When Gertrude's eyes collided with that of the woman who'd just stepped into the living room, she immediately knew it was the lady she and Zipporah had spent their time and energy waiting for. Blame it on the way the ray from the sunlight rested on her face like a halo, bestowing upon her the aura of an angel. Gertrude just knew that the time had come.

Gertrude could feel an avalanche of tears erupt from somewhere within her, waiting to be revealed. She became so burdened by the weight of her sorrow that she wondered if her eyes were too narrow a channel for the weight of her emotions to be offloaded. She did not only feel the need to weep for herself and the days she'd toiled and thought of ways to get out of this place. She also felt pain for Zipporah, who had joined hands with her to have faith in this woman.

This was the person Zipporah had waited for all her life. She was that stranger she had been eager to show the way. The wrong people had just kept coming by and causing her hope to diminish as time moved. Perhaps, it had not even been her hour of help. Celine's appointed time to show up and aid did come by, but there had been no way for her to rescue the girls from their situation.

Nevertheless, the fact that her path had nearly crossed with the girls that night had been enough for Zipporah to look forward to the possibility of being vindicated. Gertrude had also helped her keep her faith alive. Together, they waited until Zipporah could no longer bear to spend another breath on this polluted part of the earth. All her days of patience had dissolved into the wind – breezes that now held remnants of her dust.

Now the woman had come.

Joy could not find a full expression in Gertrude because now that Celine was here, she would only be able to save three girls, not four. It nearly made her arrival seem pointless.

Later on, as she continued brooding on her sorrow, she felt bad for letting her thoughts veer towards ingratitude. What if Celine hadn't meant to save them? What if, like the several other visitors, she'd only sneaked and tried to open the door out of mere curiosity and thirst for gossip? Even if she'd intended in her heart to rescue them, what if she'd not cared to follow through to the end and keep to her resolve?

Celine knew Zipporah would have shed tears of appreciation if she had been present. Her years of captivity would nearly mean nothing in the sight of her savior. She would have just basked in the merits of Celine's integrity and thanked her for being the only one who'd dared to give her hope and follow through with ensuring that the hope wasn't crushed.

Thus, Gertrude tried to be grateful.

After Celine had assured the girls that she'd not come to hurt them (judging from the initial startled looks on their faces), she noticed how they, especially Gertrude, had been relaxed. The other two girls did not have readable expressions on their faces.

She moved close to them but settled on an armchair next to where they were seated. She didn't want to initiate any form of physical contact as that would likely scare them. The least they probably needed was to be touched by a stranger. David must have done a lot of touching, and only God knew how he went about that. Maybe the touches were executed violently or sexually. Either way, she didn't want to indulge her imagination in that topic.

After she settled on the chair, she watched the girls for a moment, looking for how to initiate a conversation with them. It didn't seem like they resented her presence, but they didn't seem happy to see her either.  It was only Gertrude who seemed to know that she wasn't a dangerous person. However, she didn't delight in that knowledge by showing joy. The only good thing was that she and the other girls looked curious, meaning they were interested in her at least. So she cleared her throat and tried to say something.

“Em,” she searched for words. “You girls are free from now on. David is by the gate with his mother. She's going to take him away, far away from you girls. I'll be taking you girls back to your families.”

Celine was quiet for a minute after talking. She wanted to see how the girls would take the information. She didn't have to stare for long because Gertrude let it all out. While the other girls remained quiet but showed small signs of elation and surprise on their faces, Gertrude spilled her unhappiness and frustration to the ground for whoever cared to listen.

“It was so terrible to stay here,” She burst with a sense of relief, as though she'd been itching to speak of this hellhole in the past tense. She sniffed in mucus. She could not wait to be in her parent's arms again.

“Oh dear, tell me about it,” Celine desired to hold Gertrude, rock her like a newborn till she drifted off to sleep and forgot all her pain.

She ached to watch the little girl cry that she was no longer sure if she wanted to hear all the details as she'd requested. She was unsure if Gertrude would be willing to say anything, and perhaps it was unfair to put her in a position where she had to start unpacking her trauma. However, before she could tell Gertrude not to feel pressured to talk, she'd already begun to share.

“He chooses the clothes we wear every day. He doesn't allow us to step out of this house even to see the sky. He searches our clothes every night. We don't have friends; we don't go to the salon to braid our hair on Saturdays. We don't go to school, church, or anywhere! Mr. David made and forced himself to be our friend, hair stylist, teacher, and god! He's everywhere, even inside my feelings. Sometimes, I'm too scared to think the worst of him because I fear that he would come out of nowhere, guess my thoughts and punish me for thinking them. I'm so sick of him!” She groaned.

“We were tired too,” Grace aired her feelings for the first time. Gertrude turned towards her in shock.

For the longest time, Grace, as well as Kemi, had been so subservient and excited to take on the role of David's pseudo-sister. They were always quiet, glued to the TV screen and remaining adorable little children who never brought trouble to David. So it was unbelievable to hear such a confession.

How could it be that they had been fed up? She wondered if their happiness had not been authentic after all. Perhaps, it was a coping mechanism. What if they had to keep watching TV so they wouldn't bawl their eyes out with tears when faced with their thoughts? As these questions sprung up in her mind, Gertrude realized that perhaps their conduct was an attempt in itself to relay a message.

The girls had never joined her and Zipporah in on their plan to escape and to help Celine find the right key, but they had never exposed their schemes to David either  – despite how much they seemed to reverence and obey him. Perhaps, they started to see the reality of their situation later on but didn't know how to ask for help. Thus, they had to remain happy for fear of incurring David's wrath.

Gertrude also remembered the night when Celine had tried to open the door. Before then, she could remember how Zipporah had struggled to get the girls to go to bed after switching off the television. It must have been like torture for them to be detached from the screen and exposed to the possibility of nightmares. TV was to them what knitting was to Zipporah.

“I thought Mr. David was a good person for a long time,” Grace, added. “He saved me from danger and brought me to his place to take care of them. He said that all I needed to do was be like a little sister to him. I saw it as a small thing. I wanted to do anything to show him that I was grateful to him for helping me. So I did everything he wanted and liked him for a long time, even when I saw him do bad things to Zipporah sometimes. Like locking her in a room and threatening her. I just thought he was being angry like my grandma used to be sometimes.

But he started getting more scary later. I saw how Gertrude cried on her first day in this place. I wondered why. Was Mr. David not a good person? Did he not also save her from danger like me and brought her here? Why would she not be happy to be here with us? When I thought about it more, I started getting scared little by little.

I started to see him as an angry man. He was always angry when he came to see us, especially after Gertrude joined us. He didn't read stories to us anymore. He only worried about us not escaping. I thought he was always angry because we were doing something that annoyed him. I tried to know what we were doing wrong, but there was no answer. So I thought it was Zipporah and Gertrude's fault for him always being mad until I read Kemi's note one day. She likes to write and keep her notes inside her doll because she has speech problems.

In her note, she said she would love to leave this place. She said she supported Gertrude and Zipporah's plan but couldn't let them know because she wasn't close to them and didn't know how to become their friend. She showed the note to me.”

Gertrude cooed as she heard of the revelation of what had been transpiring in the hearts of the girls. She pulled Kemi close and gave her a comforting hug. She embraced her with an intensity that was beyond the normal level. She was hugging on behalf of Zipporah as well. She began to wish she'd tried reaching out to Grace and Kemi at least a few times. It was painful that she was only getting to know how they'd always felt when it was time to leave.

Celine nodded her head in understanding. It now made sense why she'd seen the piece of paper inside the doll. Kemi hadn't penned her thoughts from a place of excitement to know where the ‘middle of nowhere’ was. Instead, she was curious and afraid. Ultimately, she'd helped to save the girls by her innocent deed.

“Thank you for writing about this place. It helped me to find you girls. You did a wonderful job,” Celine clasped her hands together in an appreciative gesture and smiled at Kemi.

Kemi cowered and leaned further against the softness of the cushions and blushed with embarrassment. She clenched her fists nervously and lowered her head.

She brought out a pen and a piece of paper and wrote for a few minutes. When she finished, she tore the paper from the page, folded it and gave it to Celine to read. Celine unrolled the paper carefully and read the words written on it.

When I wrote about that place, I was still trying to believe that Mr. David wasn't a good person. So I didn't write it out of fear. I was just thinking. I went to meet Mr. David himself to help me find the doll when I could not find it. It didn't make sense that I went to meet him. He could have read the note. But I just wanted to have my doll back. 

Kemi raised her head a little to steal a glance at Celine. She wanted to see her reaction.

“You saved everyone!” Celine's eyes were glassy with moisture. “That's all that matters, okay?” She beamed.

“You'll see your parents before the sun sets, Gertrude,” Celine declared.

It had not been long since Gertrude had wiped tears away from her face, and now her eyes pricked for a refill. She wanted to weep some more. For how long had she been here?

Perhaps a month, or two or three. She'd lost count when her hopes of seeing her parents began to wane. It had felt like a lifetime. This gory period of her life had changed so many things. She was never going to be the same. Her rosy and optimistic view of life had been rolled away and extinguished by an abysmal and grueling blanket of darkness.

The pain, a souvenir that this experience had given her, would never depart from her. The only compromise her sorrows would allow was mitigation of its harshness. But it would never vacate from her mind and soul. She would constantly wish that Zipporah had tasted liberation, even if it was just for a day.

Gertrude would now learn to love her parents more and ensure never to be alone for too long. It would take a miracle for her trauma to wear off her. She could not begin to imagine the misery she would feel in the future whenever she remembered this season.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was beginning to feel a dull ache on the side of her head from allowing her troubles to overwhelm her. So she tried to be positive. And one thing she was very thankful for was the fact that this captivity had come to an end. This period was something she could now refer to as the past. Zipporah didn't have that privilege. She had to value this freedom that had finally located her.

Celine was worried about Grace and Kemi. She wondered where they would live once she got them out of here. She didn't know if they had parents or not. So she asked them.

“D-do you girls have parents, guardians, or any relatives?” Her eyes flickered between the two girls.

“Kemi's  Grandma stays in the village,” Grace shook her head solemnly as she spoke on the other girl's behalf. “She doesn't know if she's alive now. She is very sick and can't move around much. Kemi's grandma calls me Kemi her medicine and says she ake her feel better when I'm around. Now that she's not seen her for years, her sickness would have gotten worse.” She shook her head.

Celine and Gertrude heaved a heavy sigh at the same time. Gertrude patted Grace's back as she struggled to refrain from crying herself.

“What about you, Grace?” Celine asked.

“My father does not care about me. All he does is drink alcohol and shout at me for no reason. He always tells me to get out of his house, and he always curses me for coming into the world as a girl. When Mr. David took me away, I was grateful because he was very nice to me then. He was like a helper to me.

But I thought my dad would stop drinking when he realized I was not home and would try to look for me. But he never did.”

Celine shook her head in a forlorn manner and chewed on her lower lip in contamination. The situation was bad and pathetic. David had done so much damage that he had not even been wise enough to foresee when he chose to venture on this path. Of what gain was it when, in exchange for ‘atoning for his sins,’ the lives of young girls and their families were being choked by sorrow, depression, and death?

She thought of how to help the girls, and only one idea came to her mind. She wondered if her offer would be desirable to them.

“Would you like to live with me?” Celine asked Grace. “I have a four-year-old daughter. She can become your sister if you'd like to stay with me. However, if my suggestion is too traumatic for you and you don't trust that I'd give you freedom because Mr. David abused you using the same words as I, then I will understand. I can take you to a foster home where you can mix with other girls and do more fun activities.”

Grace pondered on the offer. This woman might be another kind of problematic person. She could also attempt to squelch her chance at freedom. Or perhaps, she would not. Still, any form of strictness from her might be misinterpreted on her side because of the things David had done to her and the girls.

It depended on what she wanted.

Did she want complete freedom without any form of guidance? If she wanted to smoke and Celine chastised her, would she get offended and start to think she was the same as David for displaying anger? Would she be clearheaded and mature enough to know the difference between necessary discipline and pure dictatorship? Kemi could not decide what she wanted because she was unsure about the state of her heart.  She was even surprised that her small, immature mind could conceive this weighty matter.

Celine could guess her troubles and decided to smooth the creases of her worries.

“I will discipline you when necessary, but that will be all. I won't transfer aggression on you and yell at you for no reason. You will be able to go to school, make friends, go to a salon during the weekend, and see different people. You will go to the church or the mosque if you'd like. If you develop a passion for something, I will support you every step of the way and drop you off at the training center on the days you are supposed to be present.

I will get you the materials you need. I will give you the things David denied you. My offer is for you too, Grace, until I can find your grandmother. If I find out that she's no longer alive, you will remain permanently with me.”

Celine licked her lips nervously as she watched Grace wince at the mention of her grandmother not being alive. Celine wished she did not have to be so straightforward, but it was essential in order to win the girls' trust.

“I vow to nourish your souls and not diminish their light,” She reassured them.

Grace and Kemi looked at each other and exchanged looks that held a clear meaning. Gertrude felt warmth in her heart. She was happy for the girls and grateful for Celine, who was proof that heroes did exist. Together, Grace and Kemi turned towards Celine and nodded in agreement, giving their consent.

“Thank you so much for trusting me with your lives. You won't regret it,” Celine grinned.

***

Before Celine could settle the placement of the girls, she had to deal with the matter of David's punishment with his mother. As Folake drove David home, Celine returned Gertrude to her parents as promised with the help of the event planner's directions. She left the other two girls in her spy's case. When they returned from their respective journeys, they met at David's place.

As usual, Celine sat in the passenger seat of Folake's car. Folake's eyes were red with tears. Celine felt a great sense of relief on the other hand. There was silence between them for a while. Celine didn't know the words she could say to confront David's mother; hence she watched her soberly until Folake decided she was done crying over spilled milk.

“I'm sorry once again, Celine. I got into my feelings and became selfish.”

“I understand, ma. You came around in the end, and that's all that matters. Besides, you've been so helpful from the beginning. You did your best to help David get to his senses without involving the police, but now that it has come to this,” Celine lowered her eyes and sighed. “It's quite unfortunate. Still, I understood how you felt at every stage of the process. I apologize for not showing enough empathy and understanding towards you, ma'am.”

Folake dabbed her wet cheeks with a hankey.

“I'm still hoping he doesn't have to undergo the worst punishment.”

“A life was involved, ma'am. Emotional and mental torture and the act of kidnapping were involved. These are criminal things.”

Celine breathed out in frustration and didn't even know when she uttered the words that came to her mind without filtering them. Hadn't she just apologized for not being empathetic enough?

“Do you think prison is the place for him to stay right now? If you look beyond the anger you feel, you'd realize that he needs complete rehabilitation first. Otherwise, he could go to prison, return and repeat the same thing he used to do. He might even do worse.  He needs to face his demons.”

Celine nodded in contemplation. Getting locked up in a mental hospital was just as bad as prison. Besides, he had to wrestle those voices in his head even if it cost his life. He had no choice but to heal.

“I agree with you, ma,” Celine concluded. “Let's take him to a mental hospital. I hope Barrister Yemisi can prove to the judge that David's behavior fulfills the grounds for insanity so he can be excused. Then he can go to prison after he's healed fully,” She added the last sentence as a subtle notice to Folake to prevent her from thinking that her son would be free once he was out of jail.

“You can trust her. She'd do all in her power to get David in a psychiatric hospital,” Folake let out a heavy breath. “I'd like to see those girls – including the one that died. I owe them an apology. I tried all I could to get David to change right from when he was fourteen. It pains me to see that this is the result he chose for himself.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Again, he's going to be away from me.”

“I'm so sorry. To an extent, I feel pity for him. He would have to face his demons alone, which can be a very tough battle. Still, please don't cry anymore, ma'am. David will overcome this in the end because of the labor of love that you've invested. Your affection for him will win in the end; I strongly believe so. I already did my fair share of talking to him earlier today. That was how he was able to release the girls.”

Folakemi sniffed in mucus and nodded. She wiped her tears, turned towards Celine, and cupped her chin with the tip of her fingers. She began to assess her face.

“You look lean yourself. I can't believe David locked you up without considering your daughter's wellbeing.”

“I was a tough journey ahead, so I sorted my daughter's safety before coming.”

“I'm so sorry,” Folake removed her hand from Celine's face and placed it on her hand. She squeezed her fingers gently.

“It's okay, ma,” Celine nodded and rubbed Folake's hand in return. “Let's hope that David heals for real and for good this time.”

***

Gertrude's parents were in their living room mourning the absence of their daughter as they did every day. Mrs. Okafor was clinging onto a framed photograph of her daughter's portrait. In the picture, Gertrude was in a playground, dressed in a blue smock and a white long-sleeved shirt. Her hair was styled in two parallel buns and adorned with blue ribbons. Each time Mrs. Okafor brought the frame to her face to gaze upon it, she rubbed her fingers against the photographed and wailed.

“Will I ever see your face again, my daughter? Will I get to hold you?" she sobbed as the fear of loss overwhelmed her. Then anger took prominence a few minutes later. “I pray God smites that bastard who pretended to be our benefactor. Oh, my Gertrude!” she rubbed her hand on her daughter's glowing face as she groaned. “I don't even want to know what he's doing to you. Do you even eat enough? Does he beat you till you break a bone? Has he sold you off to become a mad or a sex slave? Oh God!” her eyes lit up in trepidation. “Why? Why you? How can I save you, my precious?”

“Please, Njideka, be calm,” Mr. Okafor wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders. “Be hopeful. The same God who gave us this girl will ensure that she returns to us alive. He knows how much we suffered. He won't cause us to go through a pain that we can't bear. I know it gets tougher to be hopeful every day, but that's all we can do right now for the love of our daughter.”

“Oh!” Mrs. Okafor lamented and gave in to her sobs once more. She leaned on her husband's shoulders and grieved.

As Gertrude's father comforted his wife with his compassionate silence, he heard a sound by the door as though someone had been knocking. He ignored it, believing that the wind or some natural force had been responsible for the sound. More importantly, he did not want to remove his hand from his wife's shoulders.

However, the knock came in again; It was louder this time. There was no mistaking it.

“Someone is at the door,” Mrs. Okafor said.

Mr. Okafor gave his wife a look of uncertainty as he wondered if it was okay to leave her momentarily. She gave her approval. He rose gently and patted his wife's back.

“Who is at the door?” He asked.

There was a brief silence from the other end of the door before the visitor summoned the courage to respond. Mr. Okafor's patience was about running thin.

“Dad, it's me.”

Njideka flinched from the sofa and accidentally let go of the frame in her hand. The object landed on the ground with a dull thud. Mr. Okafor was not left out in the gripping effects of the shock. He took a few steps away from the door. The words he'd just heard felt illusionary. Had he just heard them for real, or he'd hallucinated? If this was only a dream, then his wife was a partaker of it as well. He decided to confirm.

“I-is it r-really you, Gertrude?”

“Yes, Daddy. It's me, Gertrude. What an elder sees while sitting down, the child would not be able to see, even if he climbs an iroko tree,” She added the proverb that her father was fond of saying as proof that it was she who was at the door.

Immediately, Mr. Okafor's hands began to fumble around the locks until he was able to open the door. When he did, he saw his precious daughter standing by the doorway. It was no dream. Tears gathered in his eyes.

Njideka rushed toward the door and fell to the ground. She held her daughter in her arms and allowed the tears to fall. She wanted to look at her baby so badly and assess every inch of her body, but the moisture in her orbs wouldn't give her leeway. Thus, she pulled her in for a fierce hug. No words were exchanged. The only sounds were the crying and sniffing from mother and daughter.

Njideka could not believe that her prayers had been answered. The sorrows made it impossible for her to be hopeful. Now though, the joy of having her daughter back in her life made the pain wane almost completely, like a memory from centuries ago. However, she knew she had a long way to go in helping her daughter unpack her trauma. It was no doubt that she'd been through the worst emotional pain. Her poor little daughter.

Gertrude took great comfort in her mother's arms and wept with gratitude. It was a pleasure to be home again.

While mother and daughter bonded, Mr. Okafor saw a lady walk into a black jeep parked by the gate. He stared for a moment till he realized that the woman who had just walked into the vehicle had brought his daughter home. She was her savior. His heart thumped with joy and gratitude.

However, before he could call her attention before she left his vicinity, she'd already driven out of his place.

He sighed. He hoped to meet the woman again.  She must have had her reason for not introducing herself. Thus with this understanding, Mr. Okafor said a silent prayer for her. He prayed to God to bless her tremendously. He also hoped that his path would cross with hers someday if the Lord willed.