Beauty in the Pot: An Unrequited Love's Lament

My father, Benjamin Owens, sent me to the ice house and broke my legs.

He fed me a secret medicine and turned me into a beauty in the pot.

He hoped that I would be chosen by the lord Uriah Miller.

To manage the household, he tried to increase his honor as my position rose.

But he didn't know.

The beauty pot comes in two types, one is a water pot, and the other is a chamber pot.

My father turned me into a water pot.

But what Uriah wanted was a chamber pot.

1

I was born to be a servant, just because my parents were slaves of the Miller family.

The offspring of a servant can only be a servant.

But my parents were not satisfied.

On the New Year's Day, the eldest son of the Miller family was getting married.

My mother Fiona gave me two pieces of cake and a bowl of porridge, then took me to the ice house in the household.

The Miller family was a prominent local family engaged in business.

They built an ice house to store ice to cool their family members.

I was only thirteen, at an age when I was craving for food.

As I lowered my head to eat a piece of cake, my mother closed the door of the ice house.

I found myself surrounded by ice, my lips turning purple from the cold.

No matter how I cried for help, no one came to check on me.

Today, the family was celebrating, and it was a snowy and icy day.

Except for me, no one would come to this secluded place to make a scene.

I called for my parents, holding the cake, gradually losing consciousness.

Two hours later, my parents returned together.

The porridge had frozen into a lump of ice.

My mother patted my face, "Celia, wake up."

I trembled my eyelids.

My whole body was stiff and I couldn't speak.

My mother cried.

Her tears fell hotly on my face as she reproached my father.

"It took you two hours to come in. Aren't you afraid she would freeze to death?"

My father came over and took off my pants.

"The priest said that only young children can be made into beauty pots. How old is Celia? She is thirteen! Her tendons and bones are no longer soft. Only by freezing and then breaking them, can we avoid bone fractures and damage to the skin and flesh."

I was terribly afraid.

But I couldn't even plead for mercy.

By now, my father had stripped off all my clothes.

He had my mother hold me down.

He himself lifted my little bottom, pinched the base of my thighs.

Snap, snap.

He broke my thigh bone!

I couldn't open my mouth or make a sound.

I just bit down on my thin white teeth, making a clicking sound.

I watched as they picked up a long strip of cloth.

They wrapped my two legs, one after the other, in it.

And wrapped them up, gritting their teeth.

…

When I woke up again, it was the next day.

I was sitting in a copper pot.

Only my head and two arms were exposed.

My legs were still wrapped in cloth, and the pressure on my body made them burn with pain.

My mother was looking at me with joy.

When she saw me wake up, she didn't ask if I was in pain.

Instead, she grabbed my arms and made a gesture.

Then she clapped her hands and...