Between Two Worlds

We walk hand in hand, through town, trying our best not to stand out. We duck into buildings and side yards doing our best to avoid soldier after soldier. All the while, I am searching for a safe place to leave Lou. I’m about to give up and just forget the food when I discover the perfect hiding place for her. We had just ducked between two buildings, to avoid some soldiers, when I spot a wooden crate. It’s not much, but maybe if she climbs inside of it... Upon walking into the backyard, I see more crates, a lot more crates. There must be twenty or thirty of them, and all of them big enough to hide a little girl. This is the perfect solution to my problem. I’ll leave her here and go buy some food, then come back and collect her. Simple. Of course, things don’t always go as planned, but my growling stomach pushes that thought out of my head.

“Lou. I need you to stay here, with these boxes.” I say.

“Why?” she asks, looking up at me.

“Hide-n-seek, remember?”

“Still? I’m tired of playing hide-n-seek. I want to play something different, now.” She whines.

What can I convince her to play that will keep her quiet and hidden at the same time?

“Can we play princesses, please?”

Princesses? That could work. “Okay. We can stop playing hide-n-seek and play princesses instead. So, here are the rules. Number one, you are a princess, and these crates are your castle.” I walk to the center of the stack and open one of the wooden crates, there are bananas inside. Opening the crate next to it, I find bananas there as well. As quickly as I can, I start unloading the bananas from one crate, into the crates next to it. “Rule number two, you must stay in your castle at all times.”

“Are there ninjas in this princess game?” Lou asks.

“Ninjas?” I stop emptying the crate to turn and look at her.

“Yeah, ninjas. They are the bad guys. They like to steal princesses and lock them up in jail.”

Huh. This might just work, after all. “Yes, there are ninjas looking for you. That’s why you have to hide in the crates, er, your castle. Remember those guys carrying the guns?”

“Yeah, they are scary looking.”

“Right. Those scary looking guys are the ninjas. They are looking for you, you must not let them find you.” I turn back to the crates and finish emptying one of them.

“What happens if they find me? Will I go to jail?”

There’s a good chance that Altair will have them kill you to punish me for leaving. I think to myself, but to Lou I say, “Yes, they will put you in jail and I won’t be able to find you. So, Rule number three, do not let the ninjas find you. And Rule number four, stay here until I come back for you. Okay? Can you handle all of those rules?”

“I think so.”

“I need you to repeat them back to me so I know that you remember them,” I say, lifting her up and placing her inside the empty crate.

“I am a princess and have to stay, here, in my castle. Don’t let the ninjas find me. And... um... I don’t remember the other rule.”

“Stay here until I come back for you. That’s really important. I need you to stay here, hidden until I come back. Okay?”

“Okay. Don’t let the ninjas find me and stay here in this box until you come back for me.”

“Close enough. Now, I’m going to stick this lid on the top of the crate, so it looks like all of the other ones. It’s going to be a little dark but there are peepholes you can look through, so don’t be scared.” I say picking up the lid and showing it to her.

“I’m not scared. I’m a princess. Princesses don’t get scared.” Lou says.

“All right. I will be back, just as quickly as I can.” I say placing the lid on the crate. I shift some of the other crates around, trying to make sure it blends in with the other ones. “Can you see me?”

“Yes, Aunty Rain. Can you see me?”

“No. You are perfectly hidden in your castle.” I assure her. “The ninjas will never find you, just remember to be quiet. And I will see you in a little while.” I say, walking off.

Now, what am I going to do with her backpack? I can’t be seen carrying two or it will look suspicious. A nearby, dead, tree looks to be the perfect place to stash the extra backpack, Lou’s pack. Once I get closer to the tree, I circle it and notice it’s hollow, with a good-sized hole in the trunk. I stash the pack inside and then throw a handful of nearby leaves and sticks onto it. I step back to make sure the hiding place isn’t too obvious. It looks like some sort of creature has made a nest in there. In reality, there’s a very good chance that some sort of creature does in fact live there. Good. Now to get something to eat.

********************************

It only takes me thirty minutes to locate a person I can trade with for food. I end up trading a silver hairbrush that I snagged from Altair’s house before I left. It only got me three days’ worth of food, but something is better than nothing, besides we should be at Mimi’s house by nightfall. I am, maybe five minutes from Lou’s hiding place when it happens. A hand reaches out, grabs my arm, and spins me around.

And then a voice speaks out that makes my blood run cold. “There you are Rayanna. I knew I would find you, eventually.” Altair says.

No! Why is he here? He wasn’t supposed to find me, yet! And then I remember the crates. The crates that I hid Lou in, they are this town’s tribute to Altair and his men. That means that Altair not only has me, but he will soon have Lou as well. And he isn’t alone, there are four, gun-toting men with him.