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“I have to change,” she suddenly announced, and not for the first time.
I opened my eyes and saw her looking at me. “What do you have to change?” I whispered back.
“I have to change.”
She looked so sad and earnest. I wanted to help her, but I didn’t know what she needed. Then her eyes closed. It appeared it was the end of the conversation.
I closed my eyes and tried to will myself to sleep. I would survive longer if I could ignore everything around me. Yet sleep remained elusive, just like my wish to be free of Rich.
Even though Rich hadn’t come to see me yet, I knew it was only a matter of time. The guards made up for his absence. Every once in a while they would throw something at the cage to scare the living daylights out of us. Usually, that was just me, as Miti seemed too consumed in her own worries to notice. They would laugh raucously, slamming their hand on the table, and at one point I heard one of them fall out of their seat. I rejoiced when he fell, hoping he’d hurt himself, but the guard got right back up and continued playing cards like nothing had happened.
For the hundredth time my mind wandered to Rich and what he’d do to me. Did he actually love me? Or was he just mad that he lost a possession? What the guard said about him having his heart broken echoed through my mind. This was what Rich did to me—he made me doubt myself and feel guilty about my actions and hunger for freedom until I agreed to whatever he wanted me to do. I had many memories of him yelling at me, then changing his attitude on a dime to the sweetest person anyone could meet. Those emotional swings still made my mind whirl. I couldn’t deal with that again, and I never ever wanted to see him again.
I could feel my heart rate increasing at the thought of him touching me again. My breath was coming in short spurts, and I could feel tears forming at the edge of my eyes.
A hand crept on top of mine and squeezed. A sense of warmth and love followed, seeping into my body. I opened my eyes to see Miti looking at me, this time with clear eyes. Eyes with understanding, as if she knew what I was going through. How that was possible, I had no idea, but I would take any help I could get.
“It’s time for me to shift,” she said in a low voice.
“What do you mean?” I whispered back.
“It’s time I took some action to help Luc.”
I gasped, hope charging through me. “You remember Luc? Do you remember what happened to you?”
“I love Luc,” she said, ignoring my question.
“Yeah, he seems like a good man.”
“He loves you too.”
“What?” The word was louder than expected. One guard yelled for me to be quiet, and in a lower voice I said, “How would you know?”
“I know.”
“But how?”
“Luc is my grandson. We are connected.”
“He’s your grandson?” I repeated. She was very different from Bubbie.
Instead of answering my question, she said, “Luc is a good boy. He’s the man for you. He will take good care of you, I promise.”
I pulled my hand from hers. “You can’t promise something like that.”
“I can.”
Why was I having this conversation with someone I barely knew? I barely knew Luc too.
“Trust me,” Miti now said. “I will set us free, and you will run to find Luc.”
“You’re going to set us free?” I repeated. Maybe she was crazy. But then again, there was freedom in crazy. Especially with what was coming.And we are going to be in a world of hurt when Rich shows up.
Her hand reached up to my face and cradled my cheek. “You are safe with me. Luc is on his way, I know it.”
“How—?”
“No more questions. I must concentrate as I need all my strength. I wish I wasn’t so old. You be ready when I give the signal.”
