The footsteps of the men were getting closer behind Aisha as she ran. They were also chasing her. A twelve year old could never outrun them but she had to try.
Aisha stopped in an alley and took a deep breath as gasped for air. Just when she thought she had lost the men, a black sack swallowed her from head down to her feet. She tried to fight her way out inside the sack as she was lifted from the ground but there was no possible way of coming out from the sack.
The inside of the sack had a strong smell that made Aisha dizzy till she stopped struggling and fell asleep.
The sound of the van stopping woke Aisha from her sleep. She stood up on her bare feet inside the back of the van. Her legs wobbled as she tried to stand on her feet without falling. The doors at the back of the van flew open.
One of the men grabbed Aisha's hands that were tied together with a rope and aggressively dragged her out of the van. She fell on her knees on the ground and coughed heavily because of the dust.
One of the men gestured at Aisha with a gun to get up on her feet.
Aisha quickly stood up without any remorse.
The man spoke in a foreign language which Aisha didn't really understand. The man wore a muffler round his neck and a thick brown jacket. He had a muscular built and there were scars on most parts of his face.
Aisha looked around the environment she found herself in. She thought she was in another part of the beach close to the restaurant but the absence of the sea made her realize she was way far from home. She was in the middle of nowhere in a desert.
"Where am I?" She stuttered as she asked.
None of the kidnappers answered Aisha. One of them took her to a big camp filled with tents and laborers. They were people in the camp Aisha recognized as traders who came to purchase some of the kidnapped kids.
Aisha glanced at the faces of the other kidnapped kids in the camp as she walked by with the kidnapper. Some of the kids in inside the tents looked malnourished and pale-looking. There were some young teenage girls that hid their face with their hand or a with their dress. They all wore tattered clothes. She entered a big square tent. The inside of the tent was well ventilated. She was forced to stand in front of a desk where a fat hairy man was seated. She watched him use his fingers to count a bulk of foreign currency notes.
The man stopped what he was doing and stared at Aisha. "Where did you get this pretty one from?" He asked the kidnapper in their language.
"Lagos" The kidnapper answered sharply with respect even though he had a bass voice that was more intimidating than his boss.
"Rich parents?"
"I found her roaming the street. She must be a beggar"
The fat man laughed a little and groaned as he was amazed by Aisha's beauty. A girl this young wasn't supposed to be so beautiful. "A beggar? A beggar" He shouted at the kidnapper and pointed at Aisha with his palm forward. "No, this one looks too pretty to be a beggar. She's priceless. Look at her blue eyes. Look at her brown skin. Look at her hair. She's worth more than naira and cedis. She's diamond"
Aisha tried to make out what the men were conversing about but they talked really fast in their language. The only thing she heard was pretty and too pretty. Her kidnapper untied the rope on her wrists and left her alone with the fat man inside the tent.
The fat man gazed at Aisha. He blew out smoke from his mouth and quenched his cigarette on his left palm.
Aisha stomach let out a gobbling sound not because she was hungry. She was just terrified to see someone quench his cigarette on his palm without feeling any pain.
"You want something to eat?" The man asked Aisha in a French accent.
Aisha kept quiet and looked away. Her long braided hair was still packed at the back of her hair with a rubber band.
"The other kids will do anything to have this" The man said, bringing out a small bowl of fried chips from under his desk.
"I'm not hungry" Aisha muttered rudely while looking elsewhere.
"Take it, kid. No one's going to hurt you" The man insisted.
Aisha kept silent.
The man breathed out and relaxed on his seat. "Are you ignoring me, kid?"
Aisha shook her head.
"Did your mom say you shouldn't talk to strangers 'cus I ain't a stranger"
"No, I don't just talk to strangers" Aisha grumbled rudely, interrupting the man. She hated the way man talked and his crooked yellow teeth irritated her so much she just wanted to jump on the table and punch him in his ugly ridden face.
The man smiled though he was hurt greatly inside. He tried to sound nice as he talked to Aisha. "What do you want, kid?"
"I want to go home" Aisha responded.
"Well, you're far away from home.
Everyone is a stranger here and whether you like it here or not, this is your new home" The man smiled as he said. He stretched his hand on his desk for Aisha to shake when Aisha refused he grabbed her hand forcefully.
Aisha shaked her head and began to sob. "No, I want to go home". She tried to let herself go but the man's grip on her hand was too tight. "I said I want to go home" She screamed. Her face turned red as she struggled to set herself free as she cried and threw a tantrum inside the tent.
One of the kidnappers rushed inside the tent when he heard Aisha shouting from outside.
Aisha picked a pen from the desk with her left hand and stabbed the man on the back of his hand. She stabbed the man on the back of his hand with so much force the pen broke under his desk.
The man screamed as he let Aisha go. "Take her away from here!" He shouted to the kidnapper inside the tent.
Aisha tried to run from the kidnapper but he got hold of her and grabbed her by her waist and put on his shoulder so she wouldn't run away or tear anything down inside the tent. Aisha banged the kidnapper's back with her fists angrily as she cried that she wants to go home.
"No, no!" Aisha cried as she was taken out of the tent. She wailed hopelessly on the kidnapper's shoulder like a little child. She regretted not listening to Ma Kesem or Fatima. She knew it would be pointless to run from the camp even if she tried to, there would be no place to escape to. There was no going back now.
Beanscakes
Start from the beginning
