THREE
LIBERTY AND A’SHAI BECAME INSEPARABLE. SHE DISTRACTED him from his duties as an up-and-coming rebel because he wanted to spend all of his days with her. They never spoke about the raid of her village, but just looking Liberty in the eyes made A’shai realize how wrong the rebel campaign truly was. If girls like Liberty were hurt in the process then A’shai wanted no part of it. He was smitten by her infectious laugh. Taken aback by her flawless skin. Enthralled by her remarkably kind heart. They were best friends, and as each day passed she opened up to him more and more.
Ezekiel was pleased with the way his son had cracked Liberty’s hard exterior and as he watched the two playing behind his home he cleared his throat, announcing his presence.
Liberty stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes grew large. She was terrified of Ezekiel, and she avoided him whenever she could. She had seen him carry out the most lethal of threats and although they had not interacted much, he intimidated her.
“Shai, we need wood. Stop all this playing and go retrieve a few bundles,” Ezekiel stated sternly.
A’shai nodded and tapped Liberty’s arm. “Come on, let’s go!” he shouted.
“Go alone. She has chores to do,” Ezekiel said.
“But I’m going to need help carrying . . .”
Before A’shai could get the sentence out of his mouth Ezekiel shot him a cold stare that silenced him instantly.
“Go get the wood,” Ezekiel demanded. He walked over to Liberty and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder and then led her back into the hut.
Liberty craned her neck as she watched A’shai kick a rock in frustration as he headed out to the woods. She wanted to call out to him or to even run after him, but the hold Ezekiel had on her fragile neck was so strong that she was afraid he might snap it if she disobeyed.
Ezekiel had waited long enough for Liberty to become accustomed to her new life. He hadn’t needed her to cook or to clean or to wash or to sweep. She was one of the spoils of war, a sexual conquest. She was too beautiful to kill like the others of her village. He wanted her, and as he closed the door, he unbuckled his army fatigue pants as his manhood grew in sickening anticipation. Ezekiel approached Liberty. Shirtless, his hairy chest trapped the scent of his funk as he grabbed her wrists and pulled her down onto the floor forcefully.
His hands roamed her body, and she pushed them off repeatedly. “No, stop,” she cried as his fingers penetrated her, hurting the space between her legs. “Stop!” she screamed.
A’shai got halfway into the woods when he realized that he had forgotten to take an axe. Knowing that this was going to set him back and keep him away from Liberty even longer he took off as his youthful speed brought him back to the village in less than ten minutes. A’shai trudged to the back of the hut to retrieve his axe when Liberty’s shrill screams cut through the air and pierced his young heart. A’shai ran into the house and when he saw his father struggling to subdue Liberty on the ground he snapped. He had seen his father do horrendous acts, but the sight before him made his stomach hollow in utter disappointment.
“Get off her!” A’shai barked as he lunged at his father’s back, swinging with all the might that he could muster. His fists did not faze Ezekiel, they only incited his anger. Ezekiel stood, sweating and heaving like a crazed bull.
Liberty’s eyes met A’shai’s as she wiped the blood from her nose. Like a deer in headlights, A’shai froze as Ezekiel approached him menacingly. A’shai stood his ground as he looked his father in the eyes. Inside he was fearful because he knew that the conflict to come was an unmatched and unfair bout, but he still stood tall, firm, his fists balled as he prepared to defend Liberty.
Ezekiel didn’t say one word as he loomed over A’shai. Without warning he issued a blow to A’shai’s chest that sent him flying backwards into the door. His twelve-year-old chest caved in, making it hard for him to breathe and causing stinging tears of shock to accumulate in his eyes.
“Shai!” Liberty called out.
“You want to be a man?! You want to barge in here like you are a man?!” Ezekiel shouted as he looked down on his son. “She is a whore! A Liberian whore! That is what she is here for!”
Ezekiel was enraged that his son had the gumption to go against the grain, and he was determined to beat him into submission. If A’shai was willing to buck against him over Liberty, he would eventually buck against the rebels in an attempt to have his own mind. Ezekiel was determined to teach A’shai a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.
“Stand up!” Ezekiel demanded with fiery anger burning in his menacing eyes.
A’shai staggered to his feet while Liberty looked on fearfully. As soon as A’shai planted both feet on the ground, Ezekiel leveled him once again . . . hitting his son so hard that it felt as if A’shai’s chest cavity had been broken. Tears threatened to spill, but A’shai refused to cry, especially in front of Liberty.
“Stand up!” Ezekiel yelled.
Panting on the floor, A’shai knew that he could not take much more of this. He glanced at Liberty who was crying and staring at him with worry in her eyes. He couldn’t let his father hurt Liberty. It was in that moment that he knew he had to make a choice between his father, a man who he had admired all his life, or Liberty, a girl he barely knew.
“I’m sorry,” A’shai whispered. Ezekiel smiled wickedly as he watched his son concede defeat. He turned to finish what he had started with Liberty but he didn’t take two steps in her direction before he felt the sharp blade of the axe split his back wide open. A’shai wasn’t apologizing for defending Liberty. He was apologizing for stabbing his own father in the back—literally. Ezekiel fell to his knees as he tried to reach behind him to remove the blade, but his arms were too short.
“Come on!” A’shai yelled as he grabbed Liberty’s hand before running out of the hut. They could hear Ezekiel’s screams as they darted through the village. A’shai knew that his father wasn’t dead and if he caught them there would be hell to pay. The beating would be so severe that it would be worse than death. They both understood this and it was that fear that caused their legs to keep flying as their hearts pumped furiously. They didn’t stop until they were on the outskirts of the village and Liberty could no longer keep up with A’shai’s pace. Out of breath, she called out, “Shai wait!”
His momentum slowed as he looked back. He stopped completely when he saw her panting from exhaustion.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head. “No, no . . . you came in before he could. Where are we going?” she asked. They had no food, no money, and no direction but the one thing that they did have was each other and for A’shai that was enough. He had no idea where they were headed but he wanted to seem like a man . . . like he knew exactly where to lead her. He wanted her to feel as if she could depend on him. So even though he had no plan and felt just as lost as Liberty, he grabbed her hand and asked, “Do you trust me?”
She hesitated before answering, but she knew that A’shai was all she had left and after what he had done for her today she couldn’t say no. Nodding her head yes she replied, “I trust you.”
They interlocked pinkies, sealing their faith in one another and took off in the opposite direction of what was once home.
They ran for hours, until the soles of their feet were so tender that they ached. As the leader of the rebels, Ezekiel was too powerful not to fear. His reach was long and if they stopped moving, undoubtedly they would be caught.
“Shai, I cannot run anymore. I’m tired and I’m hungry,” Liberty said as she nursed the cramp that had been building in her stomach.
Breathing heavily, A’shai looked at her. He could see her distress. They had traveled two towns over but were not far enough to feel safe. Traveling by foot would only be delaying their inevitable capture. They needed a ride and as A’shai looked around he formulated a plan in his head. The busy capital of Freetown was bustling with traffic, allowing A’shai and Liberty to go unnoticed. Noticing a man leave his car unattended, A’shai grabbed Liberty’s hand and ran to the back of the vehicle. Lifting the tarp he ushered her quickly inside before climbing in behind her.
“Where are we going?” she whispered.
“Wherever he takes us,” A’shai replied as he wrapped one arm around her shoulder while holding onto the side of the Jeep. They heard the car start and the relief that filled them made them optimistic, feeling as though they were home free.
As soon as the car stopped moving A’shai and Liberty hopped from the back and took off. They didn’t know where they were, but as long as they were far from Ezekiel they no longer cared. The smell of salt water filled the air as Liberty stared out at the single ship that was docked in the port. She was amazed at the sight. She had never seen so much water in her life. As she held onto A’shai’s hand she wondered how so much water could be in one place when it was so scarce in her old village.
“I’m going to get you some food,” A’shai said. “Stay here.”
“No I want to come with you,” Liberty said. A’shai was all she had left and despite how they had been brought together, she never wanted to be torn apart from him. He was the only friend she had and the only person who had ever made her heart’s pace pick up. The puppy love she had for him was one of loyalty and protection. He made her feel safe, and she trusted him without limits. They noticed a metal crate that sat open on the port that contained imported vegetables. Knowing that he didn’t have much time, A’shai ran over to the shipping crate to steal a snack. He lifted his foot and kicked through one of the wooden containers, causing tomatoes to spill out onto the crate floor.
“Hurry, Shai,” Liberty whispered as she shuffled her feet nervously.
“Here, wrap these in the bottom of your dress,” he instructed. He handed her five large tomatoes and then stuffed as many as he could into his own loose pockets. They were both running on empty and just the sight of the ripened fruit made their mouths water. Something as simple as a tomato was like a luxury dish for them. It was what the wealthy people in Sierra Leone had access to.
It looks so good, Liberty thought. She could hardly wait to bite into it.
She was jarred from her thoughts when a firm hand grasped her shoulder.
“What are you two doing in here? You little port thieves!” a man yelled as he turned Liberty around forcefully, causing the tomatoes to fall out of the folds of her thin fabric dress.
A’shai immediately sprang into action. “Let her go,” he yelled, trying to force bass into his voice.
“You’re not supposed to be here. You’re . . .” before the man could finish his sentence A’shai had kicked the man square between his legs, causing him to double over in pain. Without needing instruction, A’shai and Liberty took off, running to the other side of the port.
“You see those kids?” A’shai asked as he looked in the near distance.
“Yeah!” Liberty shouted.
“Run to them . . . go . . . we can blend in with them,” A’shai shouted. He turned his head to look back at the man who had given chase and as he turned back around he collided head first into a woman, the impact sending him to the ground. He looked up into the eyes of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Like a model on a TV screen, her blue eyes made her angelic and he was momentarily star struck by her magnificence.
Liberty stopped running and looked behind her. The man was coming up on them fast.
“Stop them . . . stop them!” he shouted as A’shai scrambled to his feet and grabbed Liberty’s hand as he looked around desperately for a way out.
“It’s okay,” the white woman said as she put her hands up. “Everything will be fine.”
The man came running up, breathing hard as he finally caught up to them. “These two . . . stealing . . . stealing fruit . . .” He was so exhausted from the chase that he could barely get the sentence out. He put both hands on his knees as he sucked in air.
“He’s lying!” A’shai shouted back defensively.
“It’s okay. They’re with me. They just got lost,” the white woman insisted as she looked the two kids up and down. She pulled out money from her pocketbook and handed it to the man. “This should square things, right?” she asked.
The man grumbled something underneath his breath, snatched the money, and then walked away.
Confused and skeptical, A’shai looked at the woman as he stood in front of Liberty.
“Is this your sister?” the woman asked.
“She’s my wife,” A’shai stated proudly as he stuck out his chest all the while still shielding Liberty.
“Ohh,” the woman responded with a slight chuckle, slightly caught off guard by his mature response. “Well I’m Ms. Beth, and your names are?”
“I’m A’shai, and she’s Liberty,” he responded.
“It’s very nice to meet you both. You have a very pretty wife, A’shai,” Ms. Beth responded.
A’shai nodded his head, his lip curled from mistrust as he eyed the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, Ms. Beth.
“Where are your parents?” Ms. Beth asked.
“They’re around here somewhere,” A’shai acted as though he was searching for them. “They’re probably looking for us right now. We better get going.”
Ms. Beth stopped them and said, “If you need some food . . . you know while you wait for your parents . . . I can help.”
A’shai shook his head and replied, “We’re fine. I told you our parents are coming soon.”
Liberty tugged at his arm while whispering, “Come on, Shai. I’m hungry. Let’s just eat something. She said she can help us.”
Knowing that Liberty was running on an empty stomach put A’shai’s back against the wall. He knew that they had drawn too much attention to themselves and he wanted nothing more than to keep moving, but he could withstand the hunger . . . however, he would never expect Liberty to.
“Okay,” A’shai said.
Following Ms. Beth towards the crowd of children that were assembled in a single file, A’shai looked up at the large steel cargo boat. Graffiti decorated the side of it. The word . . . MURDERVILLE . . . had been tagged in black and red. Had A’shai been able to read maybe he would have understood where his feelings of apprehension were coming from. The boat’s ominous moniker gave off all the signs, ringing a silent warning to the children standing in line waiting to board it. It was the worst decision that the two would ever make, and it was the ill-fated day that changed their lives forever.