Chapter 20
Liisa
I scratch at the yucky stuff on my teeth.
Johanna has taken my toothbrush as punishment, and I haven’t brushed my teeth in three days.
I’ve been here for a week. At least I think it’s a week.
I don’t own a watch or a calendar, so all the days feel the same.
Apart from slaps from Johanna, I’ve not been hurt under this roof.
In the morning we eat porridge with defrosted bilberries, and lunch is leftovers from the day before.
For dinner we have fish or some kind of stew from whatever Mikael has hunted in the forest that day.
Then he comes into my room and stares at me, like I’m a strange animal that he trapped in the woods and brought home.
He’s not as excited as he was when he first brought me here.
He’s a lot, lot quieter these days. No, not quiet.
Dark and moody. Like when Christmas is over and you’ve unwrapped all your presents.
Like when you’re bored of your Barbie and want to pull off its head.
In the deadness of night when everything turns quiet, I stare at the white blobs of paint on the ceiling and think of where I went wrong.
I was walking home from school when it happened.
My grandma was supposed to pick me up from the bus stop to take me the rest of the way home, but she was late.
I hate waiting in the cold, so I started walking home.
My coat wasn’t warm enough—I was supposed to get a new one for my birthday.
Mum is careful with money, so presents are always things I need rather than want.
I was distracted, thinking about my friends and the project we were working on in class.
We were making a family tree, and I only had half the branches.
I looked at my friends’ trees, with their parents, brothers, and sisters.
Some of their branches were really full.
The road was quiet, like usual. That’s why the yellow car seemed so weird.
Johanna was looking at the front tyre, but I didn’t know who she was then.
Someone was sitting in the passenger side, and I realised it was a man—Mikael.
I checked my watch and walked a little faster, hoping Grandmother would turn up soon.
From the corner of my eye I watched Johanna staring at the tyre before she fixed her gaze on me.
Mikael got out and looked up and down the road.
He seemed nervous about something, but it was too late for me to cross over to the other side.
The woman looked nice enough, and I told myself that they had probably just broken down.
But the tyre she was kicking wasn’t flat.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and kept my head down as I walked.
My nose was throbbing from the cold, and I remember wishing that I hadn’t forgotten my scarf.
It all happened so fast.
Johanna was about the same age as my grandmother, but sturdier.
She wore the same blue coat, and her hair was tied back in the same style.
But her smile was so strange, as if someone had fixed it onto her like a Mr. Potato Head.
Her eyes were cold and narrow. Nothing on her face matched.
“I thought we had a flat tyre,” she said, in an accent that I couldn’t figure out.
“Looks like I was wrong.” She rested her hands on her hips, staring me up and down.
“Would you like a lift home? You shouldn’t be walking these roads at your age. ”
Mikael was staring at me like he’d never seen another living person before.
Sweat glistened on his forehead, despite the frost. He trudged towards me, the sound of his boots in the snow cutting through the quiet winter air.
His hand was tucked in his pocket, and he moved in a strange way. I didn’t like Mikael at all.
“No, thank you.” I spoke politely but firmly as I walked past.
Then Johanna nodded her head. But not at me, at Mikael.
Next thing, he was on me and something sharp and painful was jabbed into my back.
My teeth clenched from the pain, which felt like fire under my skin.
My legs stopped working and my backpack hit the snow.
I remember my books spilling out, and Johanna shouting at Mikael to make it quick.
I wasn’t able to scream, because I couldn’t breathe.
My legs felt like rubber bands as I was dragged into the back of the car.
Then the doors thudded shut and the car started perfectly fine.
We were moving, being spun round in a circle before turning the other way.
And now I’m here, stuck in this strange room with no way out.
The air smells musty and I can hear water dripping somewhere.
It’s cold and the darkness is scary. But not as scary as the people who took me.
I heard Johanna talking today. She thought I was asleep.
Mikael was complaining and I heard her say that I’ve had enough time to settle in.
“Tomorrow,” she told Mikael. “Tomorrow we’ll tell her why she’s here.
” Now I’m scared to go to sleep because I don’t want to know.