Page 17 of All He Sees
She wondered if there was any way to survive the terrible fate she was probably meant to suffer.
She’d done everything she could. She’d prayed. She’d been loyal…
So why was this happening to her now?
What had she done to deserve it?
And the more she thought about it, the more she found herself wishing that she could forget.
Everything.
As she sat, waiting to see what happened, she wished that she could forget. That she could just lose herself in this oblivion, blissful and unaware of what was happening to her. That she could forget it all.
As she sat there, curled up, cradling her head, she wished that she could forget her name. She wished she could forget her life. She wished she could close her eyes, and simply shut out the world.
Maybe she deserved to suffer. Maybe she deserved this. Maybe she deserved to be locked in a tiny, dark box and thrown into the sea. Maybe it was punishment for all the bad things she’d done. Maybe she'd been a bad person in a past life and was paying for it now.
Maybe she’d done something wrong. Maybe if she just told herself that she deserved this, maybe it would make it easier to take.
Then, she sat in the tiny, dark box, the vague awareness of her surroundings fading from her mind, and in one last desperate attempt to escape the reality that surrounded her, she closed her eyes and wished herself away.
As she sat, breathing hard, she thought about all the good things in her life. She thought about how lucky she’d been to be born, to have friends and a home, to have her sister. She thought about the friends she’d made in the short time she’d had a life.
Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. It seemed like hours. Mira didn't know how long she sat there, curled into the corner, crying and whimpering. She didn't know how long they drove. She didn't know how long she sat there, feeling the box shake from the movements of the vehicle.
She was afraid. She was terrified. She had no idea what was going on. She had no idea why she was here. But she knew that whoever was responsible for this would get away with it.
Mira trembled and thought about her mother back home in Florida. If Mira had known she would be kidnapped, she would have told her mother she loved her one last time. She would have told her little sister, June, not to wait up.
And if there was another life after this, if there were some kind of heaven or hell, she would have told her mother, and her sister, and her cat, and her friends, that she loved them.
She missed her family terribly. She missed her grandparents, her cousins, and her friends. She'd never see any of them again.
She had been taken, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Mira tried to control her quivering, but she could feel her body shaking. She tried to hold still, but she could feel her thighs trembling. She tried to calm down, but she could feel herself shaking and sobbing and shivering.
Suddenly, the box jolted to a halt. Mira stopped and lifted her head. She heard men's voices on the other side.
They were coming.
This was it. They were going to kill her--she was sure of it. All Mira could do was hold herself and pray.
Then, all at once, a blinding light took over. Mira's eyes were pierced by it, and it hurt to see as they adjusted to the forceful brightness. Suddenly, the inside of the box felt like the safest place to be.
Men with guns looked in on her. "Come on, get out, let's go!" one of them shouted.
Mira didn't move. She was paralyzed with fear. Her body was trembling, and she was curled up into the corner, trying to disappear. She was terrified of what was going to happen to her.
The man with the gun shook the box. "Come on, shit! Let's go!"
Mira looked at the man, and then looked at the end of the box. Men with guns were waiting for her. Her heart was racing. She didn't know what was going to happen. She was terrified. The men were yelling at her to hurry.
Mira looked up, dazed and confused. One of the men gestured towards her with the barrel of his gun, "Get out, I said!"
She had no choice.
She slid out of the box, and suddenly felt the sun on her face.
