in his face, as if debating with himself.

The whole story? The whole story isn’t that he bought me and this is it. We have met before?

I’m confused.

I sat down next to him on the car seat and I patted his back. He turned towards me, and hugged me tight.

“I hate that we only get a few moments together, before you have to leave again. What is this mad routine that lovers have to play before the Gods are satisfied?”

“I’m leaving soon? Where am I going? Why can’t I stay here with you?”

He smiled at me. “Have you fallen in love with me already? That was rather quick. No, don’t worry, I won’t let know anyone how much of a love bug you are. You can still be the strong independent female to outsiders… Listen to me, Garisha. The vortex will be here soon. I don’t know exactly when. Sometimes it gives us a day. Sometimes only an hour. All I want from you is for you to remember me. Remember me. Even if it is just a kiss or my blue eyes, just remember something. If you start to remember, then the vortex can’t take you away anymore. But please try and remember me. And...”

A buzzing sound started emanating behind us.

He looked at it in horror, and mumbled something about “not even a freaking hour”. He placed his hands on my face, and said, “Garisha, my beautiful love. I am here for you. All the time. No matter how many times this happens, I’ll be here for you waiting. Remember that I love you and have loved you for decades. Eventually, the vortex will get tired of this. But until that point...”

The buzzing got louder, but he wouldn’t let me turn to look at it.

I got scared. My heart started beating loudly. Was it a monster behind us? Was it going to eat me alive?

Or is some sort of time vortex? I have heard of them, but I have never experienced them.

“Daniel... How many times have we met before? Answer this one question for me. How many times?”

The vortex started pulling me towards it. I didn’t want to go. I wanted to stay here with Daniel. But I knew there isn’t anything we could do right now. All I could do is remember him. Remember who he is. Imprint him on your brain.

He let go of my hands as I was pulled into the vortex, and I heard his answer as the swirling began. “300 times, my love.”

The last thing I saw was him standing there looking so forlorn. My heart went out to him.

The last thing I remember though is a little puppy. Where have I seen this puppy before? A different lifetime, perhaps?

Chapter 1 is here - https://steemit.com/writing/@boomshikha/chapter-1-the-love-auction-dystopian-sci-fi-romance-novel
Chapter 2 is here - https://steemit.com/writing/@boomshikha/chapter-2-the-love-auction-dystopian-sci-fi-romance-novel

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