In Sheep's Clothing by Emily Kimelman

Author:Emily Kimelman [Kimelman, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

The women shared their food and water with April. They tended to her wounds and offered her a cloak—it kept the night's chill at bay. They lit a small fire and sat around it, their young faces glowing in the flickering flame.

"How did you end up in the woods like this?" April asked the leader, Nadia.

The young woman looked into the trees. "God brought us here." They had that in common. "We were prisoners of Daesh. We are Yazidi." Nadia raised her brows in an unasked question.

"I don't know what that is," April admitted.

Nadia licked her lips. "We are a minority religious group. Daesh believes that we worship the devil. And therefore, it is their right—" She cleared her throat. "Their duty to enslave us."

A shudder passed over April. "Their duty?" She'd heard the news reports about beheadings, slavery and other barbaric violent acts of Daesh, but like so many, she'd given it little thought, obsessed with her own life, her own problems.

Guilt tore at her gut. She'd been blind for so long.

"Yes. They believed it their religious duty. They paid for their false faith."

Good. "How did you escape?"

"An attack from the sky." She pointed up, searching for words. Nadia's English was excellent, but unpracticed. She spoke slowly and precisely, almost like she feared using the wrong word. A woman who'd spent her life seeking perfection. "The bombs killed many of our owners." Nadia's lip rose into a snarl. "But we remained…intact. We are to spread the word of the prophet." She looked back to her friends. The other girls were speaking in Kurdish. One of them must have made a joke, because the others laughed. A small smile curled Nadia's lips. "I do not know the length of time we will live, how long God will have us serve, but I trust in the road we are on."

"That is such a comfort."

Nadia nodded. "Yes." April took the girl's hand, suddenly filled with an emotion she could hardly describe. This girl was so brave. Just like Joy. But pious…something Joy never was.

"Thank you. You've saved my life."

Nadia smiled, blushing. "We are happy to help. But, tell me please, how did you arrive here?" She gestured to the wilderness around them. "You are an American woman. Not a soldier."

"My daughter was a soldier. When I heard she was missing in action, God told me to come." Or was it the devil?

"That is very brave."

April winced. "I'm doing it for me as much as for her. I need to see her, to know she is alive." To make amends.

Nadia closed her eyes for a moment. "My mother must be worried about me." She opened her eyes. They were golden brown, surrounded by thick black lashes. The ghost of a bruise darkened the left side of her jaw. Stress lines carved crevices around Nadia's lips. "If she is alive." Tears filmed Nadia's gaze, and she looked down at April's hand over hers. "If Daesh still has her, it's possible my escape will lead to her death.

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