There were only two things I had to do and I was anxious to conclude my revenge that, of all that I had planned against Eric or Paulo, was the fairest of all.
Therefore, as soon as the taxi driver let me at the airport and I bought my plane ticket to Sarnaut, I took Paulo’s cellphone and called the police.
“Capital Police Department,” a male voice answered.
“Good evening. I want to make a complaint.”
“Could you identify yourself first, Sir?”
“Of course. My name is Paulo Latron,” I lied. Since I was using his phone and I didn’t want to be captured before boarding, it would be better this way.
“Very well, Mr. Latron. What’s your complaint?”
“At Independence Street there is an Exchange Agency called New Horizons, which is nothing but a front to an illegal trade of human beings,” I announced.
“Are you talking about human traffic?”
“Precisely.”
“Are you sure about this, Sir? It’s a very serious accusation and if we verify that it isn’t real you may be penalized for this,” the man asked. I could hear many voices in the back, showing that he should have probably alerted the others about the call.
“Absolutely sure,” I answered without hesitating.
“Very well. We will check this information right away. We ask you to stay close to the cellphone so we can contact you if necessary. Our team will be tracking you soon, therefore we ask you to stay in town.”
“Of course. Thank you very much,” I said, ending the call soon after.
I felt great after that, psychologically speaking, for my body felt terrible. It was as if I could finally move on without regrets. Then, I threw the cellphone in a dustbin nearby and went to the passenger’s waiting room. Luckily, the night flights in Alendor weren’t usually crowded and I managed to get a ticket for the next plane, which would depart in less than an hour.
While waiting there, it was unavoidable to remember every good and bad things that happened to me. I would have to learn how to deal with those memories. However, I was happy to realize that the happy memories I had with Eric were stronger than any other, as he had said.
A new life was about to begin for me and I should focus in the present and in the future.
I had to focus on being happy.
That was exactly what I was going to do.
****
I slept during the whole trip and I was still feeling myself weak and very hot. I woke up only with the announcement that we had arrived. Then, after leaving the airport with the briefcase full of money, I took a cab and asked the driver to take me to the nearest hospital.
There, they treated my wound the right way and kept me under observation for the rest of the night. In the next day, I was already feeling better and I was discharged by the end of the day with a list of medicines I should take. I tested the card Eric had given me to pay for the hospital bills and it was working perfectly.
I decided to stay in the same hotel where Eric, Paulo and I had stayed, until I decided what to do with all that money.
The heat was intense in Sarnaut and, in the moment I entered the hotel, the same receptionist who had attended on us the last time seemed surprised to see me there on my own.
“Good evening, Sir. How may I help you?”
“I would like a room, if there’s anyone available.”
“Of course we have.”
“Great,” I said, handing him my documents.
“The room where you stayed the last time is available, if it pleases you,” the receptionist suggested me, checking on his system.
“No, thank you. I don’t have good memories of this particular room,” I said. He made another suggestion, which I accepted promptly.
I took the elevator to go to my room and, as soon as I got there, the first thing I did was to open the briefcase. The 200,000 dizus I requested were inside it.
I didn't think for a moment that Eric would trick me, but it was good to see with my own eyes that I could now live without ever again having to steal or be deprived or anything. Besides, dizus were worth much more than Sarnaut’s currency.
I wanted to rest first, before starting my new life; there was one last thing to do, though. Thus, I went to the phone and called the number I have never forgotten.
My home phone number.
“Hello?” My mother’s voice sounded on the other side and I started crying immediately.
“Hi, mom,” I said. Nothing but silence.
“Ianto?” she asked in a trembling voice.
“Yes, mom. It’s me, Ianto, and I’m not a ghost,” I answered. I heard her loud cry on the other side as well as my father’s voice asking what was going on.
“I don’t understand! They have told us you were dead.”
“It’s a long story, but I promise to tell you everything when you arrive here. So, you would better start packing and prepare yourselves to get into a plane for the first time. After all, our family is about to start a new life,” I announced.
Epilogue
April 6th, 2026, Gold Coast - Sarnaut
The years went by so fast I could barely believe it had been five years since I had been arrested and sold. My complaint regarding the human trafficking agency had become a huge scandal all over the global media, but the police only managed to punish Laurel and his company's staff. Not only had they never managed to identify the cops that were covering for them, but also all the buyers had their identities protected, with no documents regarding the transactions. I also assumed they might have gotten rid of the devices, so they wouldn’t be tracked later.
From time to time, I would ask myself what should have happened to the other sold kids, but nothing good came to my mind as an answer to this.
I was aware that many people were probably killed as a result of my decision on denouncing Laurel’s scheme, but regardless Alendor’s rigid Anti-crime Law, what they were doing to people was horrible and unforgivable. I didn’t even want to wonder what kind of things the other kids were forced to go through with their owners; I was lucky to escape.
From the moment I moved to Sarnaut and got to see my family again, things had progressed a lot. The money I got from Eric had helped me immensely. First, we went after good doctors to treat her and, then, we used it to open our own business: a restaurant specialized on Alendorian traditional food.
We didn’t have enough knowledge to get into any bigger investments, but my mother has always been a great cook and, to our surprise, our restaurant was an instant success. We couldn’t even believe when, in less than three years, we managed to open the second one and became a reference in every food magazine in the country.
As Eric predicted, Sarnaut had recovered from the crisis and their economy was now stronger than even before. Due to that, the money I had taken had almost tripled.
I also entered college to study Psychology. The idea to help other people who suffered from some kind of trauma fascinated me and, of course, helped me forget my own.
It was hard for me to follow the other students, who had a stronger educational base than the one I have received in Alendor, but I have given my best, even getting to the point of spending several nights awake in order to reach my goals.
I was eager to become a Psychologist and now I was only a few steps from it. All the effort and the tears had been worth it.
The strangest thing in all this would be to read another name on my own diploma. However, I had to accept that I was no longer Ianto Wiese; that Ianto had died in Alendor. I was Ianto Kipfer, as my fake documents stated.
I looked around the graduation hall, already crowded with people.
Almost all my friends and colleagues were already there, having fun and celebrating our achievement. It was odd to think that, from then on, I wouldn’t see them on daily basis. However, what bothered me the most was an inner emptiness that, even though it was already a familiar feeling, was more intense that night.
I couldn’t under
stand why, nonetheless, since everything had been going so well.
Rafael, my best friend, the one who helped me the most in the last couple of years came to me, holding a glass of champagne.
“Thank you,” I said, accepting it.
“You should be more cheerful, Ianto. We have struggled for more than four years and we managed to go through all the challenges and hardships.”
I forced myself to smile at him and he didn’t stop staring at me, with eyes that were as black as his hair, hit by my dismay. Just as almost everyone there, he was much taller than I was and had a very fit body. I have always been and would remain the tiny one in the class. I didn't like going to the gym and, lucky for me, I never got fat just by eating.
“Seriously, cheer up!” He insisted, punching my arm lightly.
“Fine, you are right. I have no reasons to be depressed. Everything is working out just fine, right? The problem is that I have this feeling that there’s something I need to achieve, but I don’t get what it should be.”
“Don’t be like this. You still have lots to achieve, Ianto. We have just graduated and I wouldn’t doubt you becoming one of the greatest psychologists in the country in a few years. You have worked the hardest during the course, which is why you have always been the teachers’ favorite.”
“I had to work hard, Rafael. I would never have the chance to go to college in Alendor and I know my brother will also give his best when he starts Law School, as he dreams to do. It’s our obligation to enjoy to the fullest the chance we are having here.”
“I don’t understand why you say those things. I know Alendor is a rigid country and full of poor people, but if you were one of them you would never manage to come to Sarnaut, open a restaurant with your family and enter one of the most famous universities in the country. You can't have come from a lower caste," Rafael remarked, reclining on the wall. I did the same.”
“Yes, you are right. I don't come from a lower caste," I lied.
Apart from my family, I have never told anyone about what happened to me five years ago. Even from them, I hid a lot from what I had suffered. Especially the things Paulo had done to me.
To them, I had run away from Eric.
“So, stop the drama. You have always been rich and now you are about to become even more.”
“You’re right. Money can’t buy you many things, though. It can even buy you some things you shouldn’t, but never happiness or love,” I stated, thoughtfully.
"You don't need to buy any of these. You just have to notice things that are right in front of your eyes…"
“Like what?” I asked, turning to look at him.
He faced me as well.
“I’ve been here all the time and you never noticed me.”
“What do you mean by that, Rafael?”
He shook his head, laughing.
“You need to pay more attention to what you are living, Ianto! You have to stop losing yourself in your thoughts. You are always so distant that you can’t even notice that, all through these four years we’ve known each other, I’ve always been in love with you,” he confessed, in the end.
I stared at him, surprised and out of words.
After hearing what Rafael said, I realized he was right. I was really living lost in my memories and, for many times, forgetting to live in the present, once no matter how much I struggled, my past was too strong to be forgotten.
That is why it now seemed so obvious.
“I don’t know what to say...” I muttered shyly.
“You don’t have to say anything, Ianto. I just want you to give me a chance.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Rafael.”
“Of course it is, Ianto!” Rafael held my hand. “During all these years, you’ve never dated or approached anyone and, maybe you haven’t noticed it, but neither did I. I’ve been waiting for you all this time. I love you too much! I want you to give me the chance to be your boyfriend; that’s the thing I wish the most in the world!”
“I need some time to process it,” I asked him.
“I’ve waited four years, I can wait a few more days,” he agreed, giving me a wide smile. I dropped his hand.
“I need to make a call outside, I’ll be right back,” I lied, leaving the place.
I had finally become a great liar.
After leaving the hall, I sat on the stairway that led to the building in order to think for a while.
I wanted to feel cheerful and to have fun with everyone inside, but I felt the need to stay alone and to consider what to do from then on. My life had changed a lot in the last few years and I was about to change even more, but I still felt sad all the time.
I didn’t want to feel that way. I wanted to be happy…
I stayed a good time there, considering everything and I realized the reason for all that was my inability to forget the past. I needed to change that, Rafael was right: I needed to focus on what I was living and that was exactly what I was going to do.
I had to move on and that meant getting back to that hall, look out for him and give him the chance he desired. I had the right to love once more.
Maybe things could really work between the two of us.
As soon as I stood up to get back to the party, my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a call from an unknown number.
“Hello?” I said, suspiciously. For a couple of seconds, there was nothing but silence. I considered hanging up the call, but before I did, I heard a voice that I knew pretty well, even though I haven’t heard it in a long time.
“Hi, Ianto,” Eric said, hesitating, making my heart race.
“Eric?” I almost stuttered.
“Who else could it be? Have you forgotten my voice already?”
“How did you get my number?”
“I’m still Eric Pitz, remember? I can get whatever I want!”
“Right,” I said, before falling into an agonizing silence. “Why are you calling me?”
“I miss you,” he admitted. This time, I couldn’t react at all. “Are you there?”
“I am.”
“I’d like to see you. Would you like to have dinner with me?” he offered.
“When?” I asked and soon I realized I was making a mistake. I shouldn’t even consider his invitation.
“Now. I got to Sarnaut a few minutes ago.”
I remained silent, wondering.
I was ready to try to forget my past and Eric was the strongest and hardest thing to forget about it. Now, he was just a few minutes away from me. What should I do?
While I was still considering it, Rafael appeared at the door and looked at me, signaling that he would be waiting for me.
“So, are you coming or not?” Eric asked me again.
There were anxiety and nervousness in his voice.
“Where are you?” I asked, realizing that I needed to go.
If I didn’t go, I would never get it out of my mind.
“In the same hotel where we stayed last time,” he said.
“I’m going right away,” I said and hung up.
I ran upstairs to Rafael.
“What a long call,” he joked as soon as I got closer.
“I have to talk to you about that. There's somewhere I need to go right now, I’m sorry.”
“Really? What can be so important for you to ditch your own graduating party?” Rafael asked, upset.
“I need to settle some things that have been tormenting my thoughts and dreams for a long time.”
“Ok. Just don’t forget that you promised to think about us. I need an answer, Ianto. Otherwise, this is going to drive me crazy,” he said, holding up not to cry.
“Don’t worry. You will have your answer soon,” I said, full of resolution.
“I’ll be waiting for your call.”
“See you later,” I said, running downstairs.
As soon as I got to my car, I started the engines and rode to the hotel.
My hands were shaking and my h
eart was about to jump from my chest. I had been taken by the anxiety of seeing Eric again after five years. During all that time, I avoided most of the articles related to him on the internet and magazines and now I was finally about to see him in person.
A few minutes later, I parked the car in front of the hotel and walked hesitatingly to the front desk.
A black man about forty came to welcome me.
“Good evening. May I help you?”
“Yes, please. Could you tell Mr. Eric Pitz that Ianto is waiting for him downstairs?”
“Of course, just a moment,” he said. After checking the system, he dialed Eric’s room number. “Mr. Pitz, Mr. Ianto is waiting for you at the front desk." After a brief silence, he continued. “All right, Sir.” He cut the call. “He will be here in a few minutes.”
“Thank you very much,” I said, moving away from the counter.
I waited for Eric anxiously.
It didn’t take even five minutes before he came out of one of the elevators. He was wearing a dark suit and he had changed too little, just seemed more mature and serious.
He was still gorgeous, nonetheless.
I felt the urge to run to him and hug him as tight as I could, but I stayed there watching him, static. He came to me with shy steps, but not even once had his eyes moved away from me.
“How much you’ve changed,” he stated as soon as he got closer to me. His woody scent made my legs shake.
“Five years, Eric. I was just a teenager when you met me.”
“You look even more beautiful than you already were,” he said and I crossed my arms, feeling suddenly shy.
How strange it was to be face to face with him once again.
“Let’s go?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he answered, giving me a smile.
I signaled for him to follow me and then guided him to my car.
As soon as he sat in the passenger’s seat, I started the car. I didn’t know what to say, so I avoided facing him for too long.
“I see you invested the money well,” he stated, looking for something to talk about while admiring my car, which wasn’t the cheap kind.
Boy for Sale Page 20
