something profoundly significant had just happened, but as it didnât fit anywhere on my own spectrum of reality, I couldnât make any sense of it. And then I began to panic as the thought struck me that if I stayed in the bathroom too long, Kas might be angry with me.
I quickly tugged a brush through my hair, splashed water on to my face and crept back into the kitchen, where he was leaning against the sink. His voice was almosttender as he asked me, âYou love your little brothers, donât you?â
âYes, yes, I do,â I answered hastily, relieved to talk about something normal and praying that the thought of how much I would miss my family might make him decide to let me go home.
âHow old are the twins? Thirteen? Fourteen?â
âTheyâre thirteen,â I said, trying to speak in what I hoped was a ârespectfulâ tone of voice.
âHmm.â He smiled at me and I felt an almost imperceptible glimmer of hope, which was shattered instantly when he said, âSo you would be very sad if anything happened to them?â
It sounded like a question, although I knew without any doubt that it was a statement â or, more precisely, a threat.
âOf course, I know where your family lives,â Kas continued, twisting his body slightly to one side so that he could pick up a carving knife, which he turned slowly in his hand. âSo, if you disrespect me again, I will have your precious little brothers taken from their home. It will happen as easily as that.â He stepped forward and clicked his fingers in my face. âYou have no idea what I can do. If you ever try to get away or do anything to disrespect me, I will have your little brothers taken, just like that.â
He snapped his fingers again and as the sound rang out like a shot from a gun, the room began to turn and I sank to my knees on the floor, screaming silently in my head, No! Oh my God, no! This canât be happening. It isnât real. What am I going to do?
Kas pulled me up roughly by my arm and pushed me towards the open door. I could sense his disgust as he spat out the words, âGet out of my sight! Go on! Go! Go to bed, and tomorrow Iâll take you to see where youâll be working.â
That night I slept in a single bed in Kasâs bedroom, although, in fact, I barely slept at all. My mind was racing, and every time I began to slip into exhausted oblivion, my eyes snapped open and Iâd try again to concentrate on thinking of some excuse that would convince Kas I had to go home. I attempted â without success â to comfort myself with the thought that, Tomorrow everything will be okay. When he wakes up, heâll be all right again. Iâll explain to him that I donât want to do it and heâll understand. Everything will be fine.
In the morning I told him, âIâve got to go home. I canât just leave my family and my job. And I canât do what youâre asking me to do. I donât want to do it, but even if I did, I canât because of the operation and the problems Iâve had â¦â
Heâd shrugged his shoulders and made a dismissive âpfffâ sound when Iâd mentioned my family, but suddenly he erupted into fury and shouted, âDonât be so ridiculous, woman. Youâre being a hypochondriac. Youâve had your operation. Itâs over. Thereâs nothing medically wrong with you. Youâre fine. You need to stop thinking about yourself and your imagined illnesses and think about all the people who are far worse off than you are.â
But on that first morning of the new life Kas had planned for me, all I could think about was finding some way to explain to him why I couldnât stay in Italy and work to pay off his debt. I told him all the excuses that had sounded so reasonable in my head during the night, but he didnât even listen. For four years, heâd been nice to me. Even