We need a bit more time

Five

Cold - Jorge Mendez

She had tried everything, tried to break the locks, break down the door. She tried looking for loose stones or cracks in the walls, she pounded her fists on the walls, she screamed her lungs out. Still, no one came, and she couldn’t escape. She made a promise to him, to fight, and she did. But it had been two days and she was in bad shape now. Her lips were dry and cracked, her head hurt from hunger, and her bones ached from laying on the stone floor. When she could sleep, she found no rest, images of him being shot running like a reel in her head. She didn’t want to give up, she didn’t want to die before he saw her again. She still believed in her vision, that he would find her, and come for her. But hope was slowly slipping away with every minute that passed, replaced in turn by panic and desperation. 

She couldn’t understand why her captors had left her here to rot, and at this point welcomed any sign of life. But when a sign came, she wasn’t prepared for it.

Even before she opened her eyes, she heard the birds outside making a ruckus, and it woke her from a light sleep. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, trying to clear them. It was the third morning she had woken up in the same dirty empty room, the place she feared would be her grave. She had just mustered the strength to open her eyes and push herself to a semi sitting position when the door to the room burst open. 

Adrenaline trickled in her veins and she sat up against the wall with a burst of energy. She thought she would react with relief to anyone coming through the door, but she was wrong. When Azize Aslanbey walked in and shut the door behind her, she felt as if she had plunged into ice cold water. She was frozen in place, the feeling of dread almost halting her breath entirely.

“My men told me where they put you, but I just wanted to see you for myself. How are you doing my dear?” Azize’s beady eyes and crooked smile made a shiver run up her spine.

But she refused to show weakness. She made a promise to fight and find answers. 

My men. She was the one who ordered the attack at the hut, the one who had her kidnapped.

She steeled herself and looked directly into his grandmother’s cold eyes when she asked, “Have you no remorse? ”

“What ever for?” she said flippantly.

“You sent men to kill me, but Miran took the bullet. Your only grandson-”

“What makes you think that bullet was meant for you ?”

Her mouth parted in shock but no air entered her lungs. 

“He is no longer an obstacle in my path, and soon you won’t be either.”

Her lips trembled and her eyes watered as Azize left the way she came. The door slammed shut and locks bolted but still she couldn’t find her breath.

He is no longer an obstacle in my path.

Was he? Did she kill him?

Her lungs filled with air and exhaled wracking sobs. 

I can’t live without him. He can’t die until I see him again. I can’t live without him. 

Her mantra did little to calm her. She collapsed back onto the floor, her tears mixing with the dirt and leaving streaks on her face. 

When every last drop had left her body she passed into unconsciousness, where she felt neither sadness nor thirst.