Near the end of 1884 the long journey began. Signor Legnani, his friend Signor Augusto Michieli, Bakhita, and another slave, a young African boy, all joined a camel caravan and traveled to Suakin, a Sudanese port on the Red Sea. Signor Michieli, a wealthy man who ran a business in Sudan, was returning to his family in Italy. His wife was to meet them when their ship arrived in Genoa, Italy.
When the caravan finally arrived in Suakin, the weary passengers were happy to reach their lodging place. Not long after, however, the two Italians received alarming news. Outlaws had attacked the city of Khartoum, trying to destroy it. Their homes had been looted and demolished, and all of their servants had been taken into slavery!
Bakhita listened in horror. If I had still been there, she thought, I would have been captured and thrown back into slavery, perhaps for the rest of my life. What would have become of me then? She gave thanks in her heart—to what or whom, she did not know. But surely some Divine Master, greater than any human master, was looking after her!
In the middle of 1885 the small party finally boarded a ship for the journey to Italy. The trip would be long and tiring, but sixteen-year-old Bakhita was smiling. She could only feel joy and excitement! What would Italy be like? How would her life there be different?
They sailed through the Red Sea, then into the Mediterranean. At last, they reached the Italian port of Genoa. As the ship docked, Bakhita watched the exciting hustle and bustle on the shore. The tired travelers stepped from the gangplank onto dry land. For a little while, Bakhita imagined that she could still feel the swaying motion of the sea!
They drove in a carriage to a hotel owned by one of Signor Michieli’s friends. This hotelkeeper had asked Signor Michieli to bring him a servant from Africa. The young boy had been brought along for that purpose.
Meanwhile, Signora Maria Michieli arrived to welcome her husband. She saw the boy being turned over to the hotel owner while Bakhita stood quietly beside Signor Legnani. The woman turned to her husband. “Augusto,” she demanded, “why on earth didn’t you bring an African girl along to help me with the housework? You should have thought of that. How easy it would have been!”
As his wife’s complaints continued, Signor Michieli began to feel trapped. The woman’s whining grated on Signor Legnani, who had been quiet until now. Signor Legnani turned to his friend and patted him on the shoulder. “Augusto, Bakhita would be a big help for your wife. Take her as a servant.”
Bakhita’s eyes widened. Her heart sank in dismay. But she was silent. Once again, her fate was in the hands of others. Signor Legnani, this trusted man she had considered her liberator, had just given her away to silence his friend’s wife!
For better or worse, Bakhita was now the servant of the Michieli family. They brought her with them to their family villa in Zianigo, near Mirano Veneto, and Signor Legnani left for Padua alone. Years later, Bakhita would sorrowfully write, “I heard nothing more of him.”
Soon after the family returned to Mirano Veneto, Signora Michieli gave birth to a baby, Alice, whom the family called Mimmina. Signora Michieli taught Bakhita, already known for her gentle ways, to feed, bathe, and care for the baby. The young African loved her duties and loved Mimmina. From birth, the child had never known a day without the soft, gentle smile of Bakhita. As the months passed, the alert baby was always happy to catch a glimpse of her caregiver coming through the bedroom door.
“Take Bakhita as your servant.”
Mimmina was growing up in a loving atmosphere. That was just as it should be, Bakhita thought. Images of her own loving family came to mind. How would her life have unfolded if she had not been kidnapped? Why, she would have grown up and married someone from her own region. How simple it would have been....
At moments like this, Bakhita would wonder about the existence of a Supreme Being. Who holds this world together? the young woman asked herself. Who directs our lives? Who allows events to happen? Who helps us to make good choices and avoid bad ones? So many questions. Who had the answers? Someone does, Mimmina, Bakhita whispered to the sleeping child. I’ll find answers to all my questions someday.