"Nadeem, wake up."
A faint voice reached out to me, cutting through the fog in my head. I struggled to gather my thoughts, swimming in a void of confusion and disorientation. But this time, I recognized the voice—it was my mother's.
Suddenly, everything came rushing back. Someone was trying to harm her.
"Mum, where are we?" I forced my eyes open, trying to focus despite the dizziness that still clung to me. My mother was beside me, a piece of cloth tied around her neck, her hands bound behind her back.
My mouth felt sore, like I'd been punched. I was thirsty and covered in dirt.
"Where are they taking us?" I panicked, realizing we were in a moving vehicle surrounded by piles of charcoal bags that formed a crude barricade around us. I tried to reach out to my mother, but I was tied down as well. She managed to remove the cloth they had gagged me with.
"I need you to calm down, Nadeem, and listen to me carefully," she said, her voice steady despite the terror in her eyes.
Tears welled up as I shook uncontrollably, but I knew better than to start shouting.
"Mum..." I whispered, barely able to speak from my bruised lip.
On her knees, she scooted closer to me. "These people are dangerous. Don't believe a single thing they tell you."
My mind raced back to what Baba Gundu and the principal had said—that my mother had killed my father and stolen me away from them.
"Who is Baba Gundu?" I asked, just as the car swerved violently, hitting a pothole. My head slammed against the wall of the vehicle.
"He's your father's brother," she replied, trying to close the gap between us.
"But he's an evil man. They want to use you."
"Why me? Is it because of my eyes? My abilities?" I asked, desperation creeping into my voice.
She didn't answer.
"We'll be arriving soon. I need you to be strong for whatever happens next," she said, her tone grave.
I could only nod, still feeling the effects of whatever drug they had used on me. I wanted to ask her so many questions, but it seemed our time was up. The van came to a halt; we had reached our destination.
"Be strong," she whispered through the darkness.
I heard voices from outside as the door of the vault was pulled open, and flashlights blinded us, disorienting me further. A man hopped into the van, heading straight for my mother, dragging her out. I could only hear her scream as I drifted in and out of consciousness, what every they drugged me with was still in my system.
The same man returned for me. I tried to run, but where could I go?
I was backed into a corner.
I could see his face now—his eyes were cold and calculating. He grabbed my leg, and I kicked him in the face, fighting for my life. But he was too strong. He pinned my flailing legs down, his rough hands bruising my skin.
He dragged me out of the van, my hands still bound behind me. I squirmed and struggled, but it was useless. I could hardly coordinate my movements, let alone fight off this towering man. I fell hard onto the rough ground, landing on my buttocks, dust rushing into my nostrils.
"Here we go, beautiful," the man said, leaning down to lift me. I caught a glimpse of his big, brown eyes.
*woah She's truly beautiful.* I heard him loud and clear in my head through his eyes.
With that, he hoisted me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, accidentally bumping my head against the hard metal door of the van. The pain was overwhelming, and I passed out.
When I opened my eyes again, I was staring up at a mud ceiling that seemed to be closing in on me. I was lying on the floor, a thin piece of cloth beneath me. The smell of earth filled my nostrils. My hands were no longer bound, and a bandage was wrapped around my head.
The surroundings were completely unfamiliar.
Was I in a mud house?
Where was my mother?
The entrance to the hut was covered by a dirty cloth, letting in very little sunlight. I was dressed in a different outfit—a large piece of fabric tied around my chest. I wasn't even wearing a bra.
Where was my uniform?
Who had changed my clothes?
Was I... raped?
Is that why they kidnapped me?
"Lolo is awake!" a young sickly woman, probably in her early 30s, exclaimed as she entered the room.
"Who are you?" I demanded, clutching the fabric around my chest that reached down to my ankles.
The woman had the biggest smile I had ever seen. She seemed genuinely glad to see me awake. She wore a blue, oversized T-shirt that sagged around her neck, revealing the cloth tied around her chest.
"..." she exclaimed again before leaving the room.
I took this as my opportunity to find my clothes and escape. Luckily, I found my uniform laid out next to me. I quickly changed and ran out of the room to unrecognized unrecognizable environment.
I was stunned. Where exactly was I?
All around me were similar huts with tightly packed thatch roofs. The huts seemed to be made of earth, straw, and possibly cement. They were arranged around a pathway, and several palm trees with trunks surrounded household items like clay pots and cutlasses. Chickens scurried around.
The woman from earlier was next to a small outdoor cooking area made from stones, with a few patches of grass and scattered leaves. Next to her was my mother, who greeted me with the same smile the woman had, a long forced smile grining from ear to ear.
I wanted to scream at her to get away and run, but she didn't seem like she was in any hurry.
"Come here, my dear," Mum called out to me as I stood there, unsure of what was going to happen next.
"Mum, what is going on?"
"Shh, it's okay, my dear. We're safe here," she reassured me, her beautiful smile lined with wrinkles. She was wearing the same fabric I had on from the hut, tied around her chest with nothing more on.
"This is your cousin, Goji... She took care of you throughout the night. You had a high fever."
A small fireplace was burning, and other women were seated around it. They all looked like Goji—tall, lanky, and skinny, definatley malnourished.
"Say hello to your cousins," Mum urged.
Were we rescued?
"Mum, I don't understand what is going on. Where are we?"
Around the fireplace, Mum motioned for me to sit next to her on an oddly shaped stone. She seemed too calm.
"We're in Paiko, of course. We arrived here yesterday, but you fell asleep in the car, so I didn't want to wake you. Everyone is so excited to meet you."
I wanted to scream. We didn't arrive in a car—we were kidnapped and drugged! But I knew better than to freak out.
Mum might be playing them, planning an escape for us. If only I could read her mind like I did with Ms. Kaltum back in school and the man that dragged me out of the van.
They spoke amongst themselves in a language I couldn't comprehend, but Mum could, and she even joined the conversation while I just sat there, lost in my thoughts.
"Here, you should eat something," Mum said, handing me a hot cup of milk that had been cooking in the fireplace. It was probably fresh from a cow this morning.
Everything seemed normal, but Mum's explanation that we were in our hometown, here to visit our cousins, is a lie.
She would switch between speaking their language and translating for me, explaining how excited everyone was to finally meet me. It was a freak show, and my mom was a part of it.
A young boy approached us, dressed in blue jeans with a brown shirt. He had neatly kept hair and was quite tall. He didn't look dirty or sickly like the rest of my "cousins."
I wondered if he was a cousin too.
"Ingkwa," he greeted the women, squatting low.
"Awana..."
"Muashebo..."
They exchanged greetings, going back and forth with a series of "hmm" sounds, speaking in their language. This went on for what felt like ten minutes while he remained squatting.
"This is Baba Gundu's son, Jibril," Goji said with a huge smile spread across her damned face.
"Hello," I waved, catching his attention, only to recognize those big, brown eyes.
He's the one who dragged me out of the van yesterday, the one who called me beautiful.
"Actually, my father wants to speak with Lolo if she's done with breakfast."
Again with thid "Lolo." That's not my name.
"Go with him, my dear," Mum said, placing her hand on my lap and giving me a quick unnoticble squeeze. Was this a signal? Was she trying to tell me something?
"Okay," I agreed, deciding to trust her and this strange situation.
Everyone was acting as if everything was fine, like I hadn't been kidnapped, drugged, and dragged out of a van like livestock.
As we walked along the pathway, I noticed more houses with people going about their everyday lives. I followed behind Jibril, staring at his broad shoulders, his big brown eyes, and bushy eyebrows. He didn't look like the rest of the villagers. He was even fair in complexion, with tiny freckles.
"I know you," I said, walking behind him.
"Yes, my name is Jibril. It's nice to meet you, Lolo."
"No, I mean, this isn't the first time I'm meeting you. Yesterday, by the van, you bumped my head against the door.
You called me beautiful!"
He quickened his pace, ignoring me.
"Hey, I'm talking to you! And don't call me Lolo—that's not my name."
"You'd prefer I call you beautiful?
Okay, beautiful" he flashed a smirk my way away.
Is he flirting with me?