TAKEN

[20]

Mercy was awake now. I could feel the heat of her body close to mine. It didn't help that she was sobbing while I watched my mother hurriedly walk away.

Her sniffles and soft cries reached my ears and honestly, It took a lot of willpower not to join her. I didn't want to break down and wail. I just couldn't.

"I am strong, I am beautiful, I am bold, I am a success, I am blessed." I kept repeating those words that helped me throughout my captivity with Mama. It was working until my mother's words came barging into my head again. "Go back!"

Rather than keep my cool, I crumbled to the floor and did the one thing I said I wouldn't. Cry.

Scratch that, I wailed, succumbing to those suppressed emotional pain. I let its accompanying tears wash my tired face. It was blithering to think that all these while, they were not even searching for me.

I thought that my mother would have had a search party combing everywhere for her daughter. But, I thought wrong, it was only in my head, only in my ignorant mind.

That understanding hurt more than what Mama did. She was my mother for Christ's sake and her only job was to look out for me. This new revelation shattered me in pieces so I dispersed any self-control I had over my emotions and cried till I couldn't breathe.

I pounded the tiled floor with my fist and clutched my tummy as more sobs shook my entire being.

Mercy's arms around me brought a little comfort, but she was also crying with me. And you know what they say, misery always finds a companion.

"I'm sorry." She said in between sobs.

Words were lodged in my throat, I couldn't breathe enough for them to come out, so I wept more. Her hands tightened, letting me know she was still there.

"How...could...she?" The words stuttered out of my mouth. "My mother?" I couldn't comprehend it. It was way too much.

I felt her hands loosen around me and with her puffy eyes, she gazed into me. "Would you prefer they take your sisters?"

Slowly my body began to turn in her direction as if it were a slow-motion movie. When I succeeded in capturing her in my line of vision, I jammed eyes with her but she stayed focused and matched mine. "How could you say something like that?" I asked, wiping the snort off my nose with the tip of my gown.

If she was disgusted by that action, she didn't show it, instead, she let out a loud whoosh. "They took my sister too." She announced soberly.

The tables were turned by what she said. Now, It was my turn to fall into shock that left my mouth agape and my eyes bulged. Like a missile, It hit me. No, her confession punched me in the gut and a quick gasp followed immediately.

She shifted and rested her back on the iron bed frame. "Yes. They took my sister." Air passed through her flared nostrils as she sucked up as much oxygen as possible. In a quick release, it whooshed out of her mouth hurriedly.

I was gazing into her closed wet face. It was as if she was waiting for that emotion to pass before she could speak again. Sticking her hands in between her shaky knees, She glanced up at me again. "The worst part is that she died in their custody."

"What?" I shouted, flipping my entire body to face her. She nodded in affirmation. "And my mother had to give me up as well."

"No!"

I watched her shoulders slump dejectedly, few tears followed while she interlocked her fingers stiffly. The blanched skin around her knuckles stayed that way as she continued to hold her palms tightly.