Making Plans
Devina
Wilma had confirmed that someone was reading her letters before she sent them to me. I had her third letter in my hands and reread it.
Dear Devina,
Yes, someone is reading my letters, but it’s only Tyton. You’ll have to forgive him for being nosy. I’m afraid it runs in the family.
Do you have siblings?
Anyway, about your question. Bridal tournaments happen every time a woman turns fifteen and is ready for marriage. Mine will be on August 17th. It’s a massive event this time because it’s been three years since the last bridal tournament where Starr chose my brother Frederick.
The strongest warriors from our nation will gather to fight for me and I’ll pick from the five champions. It’s scary and exciting all at the same time.
Please tell me more about yourself. I’m so happy to have a friend in the Motherlands.
Have a great hike,
Wilma
Every time I read her letter, my frown lines grew deeper.
What hike is she referring to?I hadn’t written anything about going on a hike. Could it be a hidden plea for me to come and save her?
My eyes drifted back to another word in the letter. “Scary.” I tasted the word trying to decipher if Wilma was leaving hints for me to pick up on. Is the word hike a plea for me to come and get her because she’s scared?
It was impossible to say without asking her face to face, but one thing was for sure: with the authorities unwilling and unable to rescue Wilma, it would be up to me to do it.
That thought is ridiculous. How would I save a girl on the other side of the border?It wasn’t like I could walk over there and demand that the Nmen let her go. And besides, if I crossed the border, I could end up getting caught myself. And then what? The thought of being auctioned off in one of their tournaments made my skin crawl. Nmen were vile men who hated and abused women.
Am I willing to put myself in danger to save a girl I’ve never met?
The answer was in my chest, next to the longing for my lost family. Someone needed me. A girl the same age as my sister Hannah. I hadn’t been able to help my sisters, but maybe I could help Wilma. No one could ever replace my family, but if I helped this young girl to freedom, I wouldn’t be alone anymore. The thought was comforting and made it easier to push away my fear of all the things that could go wrong.
“Hmm,” I muttered out loud and looked down at Nellie. “We just need a good plan. Right?”
Nellie looked away. Probably because she hadn’t heard the words treat, food, or walk and therefore found the conversation irrelevant to her.
I spent my evening making long lists to get an overview of what I had to do. The first thing on my list was to make sure Wilma wouldn’t be in danger from the Triple D virus. As far as I knew, the epidemic was over, but I still called the help line to make sure.
Next, I pondered about how to pull a rescue mission off. If I were to get Wilma to safety before the warriors began fighting for her, I had to find a way to get her over or under that wall.
Or around it…
I tapped my pen on the pad and tried to remember what I knew about the beach that separated the North from us. I’d been a child when I last saw it because like the rest of the border line, it was a no man’s land with mines.
If my memory served me right, there was a fence that continued into the sea.
But only a little.
Getting up from my chair, I dropped my pen on the pad, grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table, and walked over to look out the window. It was dark outside making the window show my reflection with all the sadness and concern on my face. I let my eyes glaze over as I envisioned the eternal gratitude of Wilma when she reached safety on this side of the border.
If she’s scared of water, maybe I could swim over and guide her back here. I’m a good swimmer and it’s July; the water will be cold but not freezing.
With a sinking feeling in my chest, the one thing that I’d refused to accept all night stood out clear to me. I would have to cross the border one way or the other.
There’s no other way!
