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Choking in the thick smoke, crawling painfully on the floor of the ship, I found my way out of the deserted machine. My skin was covered with burnt spots. I felt a lot of pain but I saw hope at a distance. A boat was being rowed towards the ship and its speed was as fast as that of the sinking ship. I pleaded with God to save my life. It had all started after the captains of our ship began to argue endlessly on whether to sell us North or South. This got me and my fellow passengers by surprise. We had won a scholarship to the Southern part. I had won an opportunity to work in an upcoming Law Firm as a Human Rights' Activist for a year. The girl seated next yo me had won a chance to play Basketball for a famous and excellent team. We did not know that we had been played. During our captains' argument, our ship hit another ship and this created another argument between our captains and the other captains. The other captains started shooting at us. All our captains were shot dead. Most of the passengers in our ship were killed too. Amidst all the confusion, I jumped into an empty water tank which was in a deep place in the ship and hid myself. Something hit our ship so hard that I felt like it had broken to pieces. Suddenly, a fire broke out. As I lied on my tummy on top of the floor of the ship, I longed for the boat to get closer than it was. Then a man shouted, "Hold that rope and swing to this boat," he said as he threw a rope with hooks at its edges. "Hurry!" he added. It landed on our ship. I tried to reach it but...I passed out. "Wake up! You are now answerable to us," a man shouted. I looked around me and saw that I was lying on a home-made wooden bed and next to it, was an oil lamp- almost running out of oil. "Follow me!" he uttered loudly. I tried to stand but I couldn't. I tried to reach for the bed with my hands but that too was impossible. My hands and legs had been tied tight with a roll of rope extending from one end to the other. He looked at me, helpless and confused and then helped me stand on the floor. I tried to walk but I ended up falling after every little step I made. He became impatient and decided to carry me across his shoulders. As we passed through the dark, I remembered the fear I had when I saw my uncle breathing his last. I saw his head and neck pass through a rope hanging in the air and the wicked smile on his face still scares me to death. He was a monster. I was led into a cage lit with oil lamps. A woman of about 50 to 60 years was seated at one corner. She had scattered teeth in her mouth. Her face was filled with wrinkles. One of her eyes was smaller than the other. She looked sad and lost, weak and hopeless. I was pushed in and the cage was locked. She tried to lift my thigh and then she exclaimed, "You have it!" I looked at her surprised then looked at my thigh. There and then, I saw a tattoo of a cross. It had been around 6 seasons since I volunteered to do the woman's tasks. I was working as a housegirl in different houses in the region and every month I worked under a different master. I did my duties and those of the woman I stayed with. A note fell out of a file. I picked it up and read, "To my Unknown daughter, our family has a cross-tattoo on the right thigh. When you read this note, follow this map to find us." I rushed out of the house and followed the directions but at the end of the last stop, I saw a rope tied on a tree. Next to the tree, was a half-buried footstool.