arm shot out and pushed me back to where I started, onto the ground. Outraged, I sat up. “What
do you want from me?! Why did you bring me here? When can I get back to my family? Can you
please say something!” Still, there was nothing but silence from him. He looked almost amused as
he continued to stare at me.
The first night was the worst, I knew that I couldn’t escape now. He obviously didn’t allow it
and I didn’t even know where I would go. This was the Gobi desert! We had travelled hours by
horse, I wouldn’t get anywhere by foot. I laid in the garden chair with the blankets on the floor
as the heat became intolerable. He had given me some water and bread earlier and even though it
had tasted like hard cardboard, I washed it down with the water not knowing when my next meal
would be. All throughout the night, I was restless. I couldn’t sleep at all. Silent tears ran down
my cheeks as I hugged my journal, grabbing on to the one thing that held me to my family. All
I could think about was how much I missed them. I felt so terrible about not being able to say
goodbye to them, that my last words to them were groans of frustration. I turned on my side, then
turned back again, the incessant heat bringing beads of sweat to my forehead. I finally slept for
an hour or so at the early hours of the morning, waking up as the sun rose with my puffy, swollen
eyes and body damp from sweat. I got up and folded my blankets, placing my journal in between
the sheets of cloth, preparing myself for the rest of the day. What would he do today? Perhaps sell
me? Or would he just keep watching me creepily? I sat on the edge of the garden chair, waiting.
He never came. The day dragged on. As the sky began to darken, I fell asleep. I woke up to
bread and water placed beside me. Looking around, I realized that there were a lot more things
around me now. The bucket had been emptied, the garden chair I was lying on had been replaced
by a sofa bed and there was a stack of picture books in a different language on the folding table.
However, there seemed to be no sign of the man that put them there. However, I was still heedful
with no knowledge of what was going to happen to me. I hated living in that everlasting mindset
of fear and anxiety. That night, I fell asleep once more and the next morning, he was gone again.
This time, I crept out of the yurt, going out to scout my surroundings, as cautious as can be. From
behind, fingers grabbed at my ears and dragged me back into the yurt. I realized that even when
he wasn’t there, he still watched my every move. There was no way I could win. Since then, I lost
hope of escaping. I don’t know how long this will last.
