Ami froze at his words, her eyes widening in disbelief. "What do you mean...? They can't be..." Tears welled up in her eyes once more as she struggled to process the news. Her family... they were everything to her. Gone. The world seemed to spin around her as reality began to set in. "Where are they?" she whispered hoarsely, barely able to get the words out through the lump in her throat.
"Your sister and mother died because of an epidemic in the village, and your father just died one month ago due to his old age... Your father left a message for me to take you with me as his last resort."
The news hit her like a physical blow, stealing the breath from her lungs and leaving her feeling hollow inside. Her family... gone. It was too much to bear. Ami closed her eyes tightly, trying desperately to hold back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. She clenched her fists at her sides, anger and despair warring within her as she struggled to comprehend how this could have happened. It was all too much. "I want to go with you,"
Emily released her chin and stood back up, giving Ami a look that promised more torment to come. With one final squeeze of her breast through the thin fabric of her shirt, Emily straightened herself and said, "Now eat your breakfast." She tossed a bowl of gruel onto the ground beside Ami's head before turning and walking away, humming to herself as she ascended the stairs back up into their home.
Ami watched her leave with a mix of relief and dread.
(Continue)
As Emily disappeared from view, Ami turned her attention back to the bowl of food. She didn't have much of an appetite, but she knew better than to disobey their orders. Carefully avoiding any of the lumps or suspicious-looking bits within it, she began to eat the bland, lukewarm gruel as best she could while trying not to retch from its foul taste.