“Stand up!” Ezekiel yelled.

Panting on the floor, A’shai knew that he could not take much more of this. He glanced at Liberty who was crying and staring at him with worry in her eyes. He couldn’t let his father hurt Liberty. It was in that moment that he knew he had to make a choice between his father, a man who he had admired all his life, or Liberty, a girl he barely knew.

“I’m sorry,” A’shai whispered. Ezekiel smiled wickedly as he watched his son concede defeat. He turned to finish what he had started with Liberty but he didn’t take two steps in her direction before he felt the sharp blade of the axe split his back wide open. A’shai wasn’t apologizing for defending Liberty. He was apologizing for stabbing his own father in the back-literally. Ezekiel fell to his knees as he tried to reach behind him to remove the blade, but his arms were too short.

“Come on!” A’shai yelled as he grabbed Liberty’s hand before running out of the hut. They could hear Ezekiel’s screams as they darted through the village. A’shai knew that his father wasn’t dead and if he caught them there would be hell to pay. The beating would be so severe that it would be worse than death. They both understood this and it was that fear that caused their legs to keep flying as their hearts pumped furiously. They didn’t stop until they were on the outskirts of the village and Liberty could no longer keep up with A’shai’s pace. Out of breath, she called out, “Shai wait!”

His momentum slowed as he looked back. He stopped completely when he saw her panting from exhaustion.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head. “No, no… you came in before he could. Where are we going?” she asked. They had no food, no money, and no direction but the one thing that they did have was each other and for A’shai that was enough. He had no idea where they were headed but he wanted to seem like a man… like he knew exactly where to lead her. He wanted her to feel as if she could depend on him. So even though he had no plan and felt just as lost as Liberty, he grabbed her hand and asked, “Do you trust me?”