Chapter 12
Liisa
My grandmother always told me to treat my elders with respect.
I was taught about stranger danger in school.
But I wish my teacher had told me that ordinary people do bad things, too.
Because the people who took me aren’t monsters, at least not the kind I imagined during our talks in class.
The woman and her son in the cabin in the woods seem more like the people that my mummu told me to respect.
I’m not the same as other girls my age. I know that I’m in trouble.
When your mum investigates murders, you learn things.
Things you can’t share with your friends.
I heard Mikael whispering, something about me being “the right fit.” I sit, legs crossed, as he watches me from the other side of room.
The open fire is blazing now and I’m grateful for the heat.
“There are three bedrooms in this cabin.” Johanna stands before me, blocking my view of Mikael.
“One belongs to me, the other is Mikael’s, and one will belong to you.
” Her voice lowers as if she’s telling a scary story.
She leans so close that I can see the tiny red veins in her bloodshot eyes.
“Then there’s the hole. That’s underground.
It’s dark and cold and has big hairy spiders that bite.
” She makes a gnashing motion with her teeth that makes me jump on the spot. “You don’t want to stay there, do you?”
I shake my head so much that it hurts. My eyes are puffy, and I want to answer properly, but my throat feels like it has closed up.
Everything comes out: the pain, the emotion, the fear that has been building in my chest as I sob.
I sit here, my shoulders jerking, hoping she’ll feel sorry for me and take me home.
I don’t see her open palm coming until it’s too late.
It makes a sharp slapping sound as it hits the side of my cheek.
Mummu never once hit me, not even when I misbehaved.
The sudden stinging sensation hurts so much. Shocked, I cup my cheek with my hand.
“I’ve already told you—stop crying!” Her voice booms like thunder now, as she leans over me once more.
Her face is red, a film of sweat breaking out on her upper lip.
“This life isn’t for the weak, do you hear?
Pull yourself together and do as you’re told!
” Flecks of her spit land on my face, but I’m too scared to wipe them away.
“S-s-sorry,” I manage to say, gulping back the tears that won’t stop. I part my lips and force myself to smile. That’s when I notice Mikael touching the scar creeping up from his mouth. It’s almost like a lopsided grin.