Island Mission Part Two

A Trojan and Camille short story.

Trojan woke with a start. Silence filled the condo they were sleeping in. A quick glance at the alarm clock showed it to be three in the morning. What woke him? Camille was sleeping unaware next to him and he was tempted to ignore whatever it was and drift back off to sleep, but the niggling sensation in his gut forced him to get up and make sure everything was in order. It had been three days since they met Nafisa and nothing had changed. It felt like their hands were tied. If she didn’t contact them and ask for help, they couldn’t barge in and intervene in any way. Every day they’d gone to have dinner in the area and made sure they stopped at her stall and chatted for a moment. Camille had brought her little boy a small toy that afternoon and found out his name was Sami; the Algerian version of Samuel.

Trojan paused near the front door as he recalled the boy’s eyes lighting up at the toy. It burdened him to think what future lay ahead for Sami and Nafisa. The front door was still locked but something was sticking through underneath. Trojan bent down and pulled the smudged envelope fully through underneath the door. There was nothing written on it but it felt thick like there was more than one sheet of paper inside. Trojan went to the kitchen and turned on the downlights before opening the mysterious letter. His eyes widened as he unfolded what looked like official papers in Catalan. The only thing he recognised was Sami’s name written into one of the sections and Nafisa’s in another.

There was another separate handwritten letter in broken French which he could partially decipher. He needed to wake Camille up, he knew she’d want to see this.

Half an hour later they were both wide awake sitting at the dining table with the papers between them. Camille was shaking her head.

“I don’t understand. Why is she giving Sami to us?”

Trojan studied her with troubled eyes, “Maybe she realized that she would never be free and wants her son to have a chance at a better life.”

“But she barely knows us!” Camille bit her lip in consternation.

“I know, I know…” Trojan exhaled, “I just wish we could save them both, isn’t that why I had the dream?”

Camille kept quiet reading through the letter again. “Her story is so sad, isn’t it?”

Trojan nodded, “I know.”

“So, this is what we know.” Camille had her no-nonsense voice on, “She is an illegal refugee from Algeria. She got pregnant with a young man she loved that lived in her house but they were not allowed to marry since she had been promised to a much older man in another village. In disgrace the young man was sent away but Nafisa was thrown out to the street. She made her way to the coast where she found a man willing to take her across the channel in return for her promise to work for him—or actually his boss—for three years.”

Trojan banged the table, “And she’s been working for him for two years, but he keeps on adding to her debt with expenses like rent and food which means she has another three years to try and make up for that.”

“But that will never end since he does not pay her for the work, and it keeps on adding up.” Camille’s eyes teared up. “It’s so unfair. Modern slavery.”

Her husband reached across the table and laid his hand over hers. “Do you think we could buy her from him?”

“It might put her life in danger…if he realizes she told anyone about his slave trade.” The words left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“We could pretend that we are looking for a slave ourselves?”

Camille shrugged, “It is worth a try, but first we need to get Sami to safety.”

“She doesn’t say how we are to pick him up.” The creases in Trojan’s forehead deepened.

A yawn escaped Camille’s lips, “Maybe we should just go and see her tomorrow.”

Trojan smiled at her, “First some beauty sleep, right?”

She smirked, “Yip, you definitely need it, mister.”

Even so, long after Camille was sound asleep Trojan found himself unable to follow suit. Prayers flowed out of his spirit as he interceded for Nafisa and Sami. Eventually he fell into a peaceful slumber where he dreamed of them free and happy.

The morning came too soon but they had an appointment with the man managing their yacht at nine. Coffee in hand, they strolled down to the jetty, which was mostly deserted. A tanned guy in his twenties with slicked-back dark hair approached them with a wide grin. He was sporting typical Island wear – flip flops, board shorts and a T-shirt.

“Hello! You must be Liberty’s owners!” He shook their hands vigorously. “Let me show her to you. Everything is in tip top state.” He led them down the wooden planks and paused in front of a majestic yacht with Liberty written in bright red curly letters on the glistening white hull. A gangway had been lowered onto the jetty and they easily climbed onboard.

Trojan cast his eyes appreciatively around the deck noticing that everything was indeed polished and tidy. He gave a nod of approval and the man’s grin spread wider.

“I, Seb, have been taking care of her by myself alone for five years now.” He touched the mast with an affectionate pat. A noise down in the cabin made them all look towards the stairs. Seb moved first, hurriedly climbing down while muttering to himself. He opened the door and gave a startled exclamation. A few seconds later he appeared holding a small boy in his arms.

Camille’s eyes widened, she stared at the toddler, “It’s Sami!”

“You know this boy?” Seb climbed up the stairs and stood helplessly while Sami sucked his thumb, his eyes looking teary.

“Where’s your mummy, Sami? Come here, you know Auntie Camille?” Camille took him from Seb and hugged him to her. He clutched her hair with one fist, the other staying in his mouth. It looked like he relaxed a fraction in her arms. Trojan climbed down the stairs, bending low to avoid hitting his head. He inspected the lock, finding scrape marks showing forced entry.

Seb was nibbling a nail watching him, “I swear, I don’t know how that boy got there. I checked everything half an hour ago before I went to wait for you on the jetty.”

Trojan climbed back onto the deck, “And no one suspicious passed you? A young woman maybe?”

Seb was shaking his head. “No one, I swear.”

“Do you think Nafisa is in danger? She must have left him here. Maybe she hid him in a wardrobe and he fell asleep only waking up now?”

“She must have known we had an appointment here today to inspect the boat.”

“Aha!” Seb perked up, “I remember, last night I was in the bar and I talked to a young woman for a few minutes. She asked me about my plans for today.”

Camille hugged Sami to her, “But why? Where is she?”

Trojan walked around the perimeter of the deck. Something sparkled near the lifeboat and he picked it up. It was an earring. His heart rate increased as he searched for more clues. Getting off the boat he walked a short distance down the jetty. He was about to turn around when he spotted a discolouration on the side of one of the wooden poles. It was dark, sticky and stood out. His eyes strayed into the deep water of the ocean, lapping gently against the poles and he swallowed. He hoped against hope that he was wrong. Turning back towards their boat he sought out Camille, whom he found sitting inside the cabin holding the boy. The sight of them snuggling together tore at his heart.  Trojan sought her eyes and gently said, “Would you mind staying here with Sami and let me go and look for Nafisa by the stall. Something tells me she hid him for a reason. Camille wordlessly nodded.

Seb’s head swivelled between them. “Madame can wait here in the cabin. I stocked it with snacks and drinks in case you want to go out for a trip.”

“Thank you Seb.” Camille gave him a grateful smile.

Trojan indicated to Seb to follow him to the deck. Once outside he gave Seb a hard stare, “I need you to keep watch, we might be dealing with bad people here. Don’t leave them alone.”

Seb’s eyes widened and he saluted, “Yes, Captain. You can count on me.” He patted his pocket, “I have a knife. They won’t come by me.” He took a stance in front of the stairs as if he meant to stand there till Trojan came back.

It took Trojan half an hour to go back to the condo, get the car and drive to the town with the stalls Nafisa worked in. Finally parked and paid, he tried to slow his steps as he approached them. Trying to look like a disinterested tourist was hard. Starting on the stall at the end, he pretended to browse till he came to her usual stall. His eyes found a young woman who looked like Nafisa at the stall. She smiled broadly when he glanced her way and approached him.

“Can I help you? Special price for you.”

Trojan kept quiet but pushed past her deeper into the stall. She followed behind him, puzzled when he whirled around and whispered, “Where is Nafisa?”

Her face fell and she glanced over her shoulder, before taking a dress hanging near her and holding it up as if they were inspecting it. “I don’t know, Sir. They told me this is my stall from now on. Nafisa is gone.”

“Did she take her stuff?”

The girl hesitated before giving a small negative shake. Louder she said, “Please sir, would you like this dress for your wife? It would suit her.”

Trojan peered over her shoulder trying to identify who could be spying on them. The girl was clearly rattled. He looked around the small table with the till and the changing room. His eye fell on a small piece of white sticking out underneath the till. He turned his back on the girl and tugged it free, revealing a small, folded note, which he enclosed in his hand.

Nodding to the girl he left hurriedly. Around the corner he opened the note and felt himself tear up, before he raced back to the car.

Trojan found Seb still in the same position when he came back. Camille and Sami were in the cabin playing a game of peek-a-boo.  He sank down on the bench opposite them, his stomach rock hard.

What’s wrong? Camille stared at him.

I think they killed her.

“What!” Camille covered her mouth with her hand. Trojan handed her the note, which she read in silence, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Oh, Trojan, what should we do?”

He stared at Sami, feeling love for the boy expand in his chest with warmth.

“She left him to us. He’s our son now.”

“Our son.” Camille sat still letting the words wash over her.

“We should leave, straight away. If they know we have him they might try to steal him back.”

Camille shivered, “I can’t believe they were going to sell him.” She gently stroked his head, and he rewarded her with a grin. “She gave her life to save him.”

Trojan moved so he sat next to Camille and pulled her under his shoulder. Sami watched them with his dark eyes before clambering onto their laps, cuddling in between them.

After a brief consultation with each other, Trojan and Camille sent Seb to buy them provisions for a few weeks at sea and set sail that same day for mainland Spain. It was the easiest way to get Sami as far away from danger as possible. Once in Spain with the help of a friend at the French embassy they got him a passport and arrived at their main home in the South of France.

Sami had become attached to Camille and Trojan during the voyage and a lot more active too. He quickly learned to stay away from the dangerous sides of the boat, but explored every other inch of it, relishing in his newfound freedom. They vowed never to use a pushchair for him again.

Walking into their home he toddled in, steadily on his feet, his eyes wide as he observed the grand chandelier in the massive foyer. Turning in a circle he looked up at them, “La maison?”

Camille smiled broadly and nodded, “Ouais.”

She wasted no time converting the bedroom closest to theirs into a little boy’s room; blue and yellow with sailboats and bears.

They were sitting outside under an oak tree enjoying a picnic lunch later the week after they returned with Sami. He was happily playing on the grass between them when Trojan looked at Camille with sudden tears in his eyes. She took his hand and felt her own eyes tear up.

It’s not what I thought the outcome would be from my dream. Trojan thought.

I know. Camille sighed.

His ways are higher than our ways… Trojan squeezed her hand.

He gave us a son. I never saw that coming. She wiped a tear off her cheek.

And Nafisa is free even though she isn’t in this realm anymore.  Trojan attempted to smile.

We must try and do more for those in slavery in this modern times.  Camille’s forehead wrinkled.

I have an idea how we can do just that… Trojan’s smile was broad.

Camille felt butterflies in her stomach for she knew it was their life calling: to set the prisoners free and bring hope to those in darkness. Their adventure was just beginning.

Thank you for reading this short story. If you missed Part One, just look for it under my blog posts. If you don’t know Trojan and Camille’s story you can read it in The Seer.

Blessings from my home to yours. Clara Berge.