Frozen Yogurt

12. Table 19

The next day I received a call from my mother asking me to come help out at some fund raising event. When she first mentioned it I was confused, I never signed up for that. Then it all came back to me and I told her I would meet her in about an hour.

Once I arrived at their house yet again, my mother explained how the day would work and what I was expected to do. My role in all of this is to help set up all the decorations. We have organised a kids fun day in the park with various activities. I don't even know how she managed to recruit people in only one night but whatever she did worked because when I got to the park there was already a crowd gathered outside. 

I managed to get the last of the decorations and set up tables just as the first wave of people entered the gates. It brought a smile to my face to see all those kids running around and enjoying themselves without a care in the world. The one thing my mother failed to mention was the fact that this will be going on for the next three days. By the end of the day I was exhausted but we managed to accumulate at least R 27,500, only R 50,000 more to go. The next day as well as the day after my routine was pretty much the same. Wake up, set up, go home, repeat. By the end of the three days we had just enough to pay the ransom and my parents were becoming jittery. 

When our time was up, my parents received another note:

      Change of plans. Someone will be sent to pick up the cash. Meet at Bob's Diner in 2nd Avenue. 9 pm sharp. Sit at table 19. Make sure nobody follows you and we just want your other daughter. NO COPS! 

The last part really shook me up but I kept in mind that I'm doing this for Everleigh. My parents then called the police and filled them in on what was happening. When they arrived at the house they planned to fit me with a microphone so they could listen in. All the wires and things just made me even more jittery and before I knew it, it was time for me to go.

I enter the small diner and look around. It's fairly empty with one bald guy sitting in the corner half asleep snoring softly and a few other burly looking guys slowly balding. I find table 19 at the back and slide in on the one side of the booth to wait for this mystery person to show up.

The suspense is killing me even though it's only been about 5 minutes. I put my head down to try and calm my thoughts. I begin to chant in my head, everything will be okay, everything will be okay, everything will be okay. I jolt up at the sound of the tiny bell above the door signalling someone has entered the diner. My eyes dart around to see who it is and I find a guy sitting at another booth with...Everleigh?
No it can't be you're just imagining things Becca.

She manages to catch my eye and gives me a small smile.
I can't believe it's really her.
I smile back at her but as soon as another guy enters the diner my smile falters. He walks with purpose straight to where I am seated. I collect myself and straighten my posture.

He slides into the seat opposite me.
The first thing he asks me is,"Did anyone follow you?"
I shake my head and whisper a "no" under my breath.
"Show me the money", he commands gruffly trying to keep his voice low.
I slowly reached for the pocket of my jacket and pulled out the envelope containing all the money we raised as well as the hope that my sister might soon be free. I slid it towards him across the table and he opened it to make sure I wasn't playing him.

He looked up at me and I looked into his eyes. I saw nothing. He was guarded almost like there was a wall behind his eyes and there was no chance of anyone ever breaking it down. He looked away quickly almost like he has a sixth sense knowing that I was trying to read him. He signaled the guy over who was sitting with Everleigh. Now both of them sat opposite me and out of the corner of my eye I saw Everleigh turn around to face us.

"This is what's gonna happen next", he said eyes boring into mine.
"We will leave this diner without the police following us or we will come back for the both of you. You got that?"
"Yeah I got it."

I hope y'all out there heard that because I definitely don't wanna be their next victim.

The sidekick as I have now christened him, motions for Everleigh to come over. She sits down next to me and reaches for my hand underneath the table. I find hers and give it a squeeze.
Sidekick leans over and whispers something in Guy's ear and gives a slight nod to whatever Sidekick just said and then gives us one last look.
They get up from our booth and just as they're about to leave I whisper a small "thank you". This caused Guy to look back and I saw something like sympathy cross his eyes only for a second.

Everleigh and I watched their backs until they walked out the diner and into the night. Hopefully we'll never have to see them again. I slowly turned my eyes away from the door and they rested on my sister. I engulfed her with a hug and clutched her to my chest. I felt her tears as they soaked through the front of my top and then I felt my own tears start to roll down my cheeks.

I don't exactly know how long we hugged but I vaguely recall my parents bursting through the door and coming over to Everleigh and I with tears also streaming down their faces like rivers. After that everything went hazy and the last thing I remember was going to sleep content. Knowing that my sister was safe.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Song at the top was what I was listening to while writing this. 🦄