Page 6 of Truly, Madly, Deeply
Annalee took the child’s hand and at the same time, the girl looked up. Her eyes welled with fresh tears and then she did something Annalee hadn’t expected.
The girl smiled.
“It’s okay.” Annalee figured the child didn’t speak English. But she had to try. The girl clung to Annalee’s hand. As if her life depended on it.
The group hurried down the street with Niran in the lead. Even still Annalee wasn’t sure what would happen once they reached Niran’s van. Would the child really go with them? She was young and thin and scared, but she didn’t know them. Annalee and her family were clearly not from Thailand, and Niran was a complete stranger.
Still, the child didn’t hesitate.
Niran helped her into the van and forty minutes later they drove through a set of double gates to a sprawling compound. Part of that time, Niran talked on the phone, no doubt preparing his team for the arrival of the girl. Behind the chain link and razor wire was a large whitebrick building. The place wasn’t glamorous but clearly this was the safe house. More like a safe hotel. They parked and a woman met them as they got out of the van.
“That’s Som, his wife,” Annalee’s father explained to the others.
The woman took the girl and gave Annalee’s group a traditional greeting. Hands together and a slight bow. As she left with the child, Niran turned to them. “She looks forward to meeting you later.”
They walked toward the front door. Annalee still couldn’t believe it. “How… old is she?”
Niran gritted his teeth. “Eight years.”
Like someone had kicked her in the gut, Annalee reeled toward her mother. The child was barely more than a baby. How could this happen? She stole a look at Tommy.
His eyes flashed with rage. “Mr. Niran… can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.” Niran’s eyes were teary.
“Where were the police?” Tommy clenched his jaw. “If we could see those girls so easily, why couldn’t they? Someone in authority should be rescuing these kids.”
Annalee agreed, of course. They all did. Ending the problem of sex trafficking in Phuket seemed simple enough. Arrest the guys with the children, lock them up and throw away the key. That would stop traffickers from thinking they could steal boys and girls and sell them on Bangla Road.
Niran shook his head. “They are smart, these men.”He looked disgusted. “They say they are Grandpa or Uncle. The kids usually agree.”
“Why?” The question was out before Annalee could stop herself. “Don’t they want to be rescued?”
“It’s complicated.” Niran crossed his arms. “Traffickers confuse the brains of these children. They threaten to kill their parents or families. It’s very precise how they treat their victims, like a science. Captors know how to keep their slaves.”
“Of course, it’s not just here.” Annalee’s father looked at each of them. “The United States has the same thing. Even Indianapolis. It’s just harder to see.”
Niran nodded. “I’m afraid so.” He looked toward the front door of the safe house. “We cannot help every child. But today, we thank God for saving that little one.”
Yes,Annalee thought. She closed her eyes for a few seconds.Lord, restore this child of Yours. Give her new life here. And help Niran and his wife save more boys and girls.
And suddenly she had a glimpse of the future. She could see herself working with rescued girls, giving them a safe place to live and heal, saving them from their wretched existence. Right in her own city.
In the vision she didn’t see only herself working with broken children. She saw someone else. But his face wasn’t that of a stranger. It was the face of the only boy she had ever loved.
Tommy Baxter.
3
Basketball practice let out early that September afternoon, and Tommy was thankful. He had agreed to take Annalee to a doctor’s appointment, a checkup. Just to see why she was still tired. Everyone figured she had mononucleosis. Something she might have gotten when they were traveling, and the virus was still lingering.
Her parents were out of town so today it would be just the two of them.
Routine,he told himself.No big deal.
They were a month into their senior year at Northside and all of life lay stretched ahead of them. Today wasn’t going to change that. She’d get the official diagnosis for mono, follow the doctor’s orders and get better. After talking to God about Annalee, Tommy had a sense everything would be okay. Annalee wasn’t dealing with anything serious.
She couldn’t be.
