He put his hands up in surrender and said, “You’re safe here, no one is going to hurt you.” He slowly made his way towards me, making sure I didn’t throw anything else. I watched him skeptically. My fingers tightened around the candle the closer he got. When he stopped in front of me, he squatted down to meet my eyes. Smiling broadly, he held his hand out expectantly. Hesitating at first, I finally dropped the candle stand into his hand.

He stood up, grinning, and holding his right hand out tofor me said, “Now, how about some breakfast?”

I eyed him. I didn’t understand the whole incident with the necklace, which I found still hanging around my neck. But in the end, I didn’t think he had meant to hurt me. The nightgown and bandages proved that I had been well taken care of after all. The two final persuaders were my empty stomach and his convincing smile, so I slowly took his hand. He smiled again and patted my hand with his left, “Let’s see if we can find your friend and join him for breakfast, shall we? He’ll be really glad to see you.” He led me out of the room, and for the first time in months, my little seven-year-old mouth smiled.

 

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