A Player for A Princess

Instead, I nod quickly. “Si, SI!” I shout at him.

The man’s eyes flash and he storms toward me. I circle the table, keeping the small furniture between us.

“Abo hasi problema pa mi,” he hisses, “Ami hasi problema pa abo!”

My eyes are straining as I look to Selena. Her voice is barely audible. “He says if you make trouble for him, he’ll make trouble for you.”

Holding my hands up, palms facing him, I nod as quickly as my aching head will allow. “SI, SI!”

He stands in the house several moments longer surveying me with that evil light flashing in his black eyes. Finally, he seems satisfied and starts for the door. I move around the table, still keeping it between us in case he changes his mind before he leaves. He doesn’t, and when he’s finally gone, the room feels very quiet and empty.

The soft noise of Selena’s mom crying is the only sound apart from my panicked breathing. I look over to see Selena hugging her mother and stroking her hair. The woman clings to her daughter, and I feel my heart breaking.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, going to them.

The woman continues crying, and I sit on the cot reaching out to touch her back gently.

“I’m so sorry, Selena,” I repeat, trying to keep from crying myself. “I wanted to bathe. I was dirty.”

“We have a shower in the trees behind the toilet,” she says, her voice still trembling. “I can show it to you.”

“Who is that man? What did he do to your mother?”

She blinks down as if ashamed. “His name is Mako. He owns us.”

“Owns you?” My head involuntarily jerks back. “What does that mean? Is he your father?”

“NO!” she shouts, causing her mother to jump and whimper.

Selena speaks to her in their language, and I stand off the cot. “Let’s help her lie down.”

The girl speaks to her again, and they rise slowly off the floor. Her mother moves onto the bed and resumes her position facing the wall.

“What… happened to her?” I’m almost afraid to ask.

Selena’s voice turns cold. “A boat came.”

My heart leaps at those words. “A boat? That means—”

“The men come, and they take my mother. They take the other women.” Today there is no fear. Today she is quiet rage. “One day they will come for me.”

Now I’m the one gripping her arms. “No!”

I’m in no position to promise anything, but it’s like having Ava again. I won’t let Selena be hurt.

The little girl walks to the kitchen, and I watch as she reaches into the cabinets, taking out a bag of cornmeal. A bowl holding carrots and onions is beside that, and today she goes to the box I guessed correctly was a small refrigerator. In it is what looks like a very small piece of meat.

Looking back at the woman on the bed, my voice is quiet. “What is her name?”

My young friend looks up. “Ximena.”

I take a step forward and touch her shoulder lightly. “I’m going to get us out of here, Ximena. I don’t know how, but I won’t leave you behind.”

16

Unexpected Ally

Cal