Distant Lands

“Shh, he’s fine,” Diego says, trying to calm me.

Liz, if you come with me without fighting. I promise I will let him go,” he says. Tears start pouring out of my eyes.

“Let him go home without hurting him, and I’ll go with you,” I say. Diego puts a satisfied smile on his face.

“Deal. I’ll even drive you to the airport, so you can watch him board the plane,” he says. I silently nod.

“Okay, let’s go to the airport,” Diego instructs the driver. On the way to the airport, I noticed a vehicle following behind us. I assume that Nate is in there.

“Liz, I warn you, don’t try anything. These men will hurt Nate if you or Nate try to make a scene. Do you understand?” he asks. I nod. The cars stop at the front of the airport. I see Nate get out with a terrified look on his face. It breaks my heart.

“Don’t worry; he wasn’t hurt. They just scared him a little,” Diego says, smiling. The guy next to me laughs.

“Can I say goodbye to him? Please?” I ask.

“Not now. Later, I’ll let you talk to Nate on the phone,” he says. I watch as Nate walks into the airport with one of the men from the other car. We wait until the man comes out of the airport alone.

“Okay, you see, Nate is safe and sound, heading home,” he says, smiling at me.

He turns to the driver, “Let’s go to grandfather’s house,” he says.

We drive for miles out of the city and into the countryside. The further we go, we see fewer and fewer buildings and houses. We drive up and downhills. Diego’s grandfather lives way out in the countryside.

“We’re almost there,” Diego says. We drove up a long driveway and stopped at a tall metal gate. The gate opens automatically, and we drive up to this big hacienda-style house, beautifully landscaped. We park in front of the entrance.

A man comes out and opens the door of our car. The guys from the other vehicle get out and stand outside, watching, surrounding our vehicle. Diego steps out and holds his hand out to help me out.

I swat his hand away and step out—the men laugh, and Diego chuckles, stepping out of the way. We walk up a couple of stairs and enter the house.

“This way, please,” A maid takes us to a living room with two large couches facing each other and a coffee table in the middle. I sit on the sofa, and Diego sits next to me. We sit quietly, waiting for Diego’s grandfather to show up.

Other maids come in and place a tray of glasses of water on the coffee table in front of us. Diego’s grandfather is loaded with cash. The silence in the room is making me nervous.

“So, after I meet your grandfather, what’s going to happen to me?” I ask him.

“Honestly, Liz, I don’t know. All I know is that my grandfather has been trying to find your mother for years,” he says.

“Why my mom?” I ask.

“You’ll find out soon; he’s here,” he says. Diego gets up and greets his grandfather by hugging him.

“My Diego! You need to visit me more often, son,” The older man says, ruffling Diego’s hair. Diego just smiles. Then the older man looks at me and covers his mouth.

“Oh my goodness. You look exactly like your mother and my Ana,” he says with teary eyes. I remain silent and coldly stare at him. Then glares at Diego. The older man slaps Diego’s arm.

“What did you tell her to upset her!? I told you to treat her well,” he yells at him. Diego doesn’t react; he just stays quiet. The man walks to the couch and sits across from me. Diego comes and sits next to me.

“Elizabeth, I’m sorry that we had to meet this way. Your mother is my daughter, my only daughter. And you are my granddaughter,” he says. I feel numb.

“I don’t know what to say. Why hasn’t my mom mentioned you?” I ask. He sighs.

“For years, our family has been at war with another family living nearby. When your mother was fifteen years old, she fell in love with my enemy’s son; they claimed to be in love. Both families forbade them from seeing each other. Your mother and father ran away from home and married. Both families looked for them, but they kept moving around,” he says.

This tale sounds so dramatic, like the soap operas my mother watches religiously every evening. I don’t know if I should believe him. But now I want to find out more.

“But why do both families hate each other?” I ask.

“Mines and caves surround this land. Their resources brought wealth to both families. We fought and killed each other over land and business deals. It’s complicated,” he says.

“What do you want with my mother and father now?” I ask. For a moment, he seemed lost in thought.

“So many years have passed. I’m an old man now. I want to see and forgive my daughter before I die,” he says. I feel like he’s not revealing the whole story. But at the same time, I kind of feel bad for him. It makes me sad that families break apart because of hate and greed.

My parents chose love and ran away for a reason. I need to hear their side of the story. In the meantime, I need to play along. When I find a chance, I will get out of here. I look at him and give him a soft, understanding smile.

“What can I do to help?” I ask. He looks at me and smiles.

“Elizabeth, you have helped more than you know,” he says.

“What do you mean?” I ask, worried.

He gets up, “We will talk again tomorrow. This is your home, Elizabeth. Diego will help you to your room,” he says.

The older man comes closer to me. He looks at me like he wants to cry. He raises his hand near my face, and I stay completely still. He pinches my cheek hard and smiles at me. Without saying a word, he leaves the room. I rub my face. Diego looks amused.

“Come on,” Diego says, getting up. I follow him.

“So, does that mean we are cousins?” I ask him.

“Your mom is my dad’s sister, so, yes, we’re cousins,” he says as he leads the way to my room.

“Ew, gross, I kissed my cousin,” I say. Diego looks at me. “Whatever, you know you liked it,” he says, laughing. I shake my head.

“What do you think your grandfather’s plans are?” I ask. He sighs, leading me into a room.

“I don’t know, Liz. All I know is that he’s been searching for your mother. I do have a word of advice for you. Make sure you don’t anger our grandfather. He will beat your ass. I learned the hard way,” he says.

“Is he an evil man?” I ask, trying to find out more.

“Let me put it this way; he was raised by an evil man, with blood on his hands. Grandfather’s childhood was hell,” he says. Diego turns to exit the room. I reach out and grab his elbow, and he turns to look at me. “Diego, please don’t leave me,” I say, giving him a pleading look.

“Don’t worry. I’m staying here for a few days. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay, cousin,” he says.

“Okay,” I say, with a shaky voice. Diego hugs me then walks out. I walk over to the tall wardrobe filled with women’s clothing. I look through them and realize they’re around my size. I take a nightgown out and go into the restroom to run the bath. I take a hot bath.

I need to get my hands on a phone or laptop. I need to communicate with my family. The hot water is relaxing me, and I’m feeling sleepy. I get out, put on the nightgown, and get into bed. The bath helped calm me, and I immediately fell asleep...

***

I’m startled awake. I wake up to someone shaking me.

“Miss? miss? Wake up,” A lady standing next to my bed whispers. I sit up.

“What’s going on?” I ask. The lady hands me some clothes.

“You need to get dressed, and you need to go. Diego prepared this bag for you. There’s a note in the bag with an explanation. There’s no time for me to explain, go,” she says.

I quickly got up; I put on jeans, a black T-shirt, and a black hoodie. I slip on my sneakers. She leads me down some stairs into a room that’s on ground level. She opens a door that leads to the backside of the house.

It’s very early in the morning. The foggy air is cold, and It’s still slightly dark outside. I look out into the distance, and I see a large open field; there are bushes and a row of tall trees at the end of the field.

“Go, now,” she says, handing me the backpack. I grab the backpack and almost drop it. How am I supposed to carry this? It weighs a ton.

“Where do I go?” I ask.

“You see those lights far off in the distance? Run in that direction. First, you need to run across the open field. Once you pass the line of trees, you will be much safer, but don’t stop, keep going straight that way; that’s the nearest town,” she says, pointing straight ahead.

I hesitate for a moment, but this could be my only chance to leave this place. I squeeze her hand.

“Thank You,” I say, putting on the backpack.

I look around, and nobody seems to be out at this time. I walk stealthily through some bushes, and once I get to the open field, I begin to run.