Gypsy Law

Deea stepped out slowly through the rusty gate of the house, careful not to make a sound. Her old dress, stained with dirt and torn at the edges, brushed against her scratched knees, and her black hair fell messily over her shoulders. She tightly clutched a few crumpled bills in her palm.

Her money.

The money she had earned the hard way, after spending entire days hoeing the fields of the villagers. No one knew. Not her mother, nor her father. If they had found out, they would have taken it instantly for alcohol and cigarettes.

Deea sighed deeply and set off down the gravel road of the settlement. Every sharp stone scratched her bare feet, but she was used to the pain. She kept her eyes fixed on the ground and kept walking.

She had only one thought.

Notebooks and pens.

Perhaps the only things that made her feel like she still had a chance at a different life.

“One day, I’m going to leave this place...” she whispered softly.

The wind hit her sunburnt cheeks, and the settlement was loud, as usual. Barefoot children ran around, women spoke loudly at their gates, and the heavy smell of smoke and alcohol floated everywhere.

Suddenly, something struck her hard in the forehead.

“Ow!”

A stone fell by her feet.

Deea looked up, startled, and saw them.

Bianca and Sorina.

The richest girls in the settlement.

Dressed in expensive clothes and covered in gold jewelry, they leaned against a fence, laughing mockingly.

“Look at her!” Bianca laughed. “She looks like a stray dog.”

“Not a dog...” Sorina continued with a wicked smile. “A donkey that works all day long.”

The two burst into laughter.

Deea clenched her fists, trying not to cry.

“What do you want from me?” she murmured.

“Nothing. We’re just having fun,” Bianca said, stepping closer. “Tell me, Deea... do you really think you’re going to become someone with your filthy notebooks?”

Sorina snatched the small bag from her hand and started laughing.

“Oh, look at the settlement’s schoolteacher!”

“Give it back to me!” Deea said, taking a step forward.

“Or what? Are we going to sweep the street with you?” Bianca laughed.

Before Deea could answer, a loud noise echoed from the end of the road.

Everyone fell silent.

Four luxurious black cars entered the settlement, kicking up dust into the air. Their engines roared menacingly, and people immediately stepped out to their gates, whispering in fear.

Bianca instantly turned pale.

“I don’t believe it...”

“The Predas are here...” Sorina whispered.

Deea’s heart began to race wildly.

The Preda family.

The richest and most dangerous Roma family in Romania.

By instinct, Deea grabbed her bag back from Sorina’s hands and started running.

Her feet slipped on the gravel, she breathed heavily, and her dirty dress caught on fences, but she did not stop.

When she reached the front of the shop, she noticed a thin woman dressed in ragged clothes, holding a small, dirty child in her arms.

“Spare a coin for us, child...” the woman whispered in a faint voice.

Deea stopped immediately.

That woman always begged there.

And Deea always gave her money.

Even though she had almost nothing herself.

Her gaze fell on the child, who was shivering from the cold in the woman’s arms. Without a second thought, she slowly pulled out the money she had saved for the notebooks and placed it in the woman’s palm.

“Here you go...”

The woman looked at her in shock.

“But what about you...? You look even worse off than me, girl...”

Deea smiled sadly.

“I’ll manage...”

At that moment, a tall man dressed in a long black robe walked past her. He had a thick beard, heavy rings on his fingers, and a cold gaze that made people instantly look away.

As he approached one of the luxury cars, a thick wallet fell out of his pocket without him noticing.

Deea saw it right away.

For a few seconds, she stood frozen.

The wallet was stuffed with money.

A lot of money.

Probably more than she had seen in her entire life.

She swallowed hard.

Then, she picked it up and started running after the man.

“Sir! Wait!”

The man stopped just before getting into the car and turned slowly toward her.

Deea held out the wallet with a trembling hand.

“You dropped this...”

The man stared at her for a long moment.

He didn’t open the wallet.

He didn’t count the money.

It was as if he already knew nothing was missing.

His dark eyes remained fixed on her for a few seconds that felt like an eternity to Deea.

Only then did she notice how many people were around him.

Elegantly dressed men with thick gold chains and dangerous looks.

Deea was instantly terrified.

She took a step back.

Then another.

And she ran.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her toward home.

The man watched her with his eyes until she disappeared around the corner.

“Whose girl is she?” he asked calmly, never taking his eyes off the direction where Deea had fled.

A massive man, leaning against the other car, let out a short laugh.

“Cărazu’s. And no... she isn’t married.”

A slow smile appeared on the man’s face.

He got into the car, then turned his gaze toward his nephew sitting in the back seat.

“Little Preda...” he murmured with a grin. “I think I’ve found your wife.”

Deea ran as fast as her legs could carry her down the dark alley. She was breathing heavily, and her heart was beating so loudly that she felt the entire settlement could hear it. The image of the man with the long beard and cold gaze wouldn’t leave her mind.

His gaze had terrified her.

It wasn’t a normal look.

It was the kind of look that made you feel like that person could change your life with a single word.

When she reached home, she slowly pushed open the rusty gate, which creaked eerily in the silence of the evening.

The yard was empty.

Only the wind moved the clothes hanging on the clothesline.

Deea took a few steps and noticed a crumpled note on the old table in the yard.

She slowly unfolded it.

“If you don’t wash the carpets by tonight, you don’t eat.”

The girl closed her eyes for a moment.

Her stomach was already growling with hunger, but she didn’t make a sound. She was used to it.

She slowly set her bag down and dragged the heavy carpets into the middle of the yard. She poured cold water into a rusty basin and began to scrub the dirty fabric with force.

Her hands were shaking from the cold.

Her fingers had turned red and scratched.

But she kept going.

Because in that house, no one had mercy on her.

“Harder! Don’t leave any stains!” her mother’s voice echoed from the doorway.

Deea bit her lip and began to scrub even harder.

Suddenly, a brutal hand grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back violently.

“Where have you been, you wretched girl?!” her mother screamed.

Deea let out a weak groan and dropped the carpet from her hands.

“To the shop...” she whispered, terrified.

“You’re lying! You always lie! Were you out chasing boys again?!”

“No, mother, I swear...”

The woman raised her palm, ready to strike her.

But just then...

The alley lit up brightly.

The headlights of four black cars stopped right in front of the gate.

Deea’s mother froze.

All the color drained from her face.

“My God...” she whispered.

The doors opened one by one.

Several elegantly dressed men stepped out slowly, wearing thick gold chains around their necks and bearing cold expressions.

Then, he stepped out.

The man in the long robe.

The very same man to whom Deea had returned the wallet.

Deea felt her breath catch.

Her mother immediately let go of her hair and changed her expression into a fake smile.

“Deea! Get up right now!” she hissed through her teeth.

The woman quickly straightened her clothes and ran toward the gate, nearly trembling.

“What an honor... The Preda family at our house...”

Deea remained motionless in the middle of the yard, soaked from head to toe, her hands covered in soap and dirt.

She could only catch snatches of the conversation.

“...the girl is very beautiful...”

“...and hardworking...”

“...you rarely find one so well-behaved...”

“...she would bring honor to the Preda family...”

Deea’s heart began to beat wildly.

She didn’t understand what was happening.

The man slowly turned his head toward her.

His dark eyes analyzed her carefully.

As if he had already decided her destiny.

Then, he smiled faintly.

“What is your name, girl?”

Deea swallowed hard.

“D-Deea...”

The man nodded slowly.

“A beautiful name.”

From behind him, one of the men chuckled softly.

“Lucas is going to lose his mind when he finds out.”

Deea froze.

Lucas?

She didn’t know who he was.

But for the first time in her life...

she felt that something bad was about to happen.

A tinted window of one of the cars rolled down slowly.

Deea looked up, startled.

A young man appeared in the back seat.

He had perfectly styled black hair, dark and cold eyes, and his black shirt, unbuttoned at the top, made his gold chain gleam in the light of the headlights.

He was handsome.

Too handsome.

But his gaze...

His gaze was full of contempt.

The boy’s eyes locked directly onto Deea, who stood soaked, barefoot, and dirty in the middle of the yard.

He analyzed her for a few seconds.

Then, he let out a short laugh and turned his gaze toward his uncle.

“Seriously?” he said in a calm, cold voice. “Is this what you brought me here for?”

Deea felt her cheeks burn.

“Lucas...” his uncle murmured warningly.

But the boy didn’t even seem interested.

He leaned his head back against the seat and looked Deea up and down one more time.

“Am I going to be late for dinner because of a... rag?” he asked ironically. “I don’t think it’s worth wasting my time here.”

His words hit her harder than any slap.

Deea lowered her eyes to the ground.

Her mother, however, kept smiling falsely, as if nothing had happened.

“Oh, but the girl is just frightened... Deea is very hardworking, very well-behaved...”

Lucas’s uncle raised a hand, silencing her.

He pulled a thick envelope from inside his coat and handed it to Deea’s mother.

The woman’s eyes widened instantly when she saw the money.

A lot of money.

Her hands shook as she took the envelope.

“We will return when her father gets back,” the man said calmly. “We need to speak with him as well.”

Then, his gaze shifted back to Deea.

The girl felt her stomach tighten.

“Tell me...” he continued softly. “Are you ready to get married?”

Silence.

Deea froze.

It was as if she could no longer breathe.

Marriage?

Her?

To whom?

Her eyes instantly filled with tears.

Her whole life, she had tried to run away from the destiny of the girls in the settlement.

From forced weddings.

From cold men.

From that life.

And now...

Everything was crashing down in front of her.

Lucas wasn’t even looking at her. He leaned back in his seat, bored, as if the conversation didn’t concern him at all.

Deea did the only thing she always did when someone expected something from her.

She ran.

She spun around abruptly and bolted straight into the house.

“Deea!” her mother screamed furiously.

But the girl did not stop.

She rushed up the old stairs and locked herself inside her small, dark room.

Her breathing was chaotic.

Her hands were shaking.

And outside...

The Preda family was still in her yard.

Deea pressed her back against the room door and clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from crying.

Downstairs, voices could be heard.

Her mother’s voice had suddenly become sweet and fake.

“The girl is just nervous... but she will accept...”

Deea squeezed her eyes shut.

No.

She didn’t want this life.

She didn’t want to be sold like an object.

She slowly approached the small window of the room and parted the torn curtain just a tiny bit.

In the yard, Lucas was leaning against his black car with a cigarette between his fingers. He looked completely bored.

Until...

He lifted his gaze directly toward her window.

Deea froze.

His dark eyes locked onto her for a few seconds.

Then, the boy smiled slowly.

Not a nice smile.

A dangerous smile.

Lucas threw the cigarette onto the ground and spoke loudly enough for her to hear:

“She’s going to run away many times...”

He paused briefly.

“But in the end, she’ll still be mine.”

Deea’s breath caught.

And at that exact moment, someone knocked softly on her room door.