By the time the sky started to darken and the stars started to twinkle, signaling the incoming nightfall, I
was jumpy and nervous. As the whole camp gathered for supper, I couldn’t help myself from biting my fingers
out of nervousness. What if someone finds us? What if we can’t find somewhere to settle down? What if they
catch us? What if we get sick? What happens then? With all my thoughts running through my mind, I was
oblivious to everything around me; I just blinked when I nearly got run over by a cart carrying soup in a pot so
large it could have fit me. ‘Oi! Watch it!’, a bald man in a tank top yellowed with sweat and his belly sagging
over his pants, yelled at me. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a strong muscular arm pulled me behind the kitchen tent,
taking me by surprise. I spun around and… Oh. It was him, my love. He gave me that heart-stopping smile I
loved so much, and then his face got serious. Turning around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, he
whispered, ‘Meet tonight at this spot, with all the things we planned before. Be quiet and try not to let anyone
know.’ I looked deep into his dark almond shaped eyes, full of concern and seriousness, maybe even a little fear,
and I nodded. I turned around to get back to the dinner crowd and find my friend; no one could know we were
close. He whispered, ‘I love you, and this will work. I promise.’ And then he was gone.
I finished dinner early, and went back to the tent I shared with a dozen girls, all in charge of carrying
water, like me. I sat on my cot and pulled out the little sack. I opened it, and checked that all the items I had
gathered for months were still there. It took a lot of planning and a lot of courage to get so far, I thought to
myself, and I wasn’t about to stop now. I remembered how when my mother was still alive, she would always
say ‘What’s stopping you? You’re such a chicken! Would you rather go try it out and see if it succeeds instead
of sitting here and making sure it definitely fails because you didn’t even try?’ I took a deep breath and pushed
my belongings back under my cot, and waited until bedtime. While all the girls in my tent, including my only
friend, Morning Glory, slowly got ready for bed and eventually fell asleep, filling the tent with the snores- the
sound of deep and content sleep. I patiently stared at the ceiling, motionless, but with my eyes wide open and
my body on full alert. I listened as the guards did their patrol, and calculated the time as the chatter got softer
and softer, until the tent no longer glowered from the fire torches they carried and all I could hear was the
rustling of leaves. Then, I slowly retrieved my sack of supplies, put on my sandals, not the worn ones, but a new
pair I had pilfered from the stock room a few months ago. I tiptoed through the tent, past the beds of snoring
girls, and with a pang, I worried about Morning Glory. Would she miss me? Would she be angry that I did not
tell her about my plans? Should I say goodbye to her? No, you remember what he told you? DON’T TELL
ANYONE. He must have repeated it to you at least a few hundred times, and yet you still don’t understand! If
you tell her, or even give her a slightest clue, she might tell on you! And then what will happen, hmm? I bet
when that happens, you will regret with every bone of your body that you were foolish enough to confide in her.
I bit my tongue, to restrain myself from spilling everything out, and peeked out of the tent. The coast looked
clear… Nobody was walking around, and the land was silent. I took a deep breath and a large leap of faith, and I
got out of my tent. And then I ran. I ran as fast as my legs could take me, until the tents and everything in the
surrounding just blended into one big blurry whirl, until my sack was beating against my back nonstop. I ran
like I was going to be beaten or beheaded or raped, which, considering the circumstances here, would not be
impossible. I ran until I reached the largest tent in the area, a white canvas tent that served as the kitchen. I tried
to hide myself in case anyone came along by pressing myself against the trunk of a huge tree that was at least a
century old. I looked around, until suddenly, a large shadow appeared on my right. I clenched my shard of metal
that I brought along for self-defense, and thankfully, it was only my love. I breathed a loud sigh of relief, which
sounded like a roar in the silent plains. He put a finger to my lips, his mouth forming the words ‘shhhh’. He took
my hand, and together, we slowly manipulated our way through the guard posts.
The guards never bothered to build a proper fence or defense barrier, because, simply, there was
nothing in the area, so even if anyone tried to escape, there was nowhere to go. At least that was what they
thought. Little did they know, that if you went out far enough, there would be a little creek on the other side of
the hill, a little paradise, ironically so close to what many would call hell. And together, my love and I, we ran.
We ran from the pain, the suffering, the grueling hard work we did not deserve, towards love and happiness. Or
at least that’s what we thought. Looking back, people are so naïve sometimes, and sometimes, hope gets the
better of us all.
* * *