Storymania - Angel Eyes by Emma Akuffo

Angel Eyes
Emma Akuffo

It was exactly 10 a.m. The busiest time of the busiest day in the busiest department store on the high street in Oxford. Margot had exactly 15 minutes to pay for the pair of tights she held in her left hand, before taking 6 year-old Gemma, who was holding on to her right hand to ballet class.
“Come On, Mummy” Gemma urged. “I’ll be late again and Miss….”
“OK sweetheart, I know what Miss Brown said…I’m almost done”.
Margot gazed fondly at the little girl by her side. She looked at Gemma’s dark brown hair, hazel eyes and honey coloured skin that was in sharp contrast to her own ash-blonde, blue-eyed, pale features. Gemma was not just her daughter, Gemma was her life. They were best pals, they only had each other and they were inseparable. Thoughts flooded back into Margot’s mind about Gemma’s father. He died in a tragic road accident on the way to hospital, when Gemma was born. The ambulance rushed him, barely alive, to the A&E department of the same hospital where Margot was half-way through labour in the maternity section, the hospital staff’s best attempts to trace his next of kin yielded no joy. Gemma entered the world 5 minutes after her father was pronounced dead. Margot wondered how many people could claim that the happiest day of their life was also the saddest day of their life, as she held her newborn daughter in one arm, and signed her father’s death identification certificate in the other. Six years later, and she was still taken aback by Gemma’s uncanning resemblance to her late father, Ellis Samson Grant.
“Next ple….ase”, the impatient sales assistant prompted Margot to pay.
“Ohh, I’m terribly sorry”, Margot let go of Gemma’s hand as she rummaged through her bag for her purse, paid for the tights, and reached for her daughter’s hand. Small, soft fingers curled around her own and without glancing down, Margot said, “I don’t think Miss Brown will have any course for concern Gemma, we’ll be there in no time at all”. Rather puzzled that the usually talkative Gemma, did not comment, she glanced down at her daughter.
“Ohh come on Gemma…but instead of finishing her sentence, she let out a piercing scream, whilst her handbag fell unceremoniously to the floor, spilling its entire contents. The little girl by her side, staring at her, was not Gemma. She looked the same age and size but had blonde hair and blue eyes. “Ohh my God”….Margot was still screaming, “Gemma…Gemma!!! She darted through the store in a frenzy…Where are you, Gemma”. The little blonde girl followed her. Margot knew it was no accident that Gemma was missing. The little blonde girl was dressed in the same pink track suit top and black bottoms like Gemma. She wore, the same brand of pink trainers. Her hair was done up in a chignon, like Gemma’s. Margot stopped for a moment and glared at the girl. “Who are you? Where’s my Gemma?”
The girl said nothing but stared blankly at Margot, There was an eeeriness about her, Margot decided that in the chaotic state of her mind. It was as though she was in a world of her own. She was definitely unfamiliar, and no-one seemed to be looking for her. Margot grabbed hold of the child’s shoulders and began to shake her.
“What is your name?? Where’s my little girl?” A crowd had quietly gathered around the pair. Margot looked from face to face, desperately.
“Has any one seen my daughter……She’s about the same height as this girl, and is dressed exactly the same…..Pleaase…help me!!! I was over in the queue…..just there…(she pointed) someone must have …seen her…..!!!! Surely…someone must have noticed….Whoever took her must have swapped her with this child….does anyone know this child?” She grabbed the quiet blonde girl by her side, again. She could tell from the blank faces in the crowd that no-one knew what she was talking about. Lots of children swarmed around the store as her eyes frantically searched for her child.
“Excuse me madam…Would you like to tell me what this is all about?” A tall security guard had appeared from nowhere.
“It’s my child….she’s gone…did you see anyone dressed like this child here…leaving the store? Margot screamed and burst into tears.
“Lots of children come in and out…unless there is something suspicious, I never notice them. She certainly wouldn’t have left the store by herself…I’m sure that would have got our attention.”
The security man glanced at her suspiciously, as though she wasn’t telling the truth. He looked around checked that no-one else was missing the child standing beside the woman. Several people standing by the security man did the same. They were mostly ununiiformed security folks but a few were salespeople. One lady picked up the contents of Margot’s bag, placed them carefully back in her bag and handed it back to her sympathetically.
“If you’d like to come with me to the office upstairs, I could take some details. He pointed to a red door, marked “Staff only.” It was obvious, he was uncomfortable with the chaos this sobbing woman was causing. The sooner it was sorted, the better.
“Should we call the police?” A smartly dressed store manager, summoned all the authority his short stature could master and stepped between Margot and the security officer.
“I c….an’t wa…it for the pol….ice, my daughter is out there…… somewhere… and I have…. to find her!”
Margot decided that if Gemma was not in the store, she was wasting her time, being there. She grabbed hold of the little blonde girl’s hand and led her out of the store. The little girl must know who left her there and took Gemma. If she was to find Gemma, she would have to hang on to the girl. She made her way blindly towards the busy high street. In the chaos of her mind, she decided her first stop would be the ballet school. It was just round the corner, and there was a slight possibility Gemma had made her own way to the school or some absent minded mother had grabbed Gemma instead of her own child. Margot recalled the countless times, she had warned Gemma about wandering off by herself or with strangers. Gemma would nod along playfully, with a “I’ve-heard-it-all-before- attitude,” hold her mother close and whisper. “I love you soooo much, mum. I will never…ever…ever…leave your side.”
Margot was convinced Gemma was too sensible to disobey. Could Gemma have seen someone she knows, perhaps? A school friend or the babysitter she loved so much?
It was mid November and the winter air was bitterly cold. It creeped inside Margot’s old grey sweater that had belonged to her husband. It was the only item of his clothing, Margot had kept after he died. She stared down at the little girl who half-ran beside her, keeping up the pace. She held on tightly to Margot’s hand. It was as though she needed Margot as much as Margot needed her. Why had her mother..or father… whoever left her there in the store abandoned her like that? Did they not miss her in the same heart-wrenching way that she pined for her own daughter? Anguish had turned into uncontrollable anger now and Margot pulled the girl into a small alleyway and lashed out at her.
“Tell me who you are….What?? What?? Is your name??? Do you live nearby?? Where do you go to school and where…on earth is your mum?? Dad?….ANYONE?”
Margot was shaking the child wildly now! She thought she could not stop…except there was no reaction from the child…just the same blank expression…she was not even frightened and uttered not a sound. Margot tried another approach.
“OK…I’ll give you anything!!! Tell your mum …or dad. They can have anything at all! Money? Car? My house!!! You too…you… can have toys …lots of them and nice clothes too…anything at all…Look!”
She pointed to a toy shop window she could only just see across the street. It was filled with the most tantalising of childhood fantasies and dreams. The girl hardly batted an eyelid. It was then that it dawned on Margot. Perhaps the child does not speak English! Her pale-skinned features were certainly European, but not terribly English. “ERrrrr…Comment apel tu???….Margot struggled to think of all the foreign phrases she could think of to find out a persons name, but all met with a stone cold silence! She resorted back to her original plan of checking the ballet school. It was a few doors away and the classes were in full swing. She peeped through the window at Gemma’s class first of all and then through all the others.
“Ohh…Mrs Gra….”, the receptionist just returning to her desk tried to greet Margot but was cut short by her shaken and tearful appearance.
“Has Gemma been in ?? Has anyone seen her?” Margot tried to compose herself but was shaking from head to toe. Her voice was barely audible.
“I’m sorry… I thought you were bringing her in now.” The receptionist stared at the quiet blonde girl beside margot.
“No…I’m not…I don’t know where Gemma is….do you mind if I rush off….I really do have to look for her.”
“Certainly,” replied the rather startled young lady. “Hope you find her…if there’s anything we can do,…please…”
But Margot and the child were gone before she finished. She made a mental note to tell the other teachers as soon as it was break time. Except, she couldn’t wait that long, so she burst into each of their classes and told them all, right there and then. They were all shocked but could not do anything to help.
Margot entered a small coffee shop, took out her mobile phone and rang every name in her phonebook. She did not have many friends. She was an only child and her parents, both died within a short space of each other, soon after she had met Ellis. She had some distant cousins in America, whom she hadn’t seen since she was a child, and seldom spoke to. Ellis had been brought up in a children’s home, he never knew who his parents were and hadn’t bothered to trace them. If they didn’t want him, he didn’t want them either, he would say to Margot when she asked. “I can take care of myself!” And he did. He studied hard and earned a law degree, and worked with a reputable law firm. A self-made man, he was all alone until their eyes had met at an office party about ten years ago, when Margot had been working as a Temp. They only had each other, and now that he was dead, his wife and daughter only had each other. Until now. Gemma was gone. Margot felt alone…All the people she phoned had been shocked but unhelpful. Margot had no choice…she had to inform the police. She stepped outside the shop, with the little girl and was just about to hail a taxi when the unthinkable nearly happened. The little girl stepped out into the road and a red sports car which was driving far too fast for the busy street, screeched to a halt, just inches away from the girl. A motorcyclists driving along the vehicle swerved to avoid hitting the car as it turned to stop, but its driver, lost control and toppled ungraciously onto the pavement with his bike laying just next to him. A heavily laden florist stepped outside her shop and landed on the heap on the pavement. Beheaded begonias and wrangled tulips fell everywhere. Miraculously no-one was hurt but all screamed at Margot furiously.
“If you cannot control a child, you shouldn’t have one!” The motorcyclist shouted as he picked up his bike and dusted it down. He was more concerned about its condition than anyone else. Margot would have easily burst into tears at that point, except she stared transfixed at the child. In all the uproar and calamity, the blank expression on the child’s face had not changed. She was totally oblivious to what was happening and stared straight ahead.
“Why on earth didn’t I think of it before? It is so obvious! The child is stone deaf! Is that why whoever had left her had taken Gemma? They wanted a perfect child for a less than perfect one? How could anyone be so cruel? So heartless?” Margot’s thoughts ran wild, at the same time she noticed just how beautiful, this unspeaking, unfeeling, child was. There had to be more to her than meets the eye. Margot could not believe anyone could be so fickle. She bundled the child into a taxi which magically arrived on the scene and headed for the police station without a single glance backwards.
The policeman who took her statement was rather slow and retiring, as far as Margot was concerned. He repeated everything, deliberately, twice, before he wrote it down.
“So..tell me again..You say she was in the store, with you whilst you paid for the goods. Did she…”
“Look here, Mr Police Officer. I don’t have time to waste! Can you help me look for my child or not?” Margot stood up and placed both hands on her hips, towering over the balding man. He stood up as well, but Margot’s height of nearly six feet was rather intimidating.
“I assure you…Mrs Grant, we’ll do all we can. However, it is my job to ensure that the details are accurately recorded, so could you please…
“Are you married Mr Policeman? Do you have children?” Margot kept both hands on her hips to steady herself. She was breathless from a combination of anger and despair.
“Yes I am married…..I do have children. I don’t see what this…”
Margot cut in again “If it was your own child missing…you would want to find them as quickly as possible before anything terrible happened.”
“We do get child abductions from time to time. But we always need to record all the facts. “Do you know of anyone we can get in touch with…a neighbour… or schoolteacher who could verify….”
“Ohhhh! So you think I’m lying, do you?” Why would I pretend to have lost my daughter if I haven’t?”
The policeman looked from the little girl to the woman. It was hard to not notice the resemblance. But the lady was right. “What would be her motive for this façade, if it was one? He’d been in The Force long enough to know that nothing…except nothing could be ruled out. He persisted.
“Please I must have someone we can contact to verify that you do have a child, and that this child is not yours. Do you have a photograph…of the missing girl?”
Margot painfully picked one of two that lived constantly in her purse. But seeing her daughter smiling gleefully at her was more than she could bare, she sobbed loudly and sank to her knees….
“Please ….you must find her before it’s too late.” She gave him information about their neighbours and Gemma’s school. The policeman left the room and Margot could hear him giving various instructions to others but she could barely listen. She noticed how close the little girl was standing to her. She seemed slightly unsettled. Margot had a quick look inside her clothes to see if there were any name labels or jewellery or anything that could give a clue about her identity but found nothing. The policeman returned with a young dark-haired policewoman who greeted Margot politely and leaned towards the child.
“Hello.” She said gently. The little girl moved even closer to Margot.
“She hasn’t spoken a word. I don’t think she can hear.” Margot had calmed down a little now as she offered this bout of information. The policewoman held out her hand to the girl, and all three were shocked at the girl’s response. She let out a heart-wrenching scream, grabbed hold of Margot’s hand tightly and hid under her sweater, where she continued to scream.
“It’s OK, little girl, no-one will hurt you”. Margot dug her out gently but she was so distressed she could hardly breathe. Her upper body had stiffened whilst she tried to clamber up onto Margot. Her face was bright red.
“It’s OK, …it’s all right. You will be fine…they are only trying to help.”
Margot put a protective arm around her. She calmed down for a few seconds when the policewoman retreated slightly, but started all over again when the policewoman came towards her. This time, the little girl did not stop until the policewoman…and the policeman had left the room. She scrambled onto Margot’s lap, exhausted from crying and fell asleep. Margot could not help but hold onto her tightly. She was a victim of this whole scam, like Margot herself, and had been robbed of the family she knew. She looked down at the angelic little face. They only had each other until they could find each other’s lost relatives. She knew now, that the little girl was scared of strangers.
“So how on earth had she managed to be abandoned in a large store? How come she had taken to Margot instantly and followed her obediently ? She would have watched whoever left her there leave the store… with Gemma!”
Another policewoman, crept in quietly and asked if she could take a photograph of the child for identity purposes and Margot quietly agreed. Apart from that she sat in the cold room with the little girl for what seemed like an eternity. Happy thoughts of Gemma floated in and out of her mind and chased away the bad thoughts. She willed herself strong. She had to be strong…for Gemma’s sake, for her own sake….and also for the little girl’s sake. She also decided she would call the little girl ‘Angel’, for now because she was convinced that whilst she looked after the little girl nothing bad would happen to Gemma. The clock on the wall silently announced 3.00 p.m. when the police officer came back in. He explained to Margot that they had completed their checks and were satisfied that this little girl was not Margot’s and that Margot’s own little girl was indeed missing. The searches had begun, in a few minutes Gemma’s photograph would be on TV and nationwide publicity campaign underway. Several well-wishers were sending messages already.
“Would you like anyone in particular to stay with you? The policeman asked kindly, but Margot was adamant. She could take care of herself, and Angel. The policeman explained that social services had been called. The child would be put in their custody, but Margot flatly refused. She would look after Angel until Gemma’s return. Angel was awake now, and they were both offered something to eat. Margot passed, Angel ate sandwiches and drank some milk, quietly. A small blonde social worker hovered around the pair, asking questions and smiling at Angel when she looked up. Margot told her everything she knew, including the possibility that she Angel was deaf.
“She will have to be examined by a doctor. It’s routine for abandoned cases.”
“Then, I’ll go with her, Margot replied. “She seems distressed by anyone else coming too close. An appointment was made at the children’s department of the local hospital, for the following Monday. After much talk, and persuasion, Margot was allowed to take the child home. They went by police car and a social worker was appointed to visit them every day. Angel seemed at home, in Margot’s house, but Margot quickly shut the door to Gemma’s room and kept it out of bounds. She would keep it exactly as it was until Gemma came back. They both had baths and a warm drink, and went straight to bed. Margot tucked Angel up in the spare room and stopped herself from kissing her. She couldn’t get too attached to Angel.
“We’ll find your mum and dad soon, I promise!”
Although, Margot could have sworn that Angel had smiled once or twice, it was the girls’ eyes, that caught her attention the most. Every time she looked directly into Angel’s eyes, she saw Gemma…Margot could not explain how or why; although the two girls were like chalk and cheese she could see Gemma reflected in Angel’s eyes.
Perhaps that was why she grew to love the little girl or perhaps, she felt responsible somehow for showing Angel, that life was not all bad. There was a great deal of love to be had in this world. The medical and psychological tests that Angel underwent had shown that she had been brain damaged since birth. She had very little hearing in her left ear and limited sight in her both eyes. Apart from agreeing to fitting a hearing aid and some glasses and possibly attending an appropriate school, there was very little Margot could do, except to love her. Angel needed all the love she had been missing since being abandoned or, probably since birth. She was very insecure, and was only comfortable if Margot was nearby. This baffled everyone, including Margot.
“It’s possible that you resemble someone she knows.” The child psychologist said reassuringly to Margot. “It is also very likely that English is not her first language as most deaf children would have learnt to lip-read by now. Angel, does not appear to recognise any words”.
Margot had given up work when Gemma was born, and her husband had left enough money for them to live comfortably, and Margot appreciated this more than ever. She was an artist by profession, and had had many successful exhibitions. Her paintings were well-renowned among modern art enthusiasts but she only ever sold a few, preferring instead to add to her own collection.
“I’ll show you how to paint, if you like,” Margot said to Angel one morning whilst they picked apples for a pie in the garden.
“Here, look at this.”
Margot held up an apple with one hand, holding it up to the sunlight, and picked up a brush that lay among the grass with another.
“See how it gleams and shines, feel the smooth skin, taste it and then you are ready to paint.”
Angel learnt to paint the apple, painstakingly and slowly at first but she eventually became fanatical about painting, and progressed to painting everything in sight. She grew in confidence and learnt to lip read at a special school she attended with Margot for a few hours every weekday, whilst Margot learnt sign-language. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. The police were doing their job in the search for her daughter, but it hadn’t been enough. So the two just got along day by day forming a close relationship which was not the same as mother and daughter; but, close all the same. Until….
It was exactly 12 midnight, about 6 months after Gemma had disappeared, when the telephone call came.
“Hello!! Hello…… Is this…….. Margot?” A faint foreign accented woman’s voice asked. Margot’s body chilled to the bone.
“Who is this?” she managed to ask. A moment’s silence before a reply came.
“My name is Stella.”
“Stella?…Stella who? Do I know you?” Margot asked. Silence again before the lady spoke.
“It doesn’t matter.” More silence. “I have your daughter, but don’t tell the police.” Margot‘s mind went numb but she persisted.
“You have Gemma?? Where?? How??…Why??? No silence this time.
“You have my daughter too!! Elisa. Mine and Ellis’daughter.”
Margot felt she could take no more. She felt faint and nauseated. Still, she persisted. “Ellis?? My …..Ellis??? How?….What do you mean? What are you talking about??? When did you…??? How on earth…???
“It really doesn’t matter….All I want is my daughter back…and I’m sure you want yours back too!”
It was Margot’s turn to fall silent before the conversation continued.
“Where is she?? Can I speak to her? If she is hurt in anyway…I’ll….”
“She’s not hurt. Just homesick and starving. She won’t eat anything I give. If you don’t involve the police or anyone else, you can pick her up in Sweden.”
“Sweden?” Margot remembered the countless “business trips” Ellis had taken to Sweden, especially just before his death. He had just arrived from Sweden, the day he was killed. Margot had gone into labour 4 weeks before her expected date, forcing Ellis to cut the trip short. Margot recalled the number of times she had phoned the hotel he was staying at, to be told he hadn’t been there all week. Ellis always brushed off her queries with his charming smile and a shrug of his broad shoulders.
“Look, I’m busy when I’m over there” he would say, and I see so many clients. I can’t leave my mobile on. I call you at every opportunity. Now come here and give me a hug!” And she would. He was all she had and she loved him to bits. Now she was learning that someone else loved him to bits too.
“That necklace, he left for your daughter… he left one for mine too. He bought the antique and had it copied, so each of his daughters could have one. I knew of your pregnancy. You obviously didn’t know of mine. The girls were due to be born a week apart.” The foreign voice on the phone continued to haunt Margot.
“Tell me how I can get to Gemma/….that is all I need to know.”
Margot‘s head was spinning. The only thing she knew for sure, was that she had to get her daughter back. And soon. The rest was beyond her comprehension but Stella continued.
“I heard the news….that Ellis had died from the policeman who answered his mobile. I thought I would die….”
Stella was sobbing so much in between each phrase that there was no doubt at all in Margot’s mind that she was telling the truth.
“I tried to kill myself….. but my neighbour…..she found me….in a pool of blood…I had gone into labour…the baby…Elisa was by my side….both of us….. barely alive …it took months of intensive care to nurse us back to health.”
Stella did not tell Margot that she never recovered fully. The physical scars may have been healed but the emotional ones cut even deeper and did not heal. Those who knew Stella, claimed she was never quite the same again. Some even went as far as calling her mad, as she ranted and screamed anytime anyone tried to get close to her. Still, she was deemed psychologically sound enough and physically capable of looking after her daughter, so no-one, not even the authorities intervened. She withdrew into herself. She hardly went out or invited anyone. Some people who knew Stella, blamed her strange behaviour on what had happened to the child. She had been had suffered brain damage. She could not hear and could barely see. Any medical intervention to improve her quality of life was turned down by her mother.
“What did they have to live for?” Stella would say. With Ellis gone, she no longer had a life. She could never love anyone. Not even her child. They should have been left to die. At least if Elisa had looked like her dad, it would have been like seeing Ellis in Elisa. But she didn’t. Elisa looked just like her mum, and her mum could not forgive her for that. The little girl’s six years of life had seen very little affection or love of any kind. She lived in her own little world, not hearing, not seeing very well, and not understanding at all. There was no hope and no change. Until the day Stella had caught a glimpse of little Gemma on TV. Margot had taken part in an art exhibition that was highly acclaimed and had aroused international curiosity. A Swedish documentary on contemporary art had captured Margot’s artistic talent in all its glory for its viewers to see. Margot had not wanted her daughter featured in the program, but one photographer had managed to get a shot of them both in the park. It was that picture that stood in front of Stella’s eyes and she could not believe what she was seeing. Ellis was alive! He lived in this little girl, and Stella just had to have her. She would love her and keep her in the same way that she would have done to Ellis. The plot to kidnap Gemma would not be easy and what would she do with Elisa? There was no room for her in the house. She would just get in the way of the new life. Stella’s plans only involved herself and Gemma. Elisa would spoil their fun, with her blank expression and cold heart. What could she do with her?
The answer came to her one day evening as she cooked their dinner. She would swap the half-sisters. It was only fair that Margot should have a daughter too. There was a perfect plan at last. All fair and justified in her warped mind. She quickly found all the information she needed and travelled with her daughter to England. They stayed close to the Grants, in a hotel for a few weeks, and followed them whenever they could. Stella had watched the mother and daughters’ routine over and over again and completed preparations for Gemma’s kidnapping when she bought a sweater and boots that looked exactly like the one Margot wore for herself, and a tracksuit and jacket exactly like the one Gemma wore, for Elisa. The swap had been easy. When Margot had let go of gamma’s hand for a moment and Gemma’s attention was somewhere else, Stella had managed to slip Gemma’s hand in hers and quietly lead her away. Gemma hadn’t said anything, because she thought her mother was rushing her through a shortcut to ballet class. It was not until, she was pushed into the little black hired car in the dark alley way, that she noticed. But then it was too late. Stella adeptly injected Gemma with a sedative, before she could say a word. They headed straight to the airport and boarded the plane. By the time, Margot convinced the retiring policeman that her child was missing, Stella and Gemma were on a plane heading home. She had half-dragged and half-carried the sleepy child the whole way. No suspicions were aroused as it clearly stated on the passport that the child was handicapped. None of the airport staff had double checked her identity but rather hurried to help them on and off the plane with as little inconvenience as possible. Stella’s plan had worked, perfectly. Gemma would soon forget her mother and learn to love and live with her. Except Gemma did not forget her mother. She cried and screamed and shouted abuse all day and all night. It was not strange that no-one heard as Stella lived in a secluded old barn conversion out in the Swedish countryside. She tried her hardest to please Gemma, and even told her about her father, but Gemma was not pleased. She cried “ I waaaannttt my muuummmyy!!…..I waaaaantttt mummmy!!“ over and over again without stopping, hardly slept and ate barely enough to stay alive. As the days went past, Gemma grew more miserable and dreadfully thin. Stella knew she had to do something. Besides she missed Elisa more than she imagined she would and Gemma had already fainted twice from exhaustion. As the two ladies spoke, each knew that nothing mattered except getting their daughters back. They arranged a discrete meeting, straightaway on a lonely road in a village, on the other side of town to where Stella lived. Stella had allowed Gemma to speak to her mother briefly. “Gemma!!! Gemma!!! Sweetheart mummy‘s coming to get you“. Margot was overjoyed but tearful when Gemma spoke…
“ Mummy?? Mummy?? Where are you?Get me out of here!!! Pleaasee! Mummy……I miss you….I want to come home!!!”
“I’m coming to get you sweetheart!! She woke Angel up and called her Elisa. She checked her hearing aid, put on her glasses and kissed her for the first time. Elisa smiled. Even in the midst of her own turmoil and anguish, Margot had to accept that Elisa was Ellis’ daughter and Gemma’s half sister.
“You’re going home”, she signed to Elisa and thought she could sense some response in the girls face. She was even more surprised when Elisa gathered all her paintings from the house, and tucked them in the bag Margot had prepared for her. Margot had decided she would not tell anyone. Not even the police. She would not jeopardise any chance of getting Gemma back alive. Before long they were on a flight to Sweden and travelled by train and bus in the early hours of the morning. A taxi awaited them just as Stella had said and they started up the long desolate road towards the reunion. Margot spotted a car parked just to the side of where they had arranged to meet. Her heart leapt for joy as Gemma raced towards her with all the strength her frail body could muster. Margot caught her in her arms and cried tears of joy mingled with pain. The pain of seeing her daughter so painfully thin and the joy that Gemma was still alive. A lady now stepped towards them, she reached out her hand towards Elisa and carried her back to her car. No-one spoke a word. Margot was too shocked to say anything. She noticed Stella’s resemblance to herself and all the other girlfriends Ellis had had before they met, whose photos, she had seen. Stella was tall and leggy with shoulder-length blonde hair just like Margots’. She was strikingly beautiful. Margot noticed Stella wore a necklace like the one Gemma wore, which she immediately took off and placed around Elisa’s neck. Elisa seemed pleased. She also noticed the expression of a mother who was holding her baby for the first time as Stella kissed and hugged Elisa. “Things will be different now, you’ll see.” Stella said over and over again purposely in English.
Elisa and Gemma stared at each other momentarily and then Stella picked up Elisa, nodded at Margot and Gemma before entering the car. The car turned round and drove away. The half-sisters barely caught a glimpse of each other, before they were separated. “I’m so sorry, this happened, sweetheart!” Margot cried. I am going to take such good care of you from now on. I promise, I will never ever leave you again, I promise!”

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