I search for little Haley. She's standing alone underneath a tree. Her eyes are round as marbles with confusion and fear. She doesn't know exactly what happened. I take her in my arms.
"Are you okay, baby?"
"I'm so glad you're back!" she cries, hugging me tighter. "I tried to be brave like you told me."
"I'm sure you were."
As I take her to the slave quarters because I think it's better for her to be away from the frenzied crowd, people are opening the warehouse and throwing food to the crowd. A celebration party is starting.
"Take this," Helga tells me as she hands me some fruit. "You and the little one must be hungry."
I wasn't but Haley probably was starving, so I take an apple. Handing it to Haley, she grins at Helga and me before biting into it.
"Helga," I say, smiling, "Thank you for saving my life and Miguel's."
She shakes her head. "On the contrary. Thank you for escaping and showing us we don't have to live like this."
When Haley and I make it to the slave quarters, loud sounds start blaring from the streets. Music is being played from the devices that had belonged to the Masters. Haley listens to the music with fascination, but her little face looks exhausted. I don't pay attention to the blaring songs as I put Haley to bed.
"Rest," I tell her.
"You'll be here when I wake up?" she whispers, yawning.
"Yes."
In a few seconds she's fast asleep. I watch her and smile. When the door opens, I shift my eyes to it, telling myself I don't have to be afraid anymore. It's Miguel. He sheepishly goes over to me.
"I thought you'd be here," he says quietly.
I motion for us to move to the other side of the slave quarters so we won't wake Haley. He follows me.
"Hailey needed to rest after such a crazy day," I tell him as we get to Helga's bunk and sit down.
"A very crazy day."
"Besides, I didn't feel like celebrating. I mean I'm happy that we're free but there have been so many deaths, you know?"
He nods solemnly. "Even the deaths of horrible people are sad."
"I'm exhausted and my emotions are all over the place."
"So are mine."
"There's something I don't understand," I tell him pensively.
"What is it?"
"I thought you had said that the landmines close to Paradise Village were well supervised by the Elders. Didn't they know where the mines were?"
"There was one day when the Elders were confused as to who was supposed to be supervising us, and we were left alone."
"So you changed the location of the mines?"
"Yes."
"Is this really over?" I ask him with emotion.
He puts his left arm around me in a warm hug. "Yes."
"We're really free?"
"Yes."
His mouth comes to mine. The kiss we share is unlike the other ones we had indulged in before. This one is free from any fear. We don't have to worry about getting caught or about where we're at.
We're free.
Free to enjoy the most beautiful of kisses.
The door to the slave quarters swings abruptly open, waking me up. It's dawn and I had slept next to Haley. Miguel had slept on the top bunk.
A rifle points into the room. My heart thumps as I wait to see who steps in the door.
Chapter Forty-Three
Armed people start rushing in! Haley wakes with a start. I put my arms around her, trying to protect her with my body. Miguel jumps down from the top bunk.
"Don't move," a male tells him.
Miguel raises his hands over his head. "Who are you?"
"Are you the only three here?" asks a female.
Miguel and I nod.
"Are you Frida?" she asks me.
"That's me, but who are you?"
"You must be Miguel," she says to him.
He nods.
"Everything is okay," she says to the armed people in military uniforms in the room. "Go check the town."
Once they leave, I turn to the woman. "Will you tell us who you are?"
"Felipa Estefan told us about this place. I'm still in disbelief."
"It's all true," I tell her.
"I'm Rhoda and we're here to save you," she states.
"We've saved ourselves but can we hitch a ride home?" I ask her.
"It'll be our pleasure."
Once we make it back to the United States, we're put in some dorms while our families are located. We huddle together hardly believing we're free. Miguel, Hailey, and I stick together like glue.
During meals, we are intimidated by the generous proportions of food they're giving us. The destiny-brides have trouble using utensils but then the family-wives start teaching us.
Destiny-brides.
Family-wives.
I've got to stop using those ugly terms. But like I've said before, the brainwash goes deep. The hardcore-brainwashed ones are put in another section of the dormitory since they've been freaking everyone out with their talk of how the Great Master will punish us. Rhoda tells me that they'll be treated with specialists.
"I hope they can get their minds straight," I tell her.
"I hope so too."
"They're not bad people," Miguel interjects. "Just mixed up."
"I know."
"Have you had any luck locating our families?" I ask eagerly.
"That's precisely what I needed to talk to you about," she tells me.
"What is it?" I question with a shaky voice.
"We'll have to talk in private, Frida. Come with me."
Miguel notices my consternated face and gives me a warm hug before I follow her. I walk with a heavy heart. Why does she need to see me by myself? It has to be bad news judging by her solemn face.
Is my mother dead--maybe with a broken heart over my disappearance?
I can't bear the thought.
She leads me to some kind of an office and opens the door. "Come in, Frida."
I look at her with trepidation. I don't want to step in the office to hear the bad news.
"Don't be afraid, Frida," she says soothingly. "There's someone waiting for you."
Can it be who I think it is?
I rush inside. Disappointment stabs at me because it's not my mother sitting on a chair. Nonetheless, it's someone I'm very grateful to.
"Felipa!" I cry out as I hug her. "Thank you so much!"
"I'm so happy you're safe," she gushes with tears in her eyes. "I just had to come here and see for myself."
"Thank you."
"Frida, I do have some bad news for you, though," Rhoda says solemnly.
I brace myself. My stomach is turning into a knot and my breathing is hard. "It's about my mother, isn't it?" I ask quietly.
"We weren't able to locate her."
"She's not dead, is she?"
"No," states Rhoda.
I breathe out such an air of relief that I want to lay my head on the desk in front of me.
"It's just a matter of locating her, right?" I ask, hopefully.
"Frida," interjects Felipa. "Do you remember Jason?"
"The other pilot?" I ask, confused at to the line of questioning. What does he have to do with my mother?
"Well, he felt so bad about the way he acted that he's the one who located your mom."
"He did!" I rush with excitement.
Rhoda stands up and moves to a second door in the small office. "He flew her here," she chirps opening the door.
My mother!
It's my mother rushing in the door and putting her arms around me!
"Is it really you, Frida," she keeps asking, a thick tears flooding down her face.
"It's me, Mama. It's really me."
There's not a dry eye in the room. For the first time I notice that Jason was also in the other room with my mother. He's grinning while shedding some tears at the same time.
"Thank you, Jason," I mana
ge to say between the happy sobs in my throat.
"You're very welcome," he answers with a tight throat. "I owed it to you."
It's a long, long time until we disengage. And even then, we sit very close, making sure we are touching.
My mother had aged a lot since I had last seen her. Fine lines cover her face. Her hair used to be black but is now pure white. She must've lost fifty pounds. Her face has a lost quality to it.
But she is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.
We're finally together.
Epilogue
Hailey along with everybody else from Paradise Village are where they should've been all along--with their families. The ones still deeply entrenched in the brainwash are making strides towards getting their own minds back, Rhoda is pleased to inform us.
Luckily, Miguel's family had settled in Albuquerque which is only a few hours from El Paso where I live with my mama. My mother likes Miguel very much. How can she not when I told her the whole story of our life in Paradise Village and our daring escape? Miguel and I visit each other as often as we can. He's trying to convince his family to move to El Paso. I think he's going to accomplish it. They're so grateful to have him back.
I realize that when we were about to die and I had told him I loved him I wasn't just speaking out of the tragedy of the moment.
I really do love Miguel.
He loves me too.
I still have nightmares. I don't think I'll ever be able to have a fully normal life, but I remind myself a million times over that love surrounds me.
I'm very lucky.
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