Alexander closed his eyes and went back to that day where he was captured, he was treated so violently. He couldn't handle it anymore so he opened his eyes. His eyes came in contact with those of a kind woman trying to help him, so he breathed in and out and started talking "I was in language class when some men came and said they were from my father. They said my father asked them to bring me home. I didn't object because there were several times he would cut my school short whenever there was something going on. They treated m nice at first in the the car but when I saw we weren't going towards the direction of neither our house nor my father's office, I asked them where they were taking me but none of them answered me. I knew they were bad people. I begged them to let me go but they did not answer me. After I began shouting, one of them covered my mouth with duct tape and covered my head with a black bag. I couldn't shout for help. After some minutes, the car stopped moving. The men got out of the car and dragged me to a building. They removed the bag and covered my eyes with a piece of clothing. I couldn't see anything. I couldn't say anything"
Alexander paused and started sobbing. Hannah felt her heart ache so she gave him a handkerchief. Alexander stopped sobbing after a while and continued talking "Some men would come into the room at intervals. They would talk bad about my father and leave. Some would even kick me and make jokes about how they didn't see me on the floor. They would order food and would eat without offering me anything. I couldn't move about since my hands and legs were tied. Few days later, they came to take me away from there and brought me here. I asked them for water but they wouldn't even give me a drop. When I asked again for water, one of the men beat me up and they all laughed and joked about it. I passed out after spending time there. I didn't even know whether it was daytime or night time because I couldn't see anything. I was all sore but no one would pay attention to me until you came and saved me. Everytime I try to sleep, I hear their voices in my head, their mockery, their jokes, their laughter and I always get beaten up and rough handled. It's so much to bear"; Alexander said and started crying.
Hannah couldn't believe people could do such a thing to a young boy like that. She pacified Alexander and when he was calm, she said "I would like to help you look for your parents. Where do you think they are?"
Alexander looked down and said "I don't have a mother "
"Ohhh, I'm sorry " Hannah said, feeling sad for him
Alexander said "She died while giving birth to me. My father has been the only person I know"
Hannah, curiously asked " Is your father Senator Edward?"
Alexander looked at her and nodded his head. Hannah covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming. She couldn't believe she had the son of a senator in her house for the past two days. She felt it would be easier to find his father, now that she knew who he was.
Having heard enough from him, she took him to her room and told him that he'd sleep with her so he wouldn't have nightmares. She laid him on the bed and she went to the living room to turn off the lights. By the time she came back, Alexander was already asleep. She laid down beside aahim and she fell asleep as well.
The next morning, Hannah woke up with a headache. She knew she stressed herself the previous day so she decided to stay in the whole and do nothing. She missed Layla but she knew that it was best if no one knew about Alexander until she found a way to get him to his father. She looked at the peacefully sleeping boy and stroked his head gently. She went out to the living room and swept the whole room. When she was done, she looked at the time, it was 9am in the morning. She went to her refrigerator, brought out the bread she bought on her last visit to the market. She also picked some eggs and vegetables. She went to the kitchen and fried the eggs. After she was done, she went to her room and saw that Alexander was still sleeping. She went into the bathroom and closed the door without making any sound. She already brought her clothes in the bathroom with her so she changed in there. She came out of the bathroom wearing new clothes. She saw that Alexander was waking up so she sat at the edge of the bed. When he had fully woken up, he smiled and said "Good morning" with a bright voice.
Hannah was surprised because up until the previous day, he was still sullen about what happened to him.
"You seem different today Alex" she said
He then frowned. Hannah thought that maybe she shouldn't have called him that so she said "Is it alright if I call you Alex or do you want me to call you Alexander?"
Alexander looked at her and said "I didn't frown because of that. It's just that only my dad calls me Alex, so when you did, I was reminded of him. It's alright tho. You can call me Alex. I would like it if you did". He then smiled
Hannah wondered how many girls must be smitten by him because of his smile. He had a really beautiful smile.
"Uhmm. You can go take your bath. I already warmed the water for you. I'll place clothes here for you to change in" Hannah said
"Okay " Alexander said and stood up, going into the bathroom.
"Don't take long. I already made breakfast " she said as he was about to close the door
"Alright " Alexander said
Hannah dried her hair and applied her lotions. She then headed to the living room. While waiting for Alexander, she picked a book and started reading. She had a phone but she didn't really use it. Few minutes later, Alexander came out. He already changed and he seemed like a different person. She felt an aura with his presence. He was young but he looked like a handsome man. Hannah pinched herself and said "Snap out of it. He's like your son"
She smiled at him and wondered how proud his mother would have been if she were alive to see her son grow up. She was sure Alexander would grow up to be a fine young man.
They both went to the dining table and Hannah dished out the food. As Alexander was about to start eating, he said "Thank you for the food".
"Such good manners" Hannah thought
After breakfast, Hannah went back to reading her book while Alexander went through the shelf to find something interesting. He came across a family picture book. Out of curiosity, he took book, sat on the floor and opened it. There were pictures of Hannah and a man and it seemed that he was her husband. As he continued to open the page, he came across a picture of Hannah with a small girl who looked about his age. He looked at the both of them, they really looked alike so he had no problem figuring out that the little girl was this woman's daughter. He suddenly became curious. Since he came here, he had not seen either the man or the little girl, so he decided to ask.
He sat on the chair and showed her the picture book
"Is this your husband, ma'am?"
Hannah took her eyes off her book and looked at the picture book to the familiar face she had not seen in years. She nodded her eyes "Yes, he is"
Alexander then opened to another page and said "She is your daughter?" He said, pointing to the small girl in the picture
Hannah smiled and said "She is". She looked at Alexander and said "You have great observation skills. My daughter, isn't she pretty? She looks just like me"
"You're pretty and your daughter is, too" Alexander said "But why I haven't seen both of them since I came here, ma'am?"
Hannah became sad. She's always avoided talking about her late husband but since this curious boy asked, she'd tell him "My husband is late. My daughter, however, is with a friend of mine. She's staying there for a few days"
"Okay ma'am " Alexander sensed that Hannah was unwilling to talk about it so he didn't bring it up again.
They spent all day talking as Alexander was curious about almost everything. Hannah smiled as she thought about her daughter. Her Layla was also a very curious person. In the afternoon, Hannah reapplied ointment on Alexander's bruises which were already disappearing. She was glad that he was recovering.
While they were both resting after eating lunch, Hannah heard commotion outside. She went outside to have a look but she instructed Alexander not to peek outside.
"Don't open the door or the window" she said as she went outside
She met her neighbor who was coming from the direction of the commotion and asked her " What's going on there?"
Her neighbor pulled her to the side and said "Those thugs lost a boy who was put in the hut above the hill. We all said no one goes up the hill as all our business are done down here. They insisted that the boy must have run away and someone must have kept him here. So they are rumming through everyone's houses"
"I must go" The neighbour said and left hurriedly
Hannah ran back to her house and locked the door from behind.
"They must not find him here" Hannah thought loudly
She held Alexander and took him to the storage room. Her storage room was full of herbs so she rarely came here unless she needed more plants. She took some away from the corner and ooened the wooden floor. Her grandmother built the storage that way incase she wanted to hide somethings away from people. She also kept her treasures and ledgers here. It was emptied after she died so Hannah thought she could use it as a hiding place. She held Alexander tightly and said "I don't want you to be scared. The bad guys that took you are here looking for you. I don't want them to take you away again so I need you to do something for me. I want you to hide here. When they're gone, I'll come get you, alright??"
Alexander's face went pale as he looked at the place below. He was going to be in pure darkness again. As if Hannah sensed his fear, she hugged him and said"Do not worry, I'll come get you "
Alexander felt relieved a little and he went down. Hannah smiled at him before she closed the small door. She placed the plants back at their original position to make it look less suspicious. She then went back to the living room.
She went to the window and saw that they were already at her neighbor's house. She then went to the kitchen to wash the plates they used during lunch. As she was almost done with the dishes, someon knocked on the door aggressively. Hannah was scared to her bones as she almost dropped the ceramic plate in her hand.
She went to the living room and opened the door. In front of her were two feisty looking men. They barged into the house and started checking everywhere. She didn't argue with you hen because she knew that she was no match for them. They checked the kitchen, her bedroom, her visitors room. Hannah's mind immediately went to Alexander's clothes. She wasn't sure she put it in the washing basket. Even if she did, she didn't want them to find it. When they went into her room, she followed them. They checked her wardrobe and bathroom but luckily for her, they ignored the washing basket. As the men stood at the center of the living room, their eyes went to the door of the storage. They asked her "What's in there?"
Hannah swallowed her own spit and said "It's my storage. It's where I put my herbs and plants"
They told her to open it. She opened the door with shaking hands. The two men went in. The room was neat with the herbs placed in bottles and baskets and were arranged neatly. It would be so easy to notice if anything were out of place. One of the men suddenly went towards the direction of the secret place.