Free Escape Under the Forever Sky by Eve Yohalen

had said, if the dogs didn’t get me, the hyenas would. Or the lions. I was trapped.
    That’s it. I’m trapped, and I’m never getting out alive, and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s the same old stupid story, whether it’s the cement walls at the residence or this damn hut. THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT
.
    I thought about what Tana had said on our way to the
mercato
. For once in my life I wanted to be able to
do
something. I wanted to make a decision for myself and act on it.
    Well, right there, right then, there was only one choice I could make:
If I can’t choose how I get to live, at least I can choose how I get to die
. And maybe, just maybe, there was a .00001 percent chance I’d get lucky.
    If Jane, Dian, and Biruté could take leaps into the unknown, so could I.
All right, ladies, time for a little planning
.
    I moved the crate back to its usual spot and sat down on my mat to think.
    Major Obstacles to My Escape
Dawit, Helena, and Markos
Dogs
No shoes
No food
No water
Insect bites
Snakes
Wild animals
No idea where I’m going
    How to Deal with These Obstacles
Dawit, Helena, and Markos—
I’ll leave when they’re away, or at least inside. If I get a good head start, I should be able to hide from them in the woods
.
Dogs—
Luckily, the window is on the wall farthest from the dogs, and the dogs are chained. I’ll escape when they’re sleeping. If Dawit, Helena, and Markos release them to chase me, I’m probably dead meat. Literally
.
No shoes—
Nothing I can do
.
No food—
Stockpile injera, hope to find berries or nuts that I recognize as nonpoisonous. Bugs are an absolute, on-death’s-doorstep last resort
.
No water—
Since I can’t carry it, I’ll have to find a water source like a stream or a watering hole. If I’m south of Addis and not southwest, there may be a lake nearby
.
Insect bites—
Nothing I can do. Try not to scratch
.
Snakes—
There aren’t too many poisonous ones in Ethiopia, but if I climb any trees, I need to remember to check for pythons
.
Wild animals—
Avoid at all costs! Lions and leopards sleep most of the day, so I’ll leave in the morning. If I have to spend the night out there, I’ll follow the advice Dahnie always gave me: “Walking around in the wild at night is just asking for trouble. It is much better to spend the night in a tree
.”
No idea where I’m going—
Since I was unconscious for about six hours, my best guess is I’m within two hundred miles south or southwest of Addis. I’ll head north and keep my fingers crossed
.
    Once I was at a rhino preserve feeding sugarcane to a white rhino when the rhino turned around,stamped his foot a few times, and peed all over me. It was totally disgusting, but later Iskinder told me rhino pee brings good luck. I hoped he wasn’t kidding.
    I lay down and tried to sleep, but my mind was racing. I kept thinking about Iskinder and how I had lied to him at Tana’s. “
I
promise
I won’t do anything I shouldn’t do
.” I cringed. Iskinder is the only person in my life who makes any effort to actually spend time with me—all the lunches and dinners and those hours building card houses. He’s never been anything but kind to me, and look how I treated him. Iskinder. A man who has lived among kings. And me, who am I? Just some bratty American kid.

    From 1930 until 1974, His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, was emperor of Ethiopia. And from 1968 until 1974, Iskinder was Selassie’s pillow bearer, just as his father had been before him.
    Iskinder told me about it one day while we were building Selassie’s Jubilee Palace out of cards.
    â€œYou were his
what
?” I couldn’t believe my ears.
    â€œI was His Majesty’s pillow bearer.”
    â€œBut what does that
mean
,