10

 “He told me to keep this to remember him, no matter where he is,” I recounted.

“Your daddy is really lucky that he found work,” Valerie replied, with her hands on her hips. “My daddy has been searching for ages, and still hasn't found any.”

“I'm sure he'll find something soon,” I reassured her.

“Yeah,” she shrugged, before changing the subject. “I'm bored... And I'm really hungry and thirsty.”

“Same,” I agreed. “Shall I ask my mama if we can go down to the lake to get some water?”

“That's a good idea, we can play in the woods while we get some,” Valerie smiled.

I giggled in response.

“That should be fun.”

“Come on,” Valerie grinned, and we both made our way round the camp to find my mama.

24

lily

We found mama sat by the tents.

“Mama, can me and Valerie go to the lake and get some water?” I asked hopefully, buzzing with excitement. “And then play in the forest?”

We'd never been to the forest on our own before.

We usually always went with Papa.

“I don't know, honey,” Mama replied uneasily. “It's not safe.”

Valerie rubbed her chin, feeling dejected and disappointed.

I didn't want to let my friend down.

I knew best to carry on insisting...

Mama would give in eventually.

“But mama, we're thirsty!” I begged. “It's not fair!”

Mama drew out a deep breath, as me and Valerie stood there in a huff.

There was a silence for several moments.

“Fine, I will go and get you water from the lake,” she reassured. “You're not coming with me. I want you to stay here, where there are people to keep an eye on you.”

“But then how will me and Lily play?” Valerie protested.

“You can play here on the camp, where there's people around,” Mama replied, pointing her finger up pretentiously. “Don't go wandering off, please!”

“Thank you, Mama!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around her, hugging her tightly. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Lily,” Mama replied.

Mama never let me down.

She was the best mummy I could ever ask for.

She always wanted to keep me happy, and for that...

I was always grateful.

“C'mon Valerie, let's play!” I squealed, nudging Valerie.

Valerie nodded, and we both began running and racing each other, ready to play.

We needed cheering up after feeling so sad for so long.

25

mama

I didn't know if it was safe for me to go out into the woods, now that I didn't have my husband to accompany me.

When I had my husband by my side, I felt safe.

But I didn't have him by my side anymore.

I drew out a deep breath, my heart hammering against my chest.

Aching with his memory.

Lily was counting on me...

And I couldn't let my child starve.

I could try my best to find some fruit in the forest too.

I was sure nothing would happen.

Nothing had ever happened before, when I went with my husband to the woods.

I nodded to myself, doing my best to reassure myself that I had nothing to worry about and nothing to fear.

And then I began making my way to the forest.

***

I trudged through the forest, and to my relief, it was empty, with nobody around.

I felt happier and more safe now.

I made my way down the endless paths, before I finally reached the river, which was full of fresh water.

I smiled to myself, before I began to fill my bucket with water.

26

lazarus

Meanwhile...

Me and one of my business partners, Rupert, pulled up our truck and hopped out, making our way back to the campsite, where we had taken the blonde motherfucker who kept crying about being away from his wife and kid.

Rupert was a sixty-year-old shady, filthy motherfucker.

“Remind me why we're here again,” Rupert muttered, as we trudged through the campsite.

I rolled my eyes in response.

“I need more men,” I muttered. “I'm running low on cash, so I might as well see who else this camp has to offer.”

“Oh, okay,” Rupert replied, shrugging his shoulders. “Cool.”

“Let's have a look around,” I suggested, narrowing my eyes, as I scanned the place.