Chapter Thirteen The Escape

Chapter 13

What a relief it was to at last appraise and understand Kinti's disapproving looks. I guessed that she might have been concerned that all Roti's plans could come to naught if I had not too been trusted. Clearly she was waiting for the moment to bring me in. I continued to see her quiet, mournful expressions, but I felt no tension between us. We were friends. For me the whole thing was such a relief.  When we were up in our roof bower, we began spending longer and longer just being together, humming songs from our childhood, and holding hands. During these times, not one adult showed any sign of interest in us, not even Roti. When one of us felt ill, or particularly upset, we were there for each other as family. We never had any harsh words between us.

Our freedom extended to being allowed to walk down to the fiord's edge early in the mornings after the cleaning had been done. On warm days we would take off our smelly and tattered cloths and wash in the cool salt waters of the fiord. Gradually we became more confident in the water, and took on a style that some might confuse for swimming. We had watched other children, free children, splashing around with carefree abandon. Other children never got to see us. There was no real opportunity for them to do so, as the sailor's rarely had their families with them. I recall seeing one other slave child, and he scurried off, seemingly petrified by my appearance. Months passed, and it was only the changing light in the sky that informed us that each day might be different. I began to wonder back to that surprising day when Roti's bright face appearing at the top of our climbing pole. What was the plan I wondered? Would I have a role? At last I asked Kinti. Initially she seemed very put out, and in her silent way made a low whistling noise. That, I thought, was that. Then three days later Kinti suddenly said, "we are catching a boat at midnight." I was stunned. Like a cloud bursting out rain, questions gushed from me. "Now? Tonight? A boat, whose boat? Do the others know? Who's coming? Is it safe? Where will we go? What will happen to us if we get caught? Are you scared? What do we bring? Is anyone else going? What about our ears, won't everyone know we are running away?" This was obviously too much for Kinti. She gave me a trademark frown. And I knew I'd blow it. Nothing more would she offer until after our late shift, and with the noise of rowdy men beneath us, we shinned up out pole to bed, where this familiar raucous background  noise meant nothing to us.  We could sleep through anything. Tonight was different. Honya and Yewdis were already alert, siting bolt upright. Kinti motioned me to come close. The din of drunken hollering below gave us perfect secrecy. Yewdis had our money wrapped in a leather cloth before us. Kinti explained that Roti had a friend who had a boat, and she had paid him to take us out to a trading vessel that would be passing the bottom of the fiord the following morning, bound for the Ice Islands. The plan was for Kinti and Roti to return to their kin, and they felt sure that from the safety of the Ice Islands, Yewdis and I would be able to decide what we wanted to do. did we agree? No question. Apart from the Ice Islands being in diametrically the opposite direction from my home, and loved ones, getting away from Oshlo was my priority. Although I didn't say it, staying with my chums was also pretty important to me too. Of course we could not sleep. It was a mercy that no one bothered with us, because just a glance would have told anyone that something was a foot. Honya, true to form, gabbled away gently to herself and clung on to me. I tied back and stroked her tight curls. We didn't have much to take with us. One warm cloak each sounded necessary for the fabled Ice Islands. Kinti, with her instinctive sense of time, seemed to know when midnight was approaching. We followed her as she silently slipped down the high pole. As we expected, we were not alone, but even though collapsed drunken men called out for more beer as we picked our way through the benches, our manager had left, and no one was in a fit state to do anything about these four tiny shadows leaving into the night. On the way down to the beach, our next obstacle were the prowling dogs. Yewdis was very scared of dogs, but this was my department. Each dog that smelt our approach, I raced up to and reassured we were friends. Geese are harder to passive, but also most of their owners expect these flighty creatures to be activated by spiders and moths in the night. Finally we were down by the water’s edge. I looked out to sea. There was nothing out there, I looked at Kinti quizzically. She didn't look back, but instead strowed out into the dark cold water. And she was disappearing. Quickly Honya and Yewdis, unquestioningly followed suit. I look behind us. The shapes of the town was there, but indistinct, as a slight sea fog was developing over the waters. There was not a person to be seen. With a gasp at the biting cold rising up my body, and the realisation that my cloak, tight about was waist, was soon to become like a lead weight pulling me down, I followed, with our newly acquired swimming style, mercifully invisible to all. I could make out Honya ahead of me. We were all going quite slowly, I wonder whether we were going at all. I looked back again, and this time there was no sight of Oshlo, just water and fog. I called out to Honya, she called gently back, we inched forward, Ice Islands before us, as our teeth chattered. Just as I wondered whether my whole body had become frozen solid, and defy nature by sinking rather than floating, I bumped into Yewdis and Kinti. They were waiting for me. We were alongside a low slung dugout canoe. Honya was in the boat beaming. A large body in the boat loamed above me, reaching over. Large hands grappled with my socking clothes and I was hauled up into the boat, and deposited in the bottom, like a giant carp. I looked up gratefully at my rescuer and to my horror saw that he was none other than Baralard, our nemesis. I started and recoiled back. Baralard grinned, leaning over and hoisting Kinti into the boat with apparent easy. Then I made out the reassuring face of Roti. "My husband" she said. "He's coming too." Oh my, I thought, our manager's going to have quite a day tomorrow. Messy hall, no fire, and hordes of starving sailors, no cooks - chaos. I wish I could see that, and I hope we make it out of here.