Lie Girl

Chapter 8

Not fifty yards ahead, a market spread for blocks. Many shoppers in colorful dress strolled through the maze of stands and aisles. Girls and women in outfits similar to mine bent over the displays of fruits, vegetables, and household goods. With my face covered, I could slip in among them and disappear, unless the white car had contained my pursuers, and they were after me on foot. I couldn't know for sure, but I did know I was being chased, if not by them, by others who could pop up from anywhere. My heart pounded as I broke into a jog, my satchel swinging wildly. Recognizing my pace would attract attention, I slowed down. Be calm, Sinela.

As I walked past the bazaar's outer bins of glossy black brinjal and ruby red tomatoes, I glanced back once to see two men striding not far in back of me. I gazed only an instant, but long enough to recognize one as the bearded young guard from Sameer's compound, the one who had spotted me at the bus station. Their strides were determined.

Turning into an aisle perpendicular to the sidewalk, I slipped into a group of women inspecting the produce, talking among themselves, and haggling with the merchants. I eased behind a woman as tall as me and three times as wide. She seemed not to notice as I stayed in her shadow.

Minutes later, peeking out from behind her, I saw one of the two men, and my heart pounded.

The woman I was behind stepped toward another stand, this one canopied, with dozens of bins and every fruit imaginable, smelling of mango and strawberry especially. A young boy dashed up and took the woman's hand, urging her to see the toys. I tried to remain in her shadow, but bumped into an elderly man who growled at my carelessness.

My cover gone, I scampered deeper into the market, which quickly merged with the interior of a permanent bazaar boasting hundreds of stands and products. I scurried over to an area that sold plants, slipping between the potted trees and flowers.

Under a broadleaved tree, I stood in its shade and regained my breath. As I waited, praying I had lost my pursuers, I saw something move on the soil of the pot. It was a tiny frog. I stared into its bulging eyes and whispered for it to be quiet. As if I had alarmed it, the creature leaped toward me, landing on my clothes, then falling to the ground, where shoppers would certainly trample it to death. As I foolishly bent to pick it up, I spotted the other man who had been following me. His looked right at me, then at my bag, before locking on to me again. I dashed behind a display of dresses, hanging from racks that reached toward the ceiling.

The fabrics brushed against me as I pushed further into a forest of pink and blue. I arrived at an open space and a ladder that climbed to the dresses on top.

"Sinela!" The voice was that of the young guard. My elbows rose like wings, but flight was impossible. I must climb the ladder, hide in a haven of bright garments.

He shouted my name again, and I heard the rustle of fabric. I ascended twelve rungs and spotted him below. As he took a step up, I jumped from the ladder into the display, striking a rack and breaking it, so that all its dresses fell with me to the floor. Amid the yelling, he called out, "Sinela! Sinela!" again and again.

I threw off my blanket of dresses, tightened my grip on the satchel, and ran into the main aisle, pushing people aside like a common thief fleeing the law. As I reached the aisle's end, I slowed.

Which way?

At that instant, a man pushed through the shoppers in my path. He separated the crowd as if the bodies were clothing on a line. He stepped up to me and gripped my arm.

"No! Let me go," I cried.

The world seemed to stop. All eyes were on me. but no one came to help. Those eyes were now on my assailant's grim face and towering size. . As if on command, they turned away. I saw only a single, elderly woman looking at me with sympathy. But what could she do? My attacker twisted my arm until I gave in like a crushed soda can, crying out in pain. Without a word, he guided me from the marketplace and to a waiting car.

I was held until the guard from Sameer's house appeared and opened the car's back door, its windows darkly tinted. On the far side of the seat, his hands on his knees and leaning forward, Sameer turned his head toward me, his smile like a paper cut.

"It's good to see you, my lovely intended."

I trembled as Sameer's agent shoved me down onto the seat. I sat as still and soundless as stone.

As we drove toward Shangla, Sameer spoke soothingly. He understood my fear, but his sweet words only sharpened it. I said nothing, no longer feeling like I even had a body. I would have jumped out of the car as it sped to his residence, killing myself gladly. When my right hand nudged the door handle, he whispered, "It's locked."

Within hours I was standing in the room in Sameer's house where I'd met his parents. He instructed me to sit down. A chill ran up my spine.

"What has happened to my father?" I demanded to know, sitting up straight in the high-backed chair.

"What makes you think something happened?" he asked.

"I want to see him!"

"I'll let you read," said Sameer.

"Excuse me?"

"You'll be allowed to read books. I'm not a monster, you know."

"I heard what you did to Aatif."

Sameer laughed. "Nothing happened to that boy. A little scare." I trembled, knowing this man could do such things.

"I don't believe you."

"A wife must trust her husband."

"I'm not your wife."

"I know you didn't run away on your own. Your father betrayed me."

I had avoided meeting his dark, icy gaze, but his accusation tore at my heart. Whatever Sameer was, he was not just a rich business man. If he believed my father played a part in my running away, Abba was not safe. I had put my father's life in jeopardy. If I escaped again, I would make sure it was me and me alone who bore the full responsibility. But it was not the time to expect he would give me that chance.

"Because of my love for you, I will forgive your father. But only this one time. But he can never again interfere Do you understand?"

I nodded, dead inside.

As I listened silently, he explained how everything was to be.

An hour later, he had me taken home.