She never believed in love.
She knew it was too good to be true...
How could anyone love me? She thought daily as she cleaned tirelessly.
For as long as she could remember, she had been locked in a room and forced to work, cleaning day and night to stay sane.
There were no windows or rays of the morning sun to greet her as she woke, just darkness waiting for her after sleeping the night away.
She wasn't sure where she heard the word "Love," only that it was supposed to be good and warm and mend her broken heart.
At this point, it seemed like a myth or a childish fairytale...
"Love..." She said softly.
The word sounded foreign as it exited her mouth...
Maybe she was saying it wrong...
That would explain why she had no luck with it.
She picked up the bucket that was always filled with warm water and soap at the start of any day and began scrubbing the floors.
Someone had a key to the door and filled the bucket, but she was always asleep when the stranger came in.
She didn't remember if she had a life or family before the room, and she wasn't sure how long it had been since she stepped outside and touched grass or saw a human face.
The room was all she knew.
Four dull walls were her home.
There was a bed in the middle and a light on the ceiling that never turned off.
The windows were boarded up and blocked, and the door was always locked.
She would jiggle the doorknob every day, hoping the stranger had forgotten, but they never did.
The stranger would leave clean clothing for her and soap so she could clean herself.
She was numb to any feelings.
She stopped crying a long time ago.
Tears were pointless.
Once she finished cleaning the floor, she scrubbed the walls and sighed.
The room didn't need to be cleaned.
It was spotless because she was constantly cleaning it.
She never tried to escape or yell for someone to free her.
She liked to clean, and it made her feel safe. It was the only thing she had to hold onto.
"Love..."
She touched her lips and smiled weakly.
She realized she loved to clean.
Her heart grew happy, and she dropped the bucket. The soapy water spilled all over.
"I love something!" She shouted happily.
She knew cleaning wasn't her true love but feeling anything was a good start.
The girl danced around the room with her eyes closed.
She didn't notice that the door had opened, and someone walked in because she was knocked unconscious and put on the bed.
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The man caressed her face as she slept and smiled at the lovely sight before him.
He loved her dearly and would do anything for her.
She was locked in the room for her own safety, and he wished he could tell her the truth, but that would only break her more.
After he injected the needle into her neck, he removed the bucket and the sponge and put a book on the table by the bed before closing and locking the door behind him.
The girl was cursed never to be allowed to love something or someone fully.
The love would consume her whole, and she'd die.
It was his mission to make sure she stayed locked up.
He took her three years ago, he didn't mean to fall in love with the girl, but he couldn't help it.
She was sweet and caring.
If anyone deserved to be loved in this mad world, it was her.
He knew he could never talk to or comfort her because she'd end up loving the warmth the stranger brought to her sad life.
He didn't know how long he could keep her locked up...
She deserved to be free, even if that meant death would follow.
Who was he to lock her away and cause her more pain?
He sat for a long time and thought, deciding that he'd let her out on her birthday and show her the world again.
He loved her enough to let her go finally...
She didn't deserve to live a life full of pain and misery, and he rathered she'd die happy.
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The girl slowly sat up in the bed and winced as her head throbbed.
She had no memories of the day and thought this was her first time waking up.
She noticed a book and quickly picked it up.
She frowned because the pages were empty but noticed there was a pencil as well.
The girl drew and wrote until her hand cramped, and it was too painful to continue.
She enjoyed the book and the pencil so much that she slept with them, holding the book close to her as she closed her eyes.
---
Something was different today...
The air seemed lighter as she opened her eyes.
She noticed that the sun was streaming into the room, and she could feel the warmth.
She jumped out the bed and ran to the unblocked window.
It was smudged, so she couldn't see a thing but closed her eyes as the sun blessed her skin.
The door opened, and she froze.
A man walked in. He was tall and handsome.
She wondered if this was the man who locked her up...
He slowly approached her and grabbed her hand, and placed a gentle kiss on it.
"Happy birthday, my love."
She was puzzled as he led her out of the room.
She had never seen the rest of the house, so she gasped as they walked through it.
It was lovely, and she couldn't help but smile.
He opened the door, and she walked outside.
The girl quickly adjusted to the sunlight.
She ran to smell the flowers and giggled as a butterfly flew around her.
He smiled as his heart felt at peace finally...
She ran in circles around a large oak tree, laughing as she got dizzy.
This was true love...
The man fell over, and she ran to aid him, but he was dead and had no pulse.
Scared, she ran to the nearest house and knocked on the door, but nobody answered.
"I need help! Please, someone help!"
She ran to the tavern that was vaguely familiar and gasped when she noticed all the people were on the floor.
All the bodies were lifeless and cold, so she left and tried to find someone, but it was useless...
Everyone was dead.
Everyone...
She searched every house she could find but was only met with dead bodies.
She cried as the sun started to set. She was lonely and decided to go back to the house since she felt safe in her little room.
As she approached it, she saw the man who had held her prisoner and kissed his cheek before returning to the room he locked her in for years.
She closed the door and covered the windows up, shaking on the bed as she cried.
"Love..." She whispered breathlessly.
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