Tangled Passion by Stanley Ejingiri Page B

said; a fresh brew of tears flowing down her cheeks. This time her tears came from gratitude mixed with the pain and anxiety of a separation from Longstands for a time period she wasn’t sure of. Since she’d known him, her life had changed; he’d treated her with respect and love and given her the highest level of care she’d ever received. When she’d found out that she was pregnant, she was alarmed and feared that he might deny it and use it as an excuse to put her out as did many other slave masters. But Longstands didn’t make a big fuss of it; instead he cared even more for her.
    “I would be back in six months,” Longstands said. She nodded, a little smile appearing on her face like sunrays appearing in the faraway horizon after a heavy downpour. He was happy that she understood the circumstances surrounding his decision even though he saw the fear, uncertainty, and anxiety that were boldly plastered on her innocent face. “Come here,” he said, his arms wide open. She sank into them and they remained hugging for the longest time either one of could possibly remember. It was as though they feared it might be the last time they’d ever be in each other’s arms. He kissed her several times on her forehead frantically fighting his overwhelming emotions and later that night, she boarded the boat for the island of the freed slaves.
    “I will come for you as soon as I return,” he promised; it was probably the hundredth time he was saying the same words with the same strong emphasis.
    She nodded. “I will wait for you.” She was calm as she settled into the boat but underneath her calmness a hurricane of emotions threatened to rip her in pieces and Longstands could see it.
    “I promise, I will return for you,” he reassured her, gently placing a military backpack on the floor of the boat and letting it rest between her legs. In the bag were all of Shanika’s belongings and at the very top of all the stuff was a loaded pistol. Their eyes met in the moonlight—‘don’t forget the gun’, she read in his eyes as he gently tapped the bag.
    “Don’t hesitate one second to use it if anything suspicious begins. Just point and squeeze; don’t think about it,” his voice replayed in her head. He also made her sit on the floor of the boat at one end of the thirty-foot long boat so that she had the boatmen who sat at the opposite end in full view. This gave Shanika enough room to take out the gun, aim and fire, in the event that the men tried anything funny. “There are two men but don’t wave your gun, just keep it pointed at one of them. If he moves, shoot immediately, don’t hesitate. When he goes down, the other one will do anything you ask,” Longstands had instructed her.
    “Thank you,” she said, placing her hand on his. Mr Longstands nodded, a small collection of tears gathering at the corner of his eyes.
    “Okay,” he said gathering himself together; thankfully a dark cloud was passing and had covered the moon; he didn’t want the boatmen to see his emotions on display.
    He kissed her on her forehead one last time and the boat began to float away. Several minutes after the boat had become swallowed up by darkness, Longstands was still standing at the same spot, staring into the vast and dense darkness, ignoring the waves that constantly returned to shore and buried his feet in water. He was suddenly unsure that he had made the right decision and he began to go over a long list in his head; he didn’t know why he suddenly felt like there was something he had forgotten—he had given Shanika a good amount of money; so much money she could easily live on it for two years or more. He’d hidden the money in the zipped pockets of one of his old jean trousers, which he cut very short and made Shanika wear underneath her dress.
    He’d also made sure that Shanika had a good supply of food to last the journey and some extra cash in her backpack and that she was on her way to a free land. It seemed he