The plan to escape had seemed impossible-a fleeting dream whispered in the dead of night between thin prison walls. But we had done it. We had set the prison on fire, a daring distraction, and in the chaos, we had slipped into the waiting car Jenna's contact had arranged. Now, as the sound of police sirens closed in, our driver, a wiry young man with a scar above his left eyebrow, shouted over his shoulder, "Get ready!"
"Ready for what?" Priya's voice trembled, the fear she usually masked with her sharp eyes breaking through.
"Jump," Jenna ordered, her voice hard as steel.
The vehicle came to a sudden stop close to the cliff's brink, with a view of the frigid, murky sea. Without hesitation, Jenna swung the car door wide, and one after another, we plunged into the icy water beneath. The blow forced the breath from my chest, and I fought to reach the surface, wheezing. For a brief instance, I felt confused, struggling against the heaviness of my wet clothing and the cold that penetrated my bones.
"Stay down!" Mariam hissed, her teeth chattering as she pulled me below the surface again. We waited, holding our breaths until the sound of footsteps and shouts diminished. The police had lost sight of us. For now.
Minutes passed, but they felt like hours. When the moonlight shone unobstructed by clouds, we emerged, the city's distant glow to our left.
"We accomplished it," Priya exclaimed, a broad grin cutting through her fatigue.
"We've escaped," I murmured, hardly accepting it myself. After five long years, the burden of prison chains has disappeared, substituted by the chilling clasp of freedom.
With the police finally gone, we pulled ourselves onto the rocky shore, shivering and soaking. The city loomed ahead, unfathomably vast and full of secrets. We started walking, fatigue making each step heavier than the last. It wasn't long before our legs gave out beneath the roof of a worn bus station. We huddled close, seeking warmth in our shared body heat.
"We made it out," Mariam repeated, almost as if trying to convince herself. Jenna let out a dry chuckle, wiping away a tear that had nothing to do with the cold.
"And into what?" she murmured.
The moment of fragile relief shattered when a voice cut through the silence. "This is our spot," a girl no older than twenty scowled, flanked by two men who glared at us like hawks.
Jenna stood, her eyes flashing with defiance. "Move on, girl. We need this more than you do."
"Enough," I interjected, pulling Jenna back before things escalated. The girl snorted but backed away, muttering under her breath as they left. When they were gone, Jenna turned to me, her eyes narrowing.
"Why did you stop me? We could've taken them."
"Since this isn't our true selves," I remarked, leaning back against the frigid metal of the bus bench. The adrenaline that had fueled me faded away, leaving me empty. I placed my hands on my face, sensing the texture of skin that has experienced too many tears.
"Eliana, are you okay?" Priya asked, her brows knitting together with concern.
I laughed bitterly, the sound sharp and broken. "Am I okay? "I committed the biggest error of my life," I said, my voice almost inaudible. "I cared for a man so deeply that I allowed him to destroy me."
They exchanged looks but said nothing. We all carried our own weights, our own stories of loss and betrayal. But mine felt heavier tonight.
"Derek," I choked out. The name tasted like poison. "I believed in him so blindly that I took the fall for a crime he committed. I wanted him to become the lawyer he dreamed of being, and in my foolishness, I thought he would come back for me, save me like a hero from a fairy tale. Instead, he left me to rot while he thrived, while my mother, the only family I had, starved and died without me. I couldn't even bury her."
The silence that followed was suffocating. Priya reached out, squeezing my hand. "We're out now. We're together. We'll find a way."
Before we could say more, an old man, hunched and wrapped in a tattered coat, shuffled closer. His eyes, watery but sharp, flicked between us as if studying our faces for an answer to a question only he knew.
"I know that look," he said, his voice a rough rasp that spoke of many cold nights. "You girls are running from something."
Jenna's eyes narrowed, but Mariam leaned forward. "And if we are?"
He nodded slowly, as if confirming something to himself. "I was once where you are now. No roof, no family, only the ghosts of my past to keep me company. However, staying there isn't necessary for the long term. "Here," he said, pulling out a wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket and extending it.
I hesitated, the weight of his words sinking into me as I reached for the paper. It was worn, the writing barely legible, but it was an address. Before I could ask him more, he turned and shuffled back to the shadows of the bus stop.
"Wait-" Priya called, but he was gone, vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.
The first rays of dawn crept over the cityscape as we stood up, chilled and sore but determined. The address might be nothing more than a phantom hope, but it was hope all the same.
Jenna frowned at the slip of paper in my hand. "This better be worth it."
"It has to be," I said, holding the paper tight. We made our way to a public restroom, scavenging clothes from the trash bins to replace our tattered prison uniforms, each of us fighting the shame that came with it. When we were ready, we started toward the address.
When we eventually got there, our breath halted in our throats. The street was tranquil, bordered by trees and homes that conveyed a sense of comfort and security. We knocked on the gate, and a man in his sixties answered, his expression wary but curious.
"We were told to come here," I said, showing him the piece of paper. "By a man at the bus station."
His face lost all color as he looked at the paper. "Are you certain?" he murmured, eyes large with surprise.
"That man died years ago. He's buried here-his last wish because he loved this place."
The blood in my veins turned to ice, my mind whirling with disbelief. We exchanged looks, fear and confusion etched in each face.
We had seen a ghost.
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