Have you ever taken time to simply grieve? Amid your poisonous sentiments , make sure you don't make a mockery of the dead.
~ Celine .

Of all the things that David had planned and visualized his day to look like, waking up to the sound of his loud ringtone was certainly not on the list. Once he managed to grab his phone from the bedside table, he stepped out of his bed, put on his pajama trousers and walked to the balcony to pick his phone call.

There was no need to go that far just to pick a call since he didn't share his house with anyone. But he preferred it that way. He'd do anything to get out of his room at any given opportunity. Staying in that room for years had heightened his pain, panic attacks and nightmares.

"Yes? What is it?" David said in a raspy, sleepy voice over the phone.

"S-sir, something urgent has come up at the office!"

"And would you like to tell me what this urgent thing is, Mr. Brown?" David clenched his teeth in fury. He hated two sets of people: people who didn't get straight to the point and people who disrupted his plans for his day. This loser happened to be doing both despicable things.

"S-sir, it would be best if you come to the office to see this for yourself, sir."

"So you're going to make me rush over without telling me why? If it's not worth it, I promise to kill you," David let out a deep breath and hung up.

He slammed his fist against the wall. This was not the way he'd planned his day at all. Today made it a week since he brought Gertrude into his world. He'd already marked today out as the day to take her on a date along with the other three girls. Yes, Zipporah included. Even though she'd grown and changed so much and was no longer the sweet little girl he used to know.

The reason why he had to take Gertrude out on a sibling date was because he'd made it a tradition. Ever since that afternoon a few years ago when he learned that Zipporah couldn't identify a cow and had taken her to the farm, he'd made himself believe that the other girls he'd abduct in the future would also be like that — that they'd have a similar background story. After all, in his eyes, they were all Sindara to him.

So he took it upon himself to take them out upon abducting them. He'd take them shopping, to see the ocean, to see animals and gave them the opportunity to see several other things they wished to see or experience. And for the second part, the reason why he took the other girls along was because he could not afford to leave them behind. He trusted no one. Not even his guards. He didn't even trust the girls themselves to stay put despite how tight the security system was.

Unfortunately now, he wouldn't be able to do these things since 'something urgent has come up'. What a great day!

Fifteen minutes later, David was out of the shower and fully dressed in his usual outfit — Black suit and trousers. The only difference today was that he'd decided to wear a white shirt. Quickly, he grabbed his black hat, wore it and stepped out of the house after locking every single door.

Before leaving, he had to check on the girls to see if his pseudos were doing fine this morning. More importantly, he had to give Zipporah a warning. So he walked to the bungalow that was built right behind his house. He'd constructed the bungalow to look exactly like his family house — shabbily painted with burglary windows.

He'd even recreated the patina of decay and mounds of algae that surrounded the lower walls of his family house. This was very weird because decay was something that formulated with time and it wasn't something that people liked to see in their houses. But David had specifically hired artists to create artificial but realistic looking decay on the walls. He was very intentional about making the house look exactly like his family house.

The insides of the bungalow was even worse. The armchairs, the small-spaced living room were the same. The sofa where Sindara had slept before she started to complain of stomach ache was also replicated in this building and was even situated by the window side. It was nearly the exact version. Still, he had to modify somethings for the comfort of the girls since he was now a rich man and had only chosen to do this to satisfy his psychotic desires.

A normal human being would ask the expected question: why the heck was he doing something that crazy? Why was he recreating the house, the environment that produced great pain, suffering and trauma for him? The answer was simple. He was still very delusional and since he'd somehow managed to create pseudo versions of Sindara for himself, then he had to make it look like she was still alive by putting the girls in a similar habitation that his sister had lived in until she breathed her last.

Once he got to the doorstep, he patted Roscoe, his loyal bulldog and threw a bone at it. He had to care for this beastly bodyguard for doing an immaculate job over the years. Thanks to its jowly face and frightening barks, the girls have not dared to run away even if they tried. Quickly, he pulled out the keys and opened the door of the building.

Upon stepping in, he found the living room empty. The curtains were still drawn and one of the girls was on the sofa, covered with a blanket and snoring quite loudly. It was his newest abductee, Gertrude. The other girls must have been sleeping in their rooms and perhaps, Gertrude was not aware that she was also supposed to sleep in her room. Perhaps she knew but simply chose not to because she wasn't used to this life.

Either way, he was determined to make her get used to it provided that Zipporah doesn't get in the way. When he turned to the right, he saw her seated at the dining table as expected, knitting quietly as usual with that sly look on her face that he hated so much.

Zipporah was eighteen years old now but in David's eyes, she was still his little sister only that she was now a much naughtier version. He took off his hat and slowly walked towards the dining. Even as he stood right in front of her with his tall frame shadowing her light form, Zipporah refused to raise her head or show any signs that she acknowledged his presence. Rather, she continued to weave the needle through the wool.

David tipped her chin with the tip of his fingers and forced her to look at him.

"I want to have a word with you."

There was no response from her. David didn't force it. He simply stretched out an arm. This time, Zipporah knew better than to be unresponsive. So she defiantly took his hand and he led her outside of the building. Roscoe barked upon seeing Zipporah but stopped once it saw that David was right beside her.

"Ah!" Zipporah sniffed and breathed out as though she could smell the sky. "Feels good to be able to see the sky again after a lifetime. I feared that I was going to wilt away with no memories of what the sky looks like!" She remarked, totally ignoring the frown on David's face.

"I've told you many times that if you need to go somewhere or you need fresh air, then you will do so under my watch. I'll take you anywhere you need to go," He gritted his teeth.

"How about... taking me away from this place? For good?" She smirked.

David grabbed Zipporah by her elbow and pulled her closer.

"Look, do not poison Gertrude's mind or give her the wrong ideas. That's what I came to tell you."

"The wrong ideas? Or pure facts?" Zipporah challenged his statement.

David used his free hand and slapped Zipporah on her cheek. Her head tilted to the side immediately. Zipporah scoffed in disbelief. She hadn't seen the slap coming but once the effect of it settled in and as tears streamed down her cheeks, she wiped them off and chastised herself for not expecting him to do that.

"Stop being so damn naughty! Have you lost your marbles?"

"I don't remember having any marbles in my possession," Zipporah shrugged.

"I really hate slapping you," David sighed and began to feel sad when he saw that the cheek which he slapped had reddened. "But if you speak rudely to your big brother, then this is what you're going to get. Zipporah, why have you changed so much? I've been nothing but a good and protective brother to you over the years. How can you be so mean to me now?"

"You surely have been very protective," Zipporah said, trying her best not to fall for his emotional blackmail. "I can't even deny how much you've shielded me. You've done such a perfect job that you've even managed to protect me from my sanity and my freedom," Zipporah grinned and managed to keep her cool even though David's grip on her arm was very hurtful. "But you see, I won't let that happen to the new girl you've brought in."

"You've tried with the others two girls and you've failed. How many times do you have to get punished for being disobedient and obstinate?"

"I don't know," Zipporah simply said, swallowing thickly.

Now, she decided it would be best to slow down on her savagery and be obedient to David. Even if she intended to disobey, it was only reasonable not to mention it to him. The punishment he was talking about now was not his usual slaps or whipping. She could tolerate that. She'd already gotten used to it.

Sometimes, she even fought back even though she always regretted doing so but that was
what 'siblings' were for after all – to fight and slap each other. She could not easily forget what he'd done to her the last time she tried to help one of the girls, Kemi. It had not even been worth it because Kemi wasn't convinced by all she'd told her.

"Be careful, baby girl or your big brother will have to discipline you."

Then he released his grip on her, pushed her back into the house, locked the door and left.

***

When Gertrude woke up, she saw two girls of her age range seated on the sofa and watching a cartoon show on TV. They were laughing at intervals and seemed comfortable. At first, she wondered who they were and why they were here with her in her parents' house. Then she remembered that she wasn't home. It was debilitating to realize that she was spending another morning in this strange place. To see that she was waking up to these bland, cracked walls and gecko-infested burglaries.

It wasn't like her father's house was any better but it just felt terrible and enslaving that she had to be here and be kept here when her abductor was living in a luxurious mansion all by himself. This was a situation of her abductor's psychopathic preferences. This wasn't a poverty situation. That would have been a more convenient thing to adapt to.

Gertrude had spent the entire week crying and refusing to eat anything. No one came to save her. So now, she was just going to have to exist through it all. Not survive. Surviving required too much energy which she no longer had. Besides, there was no getting out of here. It wouldn't be difficult to stay alive in this place. Her abductor wasn't monstrous to her so far. He gave her and the other girls good food and he was always warm to her even though it didn't change the fact that she was still spooked by him.

He'd even tried to read her a bed time story when he saw her weeping during the week. So she was just going let things be. She'd eat the food he cooked for her even if it was poisoned. In fact, she'd be very lucky if that was the case. Speaking of food, Gertrude felt her stomach rumble. She was starving. Mr. David hadn't come by to cook breakfast for them and she didn't know how to cook.

What was she going to do?

When she looked towards the dining room with the hopes of finding a snack on the table, she saw the same strange lady she'd been seeing since the beginning of the week. Again, she was  knitting a purse from an orange ball of wool. She was always weaving something out of that wool and never said a word to any body. Yet, she seemed harmless because she was so beautiful and her long, golden hair was to die for.

Gertrude knew it was foolish to assume that the lady was harmless based on such shallow grounds but ignorance was bliss – whether it was unintentional or not. So she decided that she was going to approach the lady.

"Um... good morning," Gertrude greeted with a nervous smile. "I wanted to ask if you know how to cook."

For a minute, there was no response.

Then Zipporah looked up at Gertrude. Her expression was unreadable but somehow, even from those strong walls and upon how she'd managed not to let any emotion show on her face, Gertrude still felt like shit and she found herself trembling.

Then Zipporah answered her.

"Why are you asking?" She said as she resumed to her knitting as though Gertrude's face wasn't worth another second of her stare.

"Because I don't know how to cook and so far, I've only seen Mr. David cook for us so I wasn't sure."

"Fair thinking. There's bread in the kitchen. Help yourself with that."

"Well, I don't want bread. I want...real food."

Zipporah paused her knitting again and looked at Gertrude. This time, her expression was clear. She scoffed in disbelief, astounded by the little girl's audacity and glee.

"You have an appetite?"

"Why not? Am I supposed to not want food to eat?"

Zipporah's mouth formed into a thin line. The conversation wasn't going in the way she'd wanted it to go. She was desperate to spill her guts out to the girl. To tell her that this darn place was an emotionally torturous and mind-draining shithole but she could not just throw it to her like that. Especially when the girl cared to eat and have her meals prepared for her. She seemed comfortable with being here. How could Zipporah possibly try out her luck on the girl?

When Gertrude had approached her, she'd expected her to ask questions that would make her want to say everything she was desperate to talk about even though David had warned her not to say a word. The girl was supposed to be burning with questions but unfortunately, she wasn't inquisitive.

"You're quite needy for someone in this kind of situation," Zipporah said, hoping that would make the girl mad and leave her presence. But she remained there, adamant and determined.

Resigned, Zipporah dropped the wool and needle on the table. "Follow me," She stood up and led Gertrude to the kitchen.

The kitchen was well spaced and built and didn't look traditional or old fashioned like the remaining parts of the house. The flower-patterned wallpapers looked homely and the island at the center of the kitchen was built with a nice ceramic model.

Once they got to the kitchen, Zipporah began to work and started to fry eggs and slice plantain by the side. As Gertrude studied the outlook of the kitchen, she got very upset. This man really had the means to do better, give them better lives or better still, just leave them the hell alone and let them loose. But he was keeping them for what reason in particular? To get fed, look cute and be his little sister?

Everything seemed pointless. Even this light skinned lady here. Was she a watch-guard or child minder for her and the other girls or what?

"At first, I thought you just didn't like to talk but I didn't know that you also weren't a nice person," Gertrude said after a while of not speaking to her.

"I'm shocked that that's what you think of me. When was I mean to you? You were the one who walked up to me and asked for food as though you were in your father's house."

"Well, as much as I wish to be in my father's house, I'm not there. So what am I to do? I plan on existing in this place since there's no way out. For me to exist, I should eat."

"Fair thinking," Zipporah was impressed to learn that the girl wasn't happy.

Gertrude watched Zipporah pack the scrambled eggs out of the pan. Her tossing to and fro between the zinc and the gas cooker irritated Gertrude. Why did she look so...unbothered? This heightened her anger.

"Why are you even here? Are you a nanny or what?"

Zipporah chuckled. Then she dropped the plate of eggs on the island and moved closer to Gertrude. She raised the sleeves of her shirt, revealing thin, red scars all warped across her fair skin.

"Now tell me. Do nannies or people with an actual job get whipped like this?"

"N-no," Gertrude gulped, mortified by what she'd just seen. "I see that you didn't chose to be here."

"Fair thinking."

"But I still don't understand. You're not little like me and the other girls. So does he kidnap grown-up girls like you too? And also, can't you just run away? You're old enough to kill the dog outside and find your way out."

Zipporah smiled. She was glad that the conversation was finally going the way she wanted. Now she can spill out her guts.

"He doesn't kidnap grown-up girls like me. I just happened to grow up in this pathetic place. And also, running away isn't even possible. Even if the gates are wide open and I'm able to kill the bulldog, the prison in my mind won't let me loose."

"What do you mean?"

Zipporah pulled out a stool and gestured for Gertrude to take a seat. She sat on the other stool.

"I was about the same age as you when I met David. Ten or eleven thereabout. I was helpless and I'd just ran away from home. I wanted to be able to go to school and live a free life. I met David at an institution that organized competitions for young children. He was a mere worker there. The owner of the institution accepted me so I worked there too.

David had an interest in me. It was a pure one though. He didn't try to touch me in a weird way or make any moves on me. He was just attracted to me. He told me that I reminded him of his sister. He was very kind to me and protective too. Soon, I grew fond of him, enjoyed his presence a lot and started to like him in return. He was like a big brother to me.

He really wanted to take care of me and have me become a larger and more significant part of his life. When he told me this, I didn't mind at all. In fact, I liked the idea and looked forward to it. So he worked hard, became rich and took me away to live with him. And you see, ever since then, I began to wish I just stayed back in the village with my parents. At least, they allowed me to go to church and play hide and seek with the friends in my community. Now, I don't even know how to run away even if I had the chance.

This is like the weirdest experience that anyone can ever have. Unlike most abductors or male predators, David has never tried to abuse me sexually even till now. But you see, the fact that he sees me as his sister who died many years ago and expects me to behave like her is more sickening than any sickening thing you can try to imagine."

"So...how did things go? How does things work here with the 'sister' thing? What is so sicking about David wanting you to be like his sister?"

"It's sickening by the way, not sicking." Zipporah corrected the little girl. She smiled. Children always pronounced big words wrongly.

"Sickening," Gertrude repeated.

"Exactly. That was what it was. The first reason why I find it so sickening is the fact that the idea makes no sense. Why? Because I'm not her for God's sake! But do you know the saddest part about this whole thing? It's the fact that I didn't know this simple fact from the start. He got me trapped since I was a kid and at that time, I thought that being the pseudo version of his deceased sister was the easiest thing to do.

I thought that all I had to do was to be cute, adorable, be nice to him and play games all day long. Those things happened naturally since I liked David then. But when I realized that I actually had to try to be like his sister, that was when I realized what I'd just gotten myself into. I'm sure that even his real sister was not always that cute. I'm sure that the girl wanted to live her own life, make mistakes, get into trouble and learn her lessons. But David wouldn't let me do any of those.

Hell, I don't even leave this place on my own accord. If I have to leave this vicinity at all, then he has to follow me. If I need some fresh air, he has to be right by my side. He follows me to every damn place. So what's the point in even wanting to step outside? At first, I didn't have a problem with it. I enjoyed his protection because at that time, I was still scared of the outside world. I feared that my parents would find me and take me back to the village.

Until one day, when I didn't feel so scared anymore. I tried to be away from him. He'd taken me to the market to buy some dolls. So I purposely strayed off to another section of the store when he wasn't looking but I made sure I was close by so he could easily find me. When he saw me and came closer, he yelled and even slapped me for being a naughty girl. I was surprised that he slapped me.

I got angry but when he broke down into tears, my fury disappeared. It hurt to see him sad. As he wept, he started to tell me of how his sister had suffered when he left her alone. He asked me if I wanted to put him under the same torture from many years ago. I felt really bad and assured him that I didn't intend to make him relive his trauma. I apologized several times but you see, when we got home, he took me to a room and locked me up for about five days. There was no television, storybooks or anything to do to keep busy.

At first, I thought he'd done that to keep me safe probably because he was still scared and startled by the fact that I'd tried to stray away from his reach but later, I began to go crazy inside that room because my thoughts, those dark walls and the dim lighting was more torturous than a thousand horse whips put together. That was when I realized what he was trying to do.

He didn't want to punish me in the normal and obvious way. He wanted to use my guilt against me. He wanted me to realize what I'd done and become so tortured by my guilt that I'd beg for forgiveness. He released me when he felt I'd cried enough. He wanted me to visualize the way he'd lost his sister so I'd feel even more awful about myself and strive to be as obedient as ever so I wouldn't hurt him by my actions anymore. I knew this because every time he shoved my food under the door, he also dropped a handwritten letter for me to read and in those letters, he'd always describe his pain to me.

After he brought me out of that room, he stroked my hair, turned on the heater for me to have a warm bath. Then he helped me to weave my hair and served me food. He did all this for me as though nothing had happened. As though he hadn't just put me through mental torture. He even asked me if I hadn't been too bored staying in the room for five days and told me that he'd only done that to protect me and ensure that I was safe.

But as I ate my meal that day, my feelings towards David changed. There was absolutely no way he'd tried to protect me by doing something that scary and painful to me. From that day onwards, I could no longer see David as a kind big brother. That pure affection was lost. Still, I felt like I owed him something. His trauma and the story of his sister made it difficult for me to hate him. So I took it upon myself to simply do what he wanted.

I tried my best to be exactly like his little sister so he wouldn't have to break down in tears because of me. But you see, from the very day I made that decision, I lost my freedom, my joy and I lost my understanding of how simple and beautiful life was supposed to be. David demanded more and more impossible things from me. He didn't even let me go to school because he feared that I'd get hurt in his absence. He made me study at home. If I needed a home tutor, he made sure he was somewhere nearby while I got tutored.

He doesn't trust anyone. I don't even have friends. He doesn't let me eat any meal or snack that wasn't prepared by him. The same thing applies to material things. David wants to be everything I'll ever have and all that I'll ever need. I got tired of reading my school books – something I used to be passionate about doing. What was the use of it anyway since David would most definitely not let me go outside and get a job once I'm able to get a degree.

So I told him I wanted to knit. Somehow, knitting has helped to keep me afloat and not think of anything at all especially about how pathetic my life is. But you see, my point is, even if I decide to escape this place today, I will still find myself trying to look at things from David's perspective. I'll care about his feelings and think of the times when I used to like him. I'll be scared that I won't know my way around the outside world and I'll find myself running back to this place for protection.

What's the point even? Because he'll also whip the living daylights out of me for being so damn naughty. Then he'll prepare a bath for me, kiss my feet and give me a warm pot of porridge. So really though, there's no way out of here. You're trapped, physically, mentally and emotionally."

"Is that the same thing with the other girls here?" Gertrude's eyes were so solemn and her hands were shaking. "Have their minds been poisoned too?"

"I think so. But they are still young. Still, I've not been able to make them believe that David is a mad man. Because these girls, like me, came from less privileged backgrounds. The girl with the Afro, Kemi, has a drunken father who doesn't even care much for his children. He'd be thankful that someone decided to take her away and take care of her. So Kemi is certainly grateful to be under David's wings hence why, it's very hard to make her see the truth.

David nearly beat me to death and kept me in that room for fifteen days for trying to expose Kemi. He also sent the letters of course. As for the other girl, Grace is the one who has managed to succeed in being like David's sister. She even looks a lot like her than the rest of us do. I don't know her background story and I don't know why she's so obedient to David but she's also impossible to convince."

"What am I going to do now? I have parents who are good to me and love me very much but they are poor."

"Then you have hope. They could look for you and find you. Then perhaps, I'll be able to get out of here. Or maybe not. Just pray that David doesn't do anything to stop your parents from finding you because he's rich, has power and can do just what the heck he wants to do. I've overheard some of his very dangerous conversations."

"What should I do now that I know all these things."

"Truthfully, I'm not sure. One thing though. Don't tell him or make him think that I told you all these things. I don't want to go back to that room. Promise me."

"I promise," Gertrude nodded in determination.

"Hm. You could pretend to be an obedient little girl so he doesn't punish you but that won't get you anywhere in the long run. Or you could be so much of a rebel and tell him how much of a terrible person he is but he'll feel bad and want to do better. Or he'll see less and less of his sister in you and then perhaps, release you.

But I doubt he'd do that. His guilt won't even give you the chance to be happy and free because he'll feel like he's being a bad brother. Honestly, David has managed to make us, his captives as fucked up as he is. He's just as trapped by his guilt and many other things as we, his captives are.

Just pray that your parents will find you. That's the only thing I believe you can do."