"How did this happen? Why did it? And, was there a way out of this body?" Amanda`s mind was swimming in questions that needed to be answered.
Amanda was in a crate with Chloe, a little brown jenny that was weeping out as she had already given up. They were on a pier along with other girls who had fell into the trap too. Amanda and Chloe's crate was labeled "Sold to the Salt Mines." A large number of crates had that labeling, most of the former girls would end up there.
Amanda knew that in a few hours she and Chloe would become someone else's property. They would become the Salt Mine`s slaves , forced into a life of hard work.
Everyone was a donkey, crying and braying echoed loudly from inside of their crates while they waited for those who had bought them.
Amanda heaved a sigh and began to cry.
Amanda had been a very popular and respected girl in her school and acting cool had been important to her. A long time ago she had been an innocent child like all others. Amanda and her friends wrecked havoc, they robbed their schoolmates, they were rude to their parents and teachers, they didn't do their homework, and sometimes they didn't even go to school.
She just wanted to impress the others kids. Now as a donkey, even those days were long over. Amanda was no longer a human.
"I...wanna ...go home...to my...mommy!", Chloe gasped through her tears.
Amanda had already realized that if she understood Chloe and the other donkey girls, it wasn't because they could talk. Actually all of them were braying and that was already Amanda's "language" too.
"Oh, I should of never listened to Jennifer!", continued Chloe. "She was a no-good and... and my mommy told me that she would only lead me to trouble. I told Jennifer not to go.... not to go to the island b-b-but she insisted. And now because of that fool, I will always be ... be a beast!", Chloe broke into tears.
Each word stung Amanda. As Jennifer, Amanda had called Penny a "funky", "baby" and laughed when the little girl tried to say that Pleasure Island was a bad idea. Penny should had the same age of Chloe. Little Penny must have been the same age as Chloe. Finally after much taunting and laughing, Penny followed the crowd and went aboard the stage coach.
"I'm sorry, Chloe," Amanda said quietly. But Chloe still cried as she realized what her life had turned into.
Amanda curled up in the crate on the opposite side of Chloe. "Oh , what could I do now?", Amanda thought. "I`m just.... a donkey. A stupid donkey. Why had my life gone so wrong?"
Long ago, Amanda was a good little girl who obeyed the rules and she was proud of it. In fact ,it was up until she turned eleven that she was very studious and hard working. That year was when she wanted to stand out and impress the others.
When she wanted to get noticed, a group of undisciplined and lazy girls invited her into their little group. At that time was when Amanda became a rebel.
But as a result of her new personality and friends , her grades suffered immensely . Most recently , Amanda failed the end of the term exam. Her mother was furious and lectured her about trying hard and the importance of education.
"I don`t need school!" Amanda hissed as she ran out of the house. She didn`t intend to run away, she just needed a few hours alone to contemplate things. That was when her friend Molly told her about Pleasure Island.
"It sounds well." Amanda agreed. But now, she couldn`t go home and brag to her friends about the great time she had. She was bounded to a eternity of donkey work.
Amanda was now fifteen years in age and she claimed she didn`t need her mother to look after her anymore. But she did. She needed her so she could apologize for being a bad girl.
"Will we ever be humans again?" Chloe asked interrupting Amanda's thoughts. Chloe was a little calmer and her eyes glimmering up towards Amanda as the little jenny looked upon her for all the answers to her questions.
"I don`t know, Chloe. But I`m determined to find a way. "Amanda reassured Chloe.
The rest of the day was agonizingly slow. All of the donkey girls brayed in fear. Some brayed to talk to the others . They mostly regretted ever coming to Pleasure Island. Most were like Chloe and Penny admitted they only followed the crowd and wanted to eat candy and ride the roller coaster. Amanda and Chloe spent their hours in the crate staring at fishermen and sailors and thought long and hard about their lives and fates.
"These the donkeys?", a bald man asked with a hoarse voice. He had a bushy grey beard, a large forehead, and soul-less grey eyes.
"Yes. I know you`ll be pleased at how hard working they are", the Coachwoman affirmed.
The man gave a groan as if to say "good". He pulled out a small book from his pants pockets and a little black pen. He squiggled his signature, ripped a slip that he had just wrote on and handed it to the Coachwoman.
The Coachwoman gave a wide grin , staring at the slip before stuffing it into her coat.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you," the Coachwoman said.
"Marko! Jacob!" The man yelled and instantly, two thin, dusty, shallow faced men appeared.
"Yes, sir?" They asked in unison.
"Get these asses onto the wagon." The man ordered and then he gave a wave of his hand and motioned for the Coachwoman to follow him near a section of the dock. There, they talked secretly for a few minutes. Though Amanda had developed a fine sense of hearing with her long ears, she could not make out the discussion.
When the two left their huddle and strolled back to the market stall, both had wide grins upon their faces.
"It`s nice to know that it hasn`t worn off after all these years."
"What was that suppose to mean?" Amanda asked herself. "What hadn`t worn off? It itched to know, and that question burned in her mind."
The men did as they were told and quickly all of the crates were upon the wagon and ready to be taken to the salt mines . The crates were placed it in the back of the wagon that also held pick, axes and oil lamps in the dozens.
Amanda gulped as she stared at the objects.
"Owww. We are now property of the salt mines", Amanda said worried.
"But it doesn't mean that we shouldn`t give up hope. My mama said that even in tough situations , we should always look to the bright side."
"That`s some wise advice, "Amanda agreed. "Sounds a lot like the advice my momma would give."
Marko and Jacob hopped up onto the back of the wagon and sat on two of the crates aboard the wagon and light up their smokes. The bearded man took the out his whip and took up the driver`s seat.
"Yah!" the man hissed as he pulled the whip up into the air and the wagon treated off towards the salt mines.
Amanda stayed somewhat silent for the long ride. They passed farms, knowing that some of their class mates or friends might be soon living there.
Whenever one of the smaller jennies in the crates bucked and brayed hoping to get out, Marko or Jacob would give the crate a strong jolt with the tip of their boots.
"Shut up, ass", they`d say, and returned back to smoking cheap cigarettes.
The wagon ceased on the fringes of the mine shafts. In that place were rickety sheds and barns that contained supplies from the mine. Behind them, Amanda could see there were many corrals for donkeys.
Then, the donkey girls were led out of the crates and placed before the bearded man who held a whip behind his back. He examined each little jenny from snout to tail.
"It bothers me when he sends them so small, but they will grow. Outside of that, they all look healthy and enough strong to work. Send these two....", the man said pointing to Chloe and Amanda. "Take these two to shelter 12 . It only has one other inhabitant."
Marko tied a thick rope around Amanda and Chloe`s muzzles and they were lead to a small shed with a fence surrounding it. The man opened the gate and put the donkeys in. He untied the ropes and left them alone.
Amanda gazed back at the shelter. It was made of a faint gray wood and looked like it was going to collapse at any moment.
Chloe wondered over to the two trough near the shed. She saw that spiders had made webs inside them and not even a speck of hay or straw could be seen.
"He did say that there is a donkey sharing the shed with us, didn`t he?", Chloe said.
"I believe so," Amanda nodded.
It was now nearly sunset , and an orange-pink glow filled the sky. The clouds were highlighted by a purple color as they passed through the beautiful sky. It was a splendid sight, but Amanda couldn't enjoy it, she wondered what her fate would be in the salt mines. She couldn't help but feel doomed, like it was all over. Amanda knew she needed to be hopeful. But hope felt impossible.
Already at night, a man approached to the shelter, and in his hand he carried a lead rope that was attached to an adult female donkey.
""Well you're here," the man said as he placed the donkey in the fenced area. "I'll see you Monday." And with that, the man walked wearily and withdrew from the scene.
The large jenny turned and saw Amanda and Chloe.
"I see that I have new companions", the donkey said.
In the moonlight, Amanda saw that the female donkey was thin, her face was worn out by tiredness and age. The deep gray fur of her back was shedding in patches from malnutrition.
When the donkey approached them, she limped slightly, as if she was lame. Her long black mane covered part of her face and a piece of her left ear was missing.
"I know what you two are on the inside," the jenny paused for a moment ."You were human girls."
"But how did you know?" Chloe asked , with one ear twitched to the side in curiosity.
"I came the same way you both did," she admitted. "I was a girl named Clara. As you, I went to Pleasure Island attracted to the idea of fun and laziness. But that evil woman tricked me and sold me to the salt mines many years ago."
A hint of furor was in her voice, but she shook it off.
"But I can't change the past", the injured jenny continued. "Now you listen. It`s not all fun and games here. You will be put to aggravatingly hard work despite being young and small. Luckily, you two were brought on Saturday, and the salt miners never put us to work on Sunday. But when Monday comes..." Clara gave a sour frown. "The real work begins."