Monday Minute Challenge

Here's my entry for the Monday Minute Challenge using the picture prompt. 295 words.

Even now, the mark on my palm haunted me, though it was only a symbol of my past. I despise the five letters imprinted on it.  When Luke rescued me from slavery, we ran to a safe place and never looked back. But the mark was still there. It constantly reminded me of who I was, who I feared to become again.

In our village, no one knows that I was a slave. It’s best that they don’t. For my first birthday with him, Luke gave him a pair of fingerless gloves. They cover the mark; yet my fingers are free to move about. I wear them all the time now. No one asks questions.

Expect our children.

They were born some time before we came to the village. Luke and I swore to tell them nothing the night our first daughter was born. It was too risky. My secret could be revealed. Slaves aren’t allowed to be kept in our village, but it doesn’t stop me from worrying.

Luke tells me not to fret. My masters are long gone. They will never bother me again. But I’ve heard rumors. Tales of masters invading free lands, catching their old slaves and taking their whole family with them. Every time I watch my children play, I think of this. They’re free. But freedom is fleeting.

So when they ask about my gloves, I smile and say I like the way it feels on my hands, smooth and warm. They giggle and ask for a pair. I will not tell them. Not now, at least. Because if I did explain anything and the wrong ears happened to hear it, everything they know will be ripped from them. Their peaceful lives, the laughter, the painless days… all gone.

Hope you like it!