Big Mike has to carry Sergeant Mhlongo out the following morning. He lacks the energy to walk and complains of a terrible hangover. Curiosity pushes Liyana to follow them out into the hallway and watch the sergeant get manhandled up the stairs. They collide with another man carrying a girl down the stairs. As the man approaches, Liyana recognises an unconscious Thulisiwe in his arms. Liyana follows them to one of the rooms near the end of the corridor. The man kicks the door open before he eases Thulisiwe onto the bed.
“What happened?” Liyana asks, following them in.
The man gives no response and sidesteps past Liyana without acknowledging her. She rushes to Thulisiwe side, only to find her battered and bruised. Liyana shakes her until she groans.
“I was almost …” Thulisiwe moans, “almost free.”
She falls back unconscious. Liyana releases her and backs out of the room. She knows she won’t get a logical explanation from her friend.
*****
That night, Liyana’s heart nearly leaps out of her chest when Junior steps forward to claim her from the podium. He collects the key but doesn’t speak to her until they get to the room. Once the click of the lock assures him, he turns to cup her face.
“Are you okay?” he fusses, “I am sorry I couldn’t come through yesterday, the sergeant put me on patrol duty at the last minute.”
“Sergeant Mhlongo?” Liyana asks.
“You know him?” he gasps.
“He was here yesterday, drunk as ever.” Liyana pulls away from him. “He has been talking to Aunt Dalia, who told him that I will be sold off soon.”
“Are you serious? Mhlongo is also involved in this mess?” He shakes his head. “Did he hurt you in any way?”
“No, he passed out,” she looks away in shame.
“I need to get you out of here fast,” he concludes. “We have to be sneaky about it.”
“I don’t want to die at the hands of these people.”
“The bins!” he announces, then whispers, “They will be collecting the rubbish bins tomorrow and you might be small enough to fit into one of them.”
“In a rubbish bin!” she laughs, sarcastically.
“Yes, think about it. It is a safer option than asking you to run past the guards. You will have to go in early and when they roll them out, you run to the end of the street. I will be waiting for you.”
“No, no, no.” Liyana shakes her head uncertainly.
“Yes, nobody will think to look for you in a bin,” he emphasizes. “We have to do this before they sell you off to a slum worse than this place.”
“I’m scared. You should have seen what they did to–”
“Liyana!” he snaps sharply. “Forget about anybody else. Your life is on the line.”
*****
Dalia’s call comes through just after the family finishes their dinner. It is the first meal they’ve had with Johan at the table in months. Against her better judgement, Thobile leaves the dishes in the sink and answers it.
“Have you heard from Liyana?” Dalia forces panic into her voice.
“What do you mean?” a bitter taste rises to Thobile’s mouth. “No, I have not heard from her. Her phone has been off.”
“Oh Lord! She left this morning to submit her applications to the different universities but she hasn’t come back,” Dalia explains.
“And you are only telling me about this now? Nine o’clock at night!” Thobile cannot contain her anger. “You were supposed to look out for her. Why would you let her go out on her own?”
“I just arrived to find the house empty. I had back-to-back meetings,” Dalia counters.
“I don’t care about your meetings!” Thobile shouts. “Where is my child?”
“Calm down. She probably got caught up somewhere,” Dalia’s lie begins to slip. “I will call you back.”
The line goes dead. Thobile tries to call her sister back but she does not answer. I knew it. I knew Dalia would do something to my child … she thinks, rushing to the bedroom.
She barges in and frantically shouts at her husband. “Johan, wake up! Liyana is missing!”
***
Tell us: What do you think is going to happen with Junior’s plan?