(18+) Smooth Xscape (Complete)

Ch. 27: Fresh start

Before the plane taxed out of the hangar, and down the line, preparing for takeoff, Gobi had made fake identity papers for us, and passports. I could tell it wasn't his first time doing that, because he had a machine made for that purpose only, hidden inside the socket of a custom made table. But I couldn't help but to wonder how credible it was for two English speaking people, to have Cuban passports. Probably not credible at all... But that's how it was, and there was no way back.

The plane was an old cargo plane, that looked rather suspicious, but we had no other choice than to trust this Gobi. But I must admit; the thoughts that ran through my mind as the plane took off, weren't pleasant ones. Even Michael looked scared, and squeezed my hand tightly. And it didn't help that the plane was so noisy that you could hardly hear yourself think. And Annie was terrified the whole first hour of the trip, and cried until she fell asleep in my arms, in sheer exhaustion. Our poor little baby.

"So this is how our life will be, huh?" I shouted to Michael above the noise from the motor. My voice was strained and croaky, sounding like I had a terrible cold, but I cleared it, and make it sound a bit more normal.

"We're going to be on the run for the rest of our lives?"

Michael kept looking out of the window, on the white sea of clouds, that were bathed in bright sunlight, and I almost thought he didn't hear me.

"I'm not sure if I can take this..." I mumbled to myself, and looked down at our sleeping princess feeling my eyes start to water. This truly sucked! But suddenly, I felt Michael's lips on my cheek, and his hand was placed reassuringly on my thigh.

"It's gonna be fine, baby. You, Annie and me. We'll be fine no matter where we are in this world. We just need a fresh start and..."

"But how many fresh starts are we going to have before we can settle down and feel safe?!"

He looked down. We both knew the answer to that.

Large beads of tears rolled down my cheeks, and a couple landed on Annie's blanket. This wasn't any good start in life for her, and it wasn't a good situation for Michael and me, either. If only we could stay with Ennio and Emanuel...

Michael wrapped his arms around us, and Annie stirred in her sleep.

"We'll get through this too. I love you, baby. And I will do anything for you and Annie to be happy. Just be patient. Everything will be alright," he cooed in my ear, then kissed my temple.

Everything will be alright...

******

We made it across the Atlantic Ocean and landed outside a city I believe was called El Jadida. I say 'believe' because I had major problems to understand what Gobi said. The Asian accent, combined with awfully poor Spanish, was a really bad combination with my own lousy Spanish. And he didn't know one single word in English. Great. But at least, I knew we were in Marocco.

The sun had gone down as we were escorted by cab into the city. We had used all our savings from Michael's work at the gas station, to pay for the trip. And that included one month's stay at a cheap motel in the shabby part of the town. But right now, we were so tired, that we didn't really care where we were, as long as there was a bed. And after feeding Annie and putting her to sleep in the baby carriage, me and Michael finally crawled under the bed sheets. It was a double bed, but we'd gotten so used to lay in Emanuel's single bed for so long, that we were spooning on the part of the mattress closest to Annie, just like we'd done for the last year. And wrapped in Michael's safe arms, and a tender goodnight kiss, we fell into heavy sleep.

******

"What the hell are you doing?!"

I woke up in confusion, and felt Michael push me away so abruptly that I almost fell to the floor.