Set Me Free

"...there were really four men."

'My mother... she is beautiful, softened at the edges and tempered with a spine of steel. I want to grow old and be like her.'

My body feels heavy, my eyelids glued shut. I cannot move, cannot fully awake. All I can do is lie here, the sounds of beeping being the only thing I hear.

I'm aware of what I am lying on, the soft mattress below me being a welcome relief. After weeks of sleeping on the cold hard floor, it felt nice to lie on something softer. I feel someone gripping my hand and I know in an instant that it's my mother. Her hands have always felt so soft, so warm, but they had never until now felt so life affirming.

I was still here, I was still alive. Despite it all, I had survived. Just when I was at the brink of losing all hope, I had been saved. For a moment, I didn't think I would live to be in this moment, to feel my mother holding my hand, to know that I'll see her again.

Tears spring to my eyes in relief, relief that I was here.

Daniel.

I don't know if he made it, I don't know where he is now. I hope with everything in me that he escaped, that he was now free to live the life I knew he deserves. I may never see him again and that was okay, if I never saw him that meant that he made it, that he was free. That he survived too.

My eyes slowly start to peel away, my body starts to loosen. I know that I am slowly gaining consciousness and along with it comes the pain. I'm suddenly aware of the the throbbing cuts I have on my body, the bruises that have surely formed. All little reminders of the ordeal I had suffered through, all little reminders that I escaped.

I open my eyes to a bright white ceiling and to the smell of strong disinfectant. I know instantly that I'm in a hospital.

"Mum," I croak out, my throats feeling rough and dry. Her head springs up suddenly from where she was laying it on my bed, probably in a poor attempt to get some sleep.

I had never been so happy to see my mum in my whole life.

"Izzy," she croaks out, using the nickname she had been using since I was a child. I had always hated that nickname, preferring when people called me Lizzie or Beth. Now the sound of that name was the greatest thing I had ever heard.

"Mummy," I cry as she pulls me in for a hug. For a second, I wince in pain at the sudden action, but I soon forget the pain as I hug my mother back. To be wrapped in her arms felt like home, I was safe.

"Oh hunny, I've been so worried," she gushes as she gently pulls away, "the thought of what could have happened to you, of what you were suffering through killed me. I'm so sorry Izzy, I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe," she cries. I simply look at her like she was crazy.

"Mum look at me, this wasn't your fault," I assure her, "there was nothing you could have done, no way that you could have known. What happened to me was their fault, it was my kidnappers, it wasn't yours." She smiles gently at me as she strokes my face, wiping away the tears that fall like she's done before over the years. My mother has always been my rock, my saviour, today is no different.

"You're father is in custody," she tells me. I gape in shock. My father had been arrested? "He gave himself up as soon as he saw that tape, he's been helping the police throughout their investigation. If I wasn't so goddam furious with him for putting you in this situation, I might just be grateful to him. It's because of him that they found you."

I can't quite believe what she's telling me. The whole time I was been held captive, I thought of my father as the selfish man I had been lead to believe he was. He had put his needs before mine and put me in a life or death situation. But now, I was alive because of him. He had put my life before his and helped rescue me.

"Will they convict him?" I ask.

"Most likely yes, however due to his cooperation and his help in the investigation, they believe he'll get a reduced sentence," my mother answers for me.

I felt oddly relieved at the idea of my father not spending the rest of his life in prison. I spent a lot of my time there wishing for my father to pay for the pain he had put me through, now that it was really happening, I wished that it wouldn't. I knew what it was like to be held against your will, I didn't wish that for my father, no matter how much he deserved it.

"But be honest with me sweetheart, are you okay? I mean really okay?" She asks. My mother had always been like a human lie detector, always knowing the instant that I was lying. It was like she could see right through me without me even saying a word.

"I think so, at least I will be. It's over now, I'm free and the men responsible are where they belong behind bars. I'll sleep easier knowing that that's true," I assure her. I'll also sleep easier knowing that Daniel is safe.

"Have you heard anything about the arrest?" I ask her, desperately needing to know how many men they had in custody.

"Not much darling I'm afraid, all I know is that they have three men in custody, the three men that they had found with you in that warehouse."

I sigh in relief. They only have my kidnappers, Daniel must have got away.

"There's something you're not telling me," my mother states, once again being able to read my mind, "what is it?" She asks.

I look at my mother and debate telling her the truth. I give in, knowing that she'll somehow found out anyway even if I don't tell her.

"If I tell you something, do you promise me not to tell anyone. Not dad, not the police, no one?" I ask for her word. My mother has never betrayed my trust before, I know that she won't now.

"I promise."

I sigh, "okay, you see the thing is... there were really four men."