Page 14 of Shadowing You

If he heard the sob that hitched her words, he didn’t react, just nodded again.

She spun the loose rings on her finger.

As if he’d come to a conclusion, the man stood and picked up the bowl. “There is a room,” he said. “Small but private.”

Something in his face—the kindness in his eyes, maybe, or simply the absence of any agenda—made her think of Āyí, who had also asked her for nothing and given her everything she had.

Maybe Mei Lin would be a fool to trust him, but she’d come here because she needed sanctuary, and this man offered it. “Thank you.”

He led her to the back of the sanctuary, through a heavy door, and down a narrow hallway, pointing out the bathroom as they passed. A few steps farther, he opened another door and stepped aside.

It was barely larger than a closet and held a single bed and a bare shelf. An overhead bulb lit the space. There was no window, no carpet, no decor.

It was perfect.

He walked away and returned a moment later with two plastic bottles of water, which he set on the shelf. “Please, try to drink. If you die here, the paperwork will be terrible.” His eyes twinkled, and she smiled.

“I’ll do my best. Thank you. You…you do the work of God.”

His expression turned serious. “God sees you. He is with you. He knows what you need.”

It was similar to what Āyí used to say to her. That this pastor said it, here and now… It must mean something.

But after the day she’d had, and the years before it… “How can you be sure?”

The pastor shrugged. “He is God, and He is love.”

He started to pull the door closed, but she stopped him. “Wait. Do you…? Could I borrow a phone?”

“I don’t have one.” He seemed truly sorry. “But I will provide as the Lord leads. Trust Him, sister, and sleep.”

He closed the door, and she was alone.

Alone.

When was the last time she’d been in a room alone? A very long time ago.

She should think. She should make a plan. She should figure out how to reach Ethan. First, she should figure out how to cross a city full of cameras with no money and no phone, how to get out of a country that watched from every corner and doorway.

She sat on the edge of the bed and took off her shoes.

Whether she lay down or fell over from exhaustion, she didn’t know. Within seconds, she was sound asleep.

Mei Lin awoke suddenly, eyes popping open. She’d fallen asleep so fast the night before that she hadn’t even turned the light off.

A distant knock carried through the walls, followed by a man’s voice, barely audible.

She sat up and swung her feet to the floor. How long had she slept? She didn’t know and certainly didn’t feel fully rested, though she wasn’t sure she ever would again.

A second man’s voice interrupted the first, and this one was angry.

Before the pastor replied—she was pretty sure it had been the voice of the man who’d led her here—she was shoving her feet into her worn sneakers.

She made the bed, grabbed the two untouched water bottles, and looked around to ensure she’d left no trace, nothing that could land on the pastor’s shoulders.

Satisfied, she peeked into the hallway. It was empty. The voices were louder out here.

Another door closed somewhere.