Stargirl of the Edge

Ch 38 - Nightmare

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Sister Esther, the spirited, red-haired Irish nun who was my class teacher at Our Lady's Primary School, Stockport (1964-1969). Olivia says: "My dearest older sister Esther, I beg of you, please..." When Sister Esther was asking us children to be punctual or do our homework or be well behaved she always used the phrase: "I beg of you!"

Summary: Olivia and her mother had been waiting patienty for Dennis to return home from his final business trip abroad. Unexpectedly he had had to make one extra four week trip in order to complete the project he had been working on. Only Olivia's mum knows the real destination, an unnamed dangerous country. Olivia thinks he has been visiting China. He is due to arrive back at Manchester Airport on the evening of the fifth of June. Unfortunately there is bad news.

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“Livvy, something has happened to your father. Oh my God I can’t believe this is happening!”

“What is it, Mum?”

“He was on his way to the airport, all booked and ready to depart, but then the car was stopped on a road by a group of armed men. They forced him into another car. It looks like he’s been kidnapped.”

To Olivia the word ‘kidnapped’ felt like being stabbed with a dagger. Liz quickly drove onto the lane, and headed back to the house as fast as she could.

“Kidnapped? What? What are you talking about?”

“Yes, they had guns. The driver was injured. Then they took your dad.”

“What? Kidnapped? In China?”

“Oh Livvy, sorry darling, my mind’s in a spin. That’s what I’ve wanted to tell you for months. He hasn’t been going to Shanghai, or China.”

“What do you mean?”

“There, look in the glove box, there’s a piece of paper, in the brown envelope. I was hiding it from you.”

It was the booking confirmation for his flights. Olivia picked it up and when she read the final destination, a look of horror came over her face.

“There? But that’s where all the trouble is, the fighting, the bombs… it was on the television again the other night. Why did he go there?”

Liz drove up the drive, parked the jeep at an angle, quickly got out and went in the back door. Olivia jumped out and followed her in.

“Oh, I see now, it’s for the money isn’t it? That’s what it said on that TV programme, people go there because they can earn a lot of money in a short time. Because it’s dangerous, oh, I understand now,” she said, bitterly.

Olivia screwed up the booking confirmation into a ball and threw it onto the floor.

“Well that’s just typical of Chinese people, isn’t it? Always doing things for the money, always trying to earn more money and more money, and it doesn’t matter how they earn it, or how it affects their families, or how many hours they work, just money, money, money, that’s all they’re interested in.  And now look what’s happened!”

“Livvy, that’s not the reason why…”

“You know, sometimes I just think I’d prefer it if we lived in a tiny house somewhere and were poor, at least we’d all be together.”

“Livvy, listen to me, he didn’t go there for the money.”

Olivia looked up, not wishing to hear what her mother wanted to tell her.

“Livvy, he’s working on an international aid project.  He’s helping to install a new water distribution system. He’s the lead engineer. He’s gone there to help the people who don’t have a water supply. He’s doing it for free. In fact, from what John told me, he might even be making a loss.”