My heart thudded as I hung up the phone. I felt numb and my legs shook as I ran to my little sister’s room and threw open the door. “Jessica!” I shouted frantically, but to no avail; there was no reply and her bed was empty. My eyes flew to the window; it was wide open. Brushing off the tears welling up in my eyes, I sat on the bed, thinking back over the call I had just received. I had been awakened by the phone ringing in the middle of the night. I had answered it groggily but the throaty whisper of “I have your little sister,” jolted me awake. “What?” I had yelled out, confusedly wondering who would joke around at this time of the night. “There’s a tape under the pillow,” were the last words I heard before the ‘click.’ The caller had hung up.
Jolting back into reality, I threw Jessica’s pillow on the floor. There was indeed a tape there. I put it in a recorder I found in her bedside drawer. I was rooted to the spot as I listened, and when it was finally over, I knew what I must do. This wasn’t about money. These men were one of those psychopaths- rather, madmen- that I had read about in the newspapers, who kidnapped people and killed them to sell their organs; kidneys, hearts and what not.
Regret cut through me like a knife. No matter how poor we were, moving to Afghanistan was the biggest mistake we had ever mad. Also, my only parent, my father was away for work and had entrusted me with looking after the sister I loved so much. I had messed it up, but there was no way I was going to let her die. Not when the terrorists had informed on this tape that she seemed too small to be of much use; and that they would kill her anyway unless I found a replacement for her within half an hour. They would send her in a van and expect me to have one waiting or they would, to quote their words, “throw her dead body on the doorstep.”
I swallowed hard and blinked back tears. I had no other choice. What I had to do was so much clearer than the shaking reflection in the mirror in front of me. I then walked over to the desk and picked up a pen. Words flowed onto the paper in front of me, the paper soon as tear-strewn as my face. I wrote:
“Dear Daddy (And Jessica, when you can read)
I want you both to know that I love you more than anything in the entire world. When Mum passed away, I thought I would never be happy again. But you both gave me the kind of happiness and love which is irreplaceable. What I’m going to do now is only so you, Jessica, can live the wonderful life that lies ahead of you. You’re an amazing girl and you deserve that. I’m giving up my life for yours; be happy so it’s not in vain. Daddy, thank you for everything. You’re the greatest father any daughter could ever ask for. This world is a crazy place. Take care of yourselves. I love you both so much.”
Love,
Natasha”
I was trembling; fear built up inside of me. Despite the horror and agony I felt right now; I had no intention of backing out. Jessica meant everything to me. The next few minutes seemed like an eternity; until at last I heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up in the driveway. It was time. With that, I wiped the remnants of the tears off my face, yet loud sobs escaped my mouth. There was no turning back. I turned the doorknob and walked downstairs. Everything seemed like it moved in slow motion. Not looking back even once, I held my breath as I walked to my own death.