Chapter 5 POV ALLEGRA

We crossed the border in a cargo truck, inside a container together with animals - sheep. Besides being bothered by the mistreatment for holding the poor things like that and knowing that they are going to be slaughtered, the smell is not pleasant, they also make a lot of noise. I may not want to sleep, but my head ached the whole trip.

I couldn't stop hearing my father's screams, seeing the scenes through the crack, Simon's face, and crying tears so painful that they burned in my face like acid, eating away at me.

"We're here, sweetheart." I wake Alice when I feel the truck stop. I gently touch her face, stroking her hair, until she awakens. - It's time to go.

"Where are we going?" She asks me, running her fingers over her eyes and lifting her body.

"First, where Uncle sent us, there is someone waiting for us." And then, to find Guerra, but that is a detail that is not important for a child.

When I hear the sound of the back of the truck being opened, I get ready together with Alice, then we are released from the container.

I pick up my sister and go outside, taking my first steps in Norway and assessing the environment. I don't have time to think about beauty, about hopes, I only think about our safety. We stop in a kind of village, there are many houses next to each other and the truck seems to have reached its destination.

There are many people selling things, houses, noise, the man who would come to meet us should be here but we are carried from one side to the other in the middle of the crowd. I hug Alice with one arm and guide us, denying the proposals of the street vendors, this is not how I imagined Norway.

"Allegra!" I hear a male voice and along with the call, a tap on my shoulder that makes me jump out of my seat and turn around. "Calm down, I'm here to help."

"Are you my contact?" I confirm.

He is a man with white hair, not very well dressed either, and I imagine he recognized me easily from the characteristics Uncle Turner must have passed him. My racing heart and tense body gradually calms down, and I even manage to move my lips in a relieved smile when the man nods, claiming to be the person I was looking for.

"Come, I will take you and your sister safely to Norway." He gives me a wide smile, showing all his teeth.

But at this moment, it is my smile that fades. Aren't we already in Norway?

Suspicious, realizing that I don't know if I can trust this man, I worry again. I take a deep breath, grab my sister's hand tightly and begin to follow the man - or at least pretend to do so. As we take a few steps, I expect us to pass a large amount of people and especially salesmen, purposely stealing a watch that he held out to me.

As I take the watch from the hawker's hand, a real commotion begins as he shoots after me shouting that it has been stolen. People start running after each other, and he didn't even realize that I am a woman, I don't believe he could see my face. In the crowd, I keep Alice close and pull off my cap, freeing my hair to differentiate me from the "thief" they are looking for.

"ALLEGRA! Come back here, Allegra! I want to help you!" False promises don't fool me. I know bad people, and I could see from his wide smile that he was far from wanting to help me.

My goal was actually to escape from the man who was sent to me, using the crowd. At this point I don't even have time to think about how I was sent directly into a trap, I just run along with Alice among the people shouting and running away from the fake thief. I have a good chance, I thought, I even believed it would be easy, but among the common people other men appear.

The bastard has called his companions, armed men who begin to enter among the people in search of me. I look around, panting, and bend down to enter, together with Alice, one of the food stalls I see in the village. The owner is behind the counter and doesn't care when my sister and I hide, just exchanging glances with me.

"Lice, you need to be strong now, okay?" I hold her face between my hands. You can already see the desperation in her little eyes after going through so much. "They're after me, if we don't split up now, they'll get us both. You're smart, you can do this."

"No, I'm not leaving you!" She clings to me, making me hate myself for forcing her to go on alone.

But what choice do I have?

I can't let them take Alice, taking care of her is my responsibility now that Dad is not here. If we stay together, we don't stand a chance against so many armed men in an unknown place, but if I draw them out, I can save her.

"You won't leave me, you will help me. I hold this..." I give her the address Papa gave me, also all the rubles I have on hand. "And this. You won't say your name, my name, you won't speak or trust anyone. Find a cab as soon as you leave the village, just follow a straight line until you find the lane and you will see many. Give the driver the address and the money, he will take you to me."

I have recorded the address, so I can send my sister there safely. Meanwhile, I will take these men away from my little one.

"I can't do this without you." I can see the fear in her eyes.

"Of course you can. Repeat after me, what are you going to do?"

"Find a cab, give them the address and the money."

"And then what happens?" This is the most important part.

"I will find you."

"That's it, my girl." I squeeze her in my arms, closing my eyes and smelling her scent, stroking her hair. Outside there is a war going on, the men who are looking for me have increased the confusion and fear of the people. "Be strong, my clever little warrior. And remember, trust no one. Count to twenty after I leave and run without looking back."

"Be careful, Allegra." She returns my hug and I kiss the top of her head.

"I love you." That's the last thing I say before I force myself to pull away from her, nod in thanks to the owner of the stall in front of the cashier, and head back to the middle of the mess. This time I don't run away, not at first, I just stand right in the middle. "Hey, over here!" I raise my hand, drawing attention. The men's eyes immediately stop on me, who point their guns but I know they won't shoot because they need me alive. "Come and get me!"