At least, I was certain it was hers.
And unless she had a twin, that was her in the photo.
She had the same waves of dark hair. Same sharp cheekbones, slight dimples, and a proud lift of the chin.
On the commune, cameras hadn’t been allowed, but I did find a photo stashed in one of my mother’s drawers once. It was of her and my father. They posed for the photo while my father held a baby who I assumed was me. I never forgot it because in that photo, they looked like parents who loved their daughter.
In that photo was a younger version of her, and she looked identical to the one in the diary. She was even wearing the same yellow dress.
I flipped the page to read the next diary entry.
Dear Diary,
Two Sons want me. I’ve never felt like such a lucky Fawn before. I know others are jealous of me. One day, I’ll be married to the most powerful man in the world. I’ll be the strongest Fawn ever and rule beside him.
I swallowed, a bitter taste filling my mouth.
Her other entries were all similar to that one. Filled with pride, excitement, and a weird obsession with status and power.
I ran my thumb over the edge of the page, nausea and the yogurt gurgling in my belly.
Another entry caught my eye down the page. The ink was darker, like she’d pressed her pen into the paper so hard that it nearly tore it.
Scooting closer, I leaned in to read it, but froze when I heard a faint sound.
Footsteps.
Heavy ones.
I looked toward the doorway, expecting to see Enzo, but fell back, scurrying off the bed when I found two tall, broad-shouldered men dressed in black robes.
They wore masks I’d never seen before.
I screamed and ran toward the bathroom. One of the men lunged toward me, catching me around the waist before I made it. He clamped his gloved hand around my arm like a trap.
My screaming didn’t stop when he yanked me around as I fought him.
“No!” I shrieked, thrusting against him. “Enzo! Enzo! Enzo!”
Before I could yell for Enzo again, the man pressed something soft against my mouth.
A sharp, chemical taste filled mylungs.
“No!” I wheezed out. “En …”
I wasn’t even sure those words left my throat.
I tried to fight, but they were stronger and carried me away.
My vision blurred, and my limbs felt like they weighed a million tons.
The last thing I saw before everything went black was the diary on the bed.
My head throbbed before my eyes even opened.
A dull, pulsing ache spread through my skull. Each beat of my heart pressed harder against my chest.
A chemical film coated my tongue. So thick that it clung to the back of my throat. It almost tasted like crushed pills, dissolved in rubbing alcohol.
