Unlocking Secrets

Meeting Teigra

"Hey sweetheart, can you look up here? Just look at me. Don't pay attention to anyone else." The woman spoke softly. "We don't want to hurt you, and we don't want you to get hurt. My name's Major Alexandra Procter, but you can call me Alex. Do you mind if I come down and talk to you?"

Teigra shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know what to say. She thought for a moment and then nodded her head slowly. The 'Alex' woman seemed nice enough and Teigra was pretty scared. She just wanted to get back to her mommy. She had no idea how she got to wherever it was that she was. She had been trying to go help her mother in the demon's lair.

"Okay. I'll be right down." Alexandra replied into the microphone before walking down the stairs and around the hall corridor to the room where the young girl was. Once Alex had squatted down in front of the Teigra, because now seeing the girl up close, Alex realised how small the child was. She gave a friendly smile, "Hey. I bet you're pretty scared right now, huh? How about you tell me your name and I can help you get home?"

Teigra gave a nod, "I'm Te...I mean Naia." Her mother's words echoed in her head: 'you must never allow anyone to know your real name'. Her mother had stressed this time and time again. Teigra didn't know why it was so important, but she promised her mother that she wouldn't ever tell her name.

"Naia. That's a beautiful name." Alexandra commented "It's very nice to meet you, Naia. Do you have a last name too?"

Teigra looked down. She hadn't thought about a last name for her alias, and her mother never explicitly told her not to tell her last name, but she didn't want to take any chances. She wouldn't say a word.

"Naia, if you're scared that's okay, but I promise you can trust me." Alexandra assured "If you're not ready to say your last name that's okay. How about you tell me your age and where you're from or where you live?"

"I'm eleven. I live with my mom and my little brother in Montana." Teigra explained, her voice still soft and timid.

Alexandra nodded as she gave a smile, "Very good. Now how about you give me your mom's number so I can call her. I'm sure she's very worried about you."

Teigra shook her head, " I can't. I promised."

"Promised what, Naia?" Alexandra wondered

Teigra melted down to the floor and buried her face into her lap. All she wanted to do was go home and it was so frustrating that she couldn't.

"I want to go home." Teigra cried out through muffled tears

"And I can help you with that, Naia, but you have to help me so that I can help you." Alexandra replied

Teigra picked her head back up, "You don't understand. I don't know how I got here, and until then I can't go home."

"What are you talking about, sweetheart? Of course you can go home." Alexandra told the girl

Teigra shook her head, "No I can't."

"Well I'm sorry to say this, but you can't stay here either." Alexandra stated

"I can help you." Teigra uttered.

Alexandra looked at the young girl strangely, 'How could this little girl help her?' She thought

Teigra bit her lip and paused briefly before speaking, "I'm sorry about your baby."

Alexandra furrowed her eyebrows, "What?"

"Your baby." Teigra repeated "I'm sorry that she died."

Alexandra looked quizzically at the young girl, "How could you possibly know that? I didn't even know the gender."