| |
Hannah paced back and forth while she waited for Simon. Her footsteps on the crunching leaves made far too much noise, but she didn’t care. If he planned to take over her entire mission, why had she sneaked back into North Korea at all? If he was just going to snatch all the Bibles and deliver them himself, why had she ever left the abundance and relative safety of the Sterns’? She should just give him her backpack and return to Yanji.
Did he doubt she could complete her assignment? Was that why he followed her? For the briefest moment, she wondered if Mr. or Mrs. Stern had asked him to look after her. She huffed and recalled the Sterns’ incessant grilling over the past several months: Are you certain you want to go back to North Korea? Are you sure you’re ready? We could help you relocate to South Korea where you’ll be safe. Was it because she was a girl? Was that why nobody believed in her?
At first, she was grateful for Simon’s company. Ecstatic, even. She had never agreed with the Sterns’ decision to send them out alone. How were they supposed to endure without any fellowship or encouragement from one another? The graduates, not the Sterns, were the ones risking their lives sneaking into North Korea. The American missionaries had never set foot in Hannah and Simon’s cut-off, isolated kingdom. What right did they have to tell the graduates how to travel? Simon’s appearance in the woods had felt like divine providence, an answer to all her unspoken hopes.
For the first few hours.
And now he wouldn’t even let her finish her tasks. Her tasks, the one the Sterns entrusted specifically to her. She leaned her head back and glared at the night sky. With the thick covering of clouds, she had no way to tell the time. She was supposed to make her way to the center of the village, leaving Bibles and audio devices for a Christian living there. She wasn’t supposed to sit in the woods and count down the seconds. Simon had come to protect her, or so he claimed, but how was she any safer here than in the village itself? If the National Security Agency found her, they’d punish her no matter where she was caught.
She huffed when the first drops of rain splashed on her forehead. She was tired, alone, and completely unprotected. A few minutes later, she was also soaking wet.
***
“You had a visitor this morning. Who was she?” The interrogator leaned in so close Mr. Tong could smell the sour tinge of vinegar on his breath.
“I did not have the honor to learn her name.” Mr. Tong was thankful he was blind. The interrogator, no matter how hard he might try, would never get a physical description out of him.
“I’ll make you talk, old man. Whether your god saves you depends on how much information you give me.” To make his point, he grabbed one of Mr. Tong’s fingers and wedged a sharp needle into the soft spot between the nail and the flesh underneath. “What was her name?”
Mr. Tong tried to keep his head steady, but the palsy just traveled down to his free hand.
The interrogator laughed. “I’ll make you quiver before the night’s through, Christian pig. Now tell me who your visitor was.”
Mr. Tong waited until his trembling subsided. Then he lifted his chin. “Even if I knew, I would never betray her to someone like you.”
The interrogator snorted. Mr. Tong heard the sound of metal clinking against metal. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”
***
Simon walked as fast as he dared. His only goal was to make the delivery and return to Hannah as soon as possible. He hated leaving her alone. Did she even know what dangers awaited her on this side of the Tumen River? Up until the day they graduated, he hoped she would back out of the program, but her heart was set on fulfilling this mission. He shouldn’t have followed her, but he needed to know she was safe. At least now he could protect her, and he would keep on protecting her as long as he was breathing.
He hurried to the village with both hands clenched. Everything was as it should be. He would pass a hundred sleepless nights or cross a dozen flowing rivers if it kept Hannah cradled in the arm of safety. He recalled the feel of her head against his chest when she hugged him earlier today. When they found the grove of trees and he lay down to rest that afternoon, her physical closeness nearly drove him to distraction. It had taken him twice as long as it should have to fall asleep.
Even so, he knew his longings were nothing more than fantasy. Once North Korea was open to the gospel, once his compatriots were free to worship Christ publicly, he could consider the luxury of marriage. Until then, there was too much work to do. He wiped cool drops of rain off his cheeks and forced his senseless musings out of his mind. He had a delivery to make. It was time to focus. If anything went wrong, he had to be ready to run and get back to Hannah. With ears strained and muscles tense, he hurried on.
He was going so fast he didn’t even notice the child crouched beside the trail. After nearly tripping, Simon caught his balance and spun around. The boy thrust a crumpled piece of paper into his palm, darted off, and disappeared. Simon scanned the note. Don’t go back the way you came. Unsafe. You will find shelter here. A crude map marked a point on the opposite end of the village.
With his breath stuck somewhere between his throat and his lips, Simon turned back on the trail. His lungs bursting, he raced back through the woods toward Hannah. He had to get her out of there.
***
By the time she heard the men and calculated how fast she had to move to outrun them, Hannah’s legs were frozen in place. A flashlight blinded her eyes. The men rushed closer. She bit her tongue to keep from crying out. She couldn’t let Simon hear. He’d run to her rescue, and then they’d both be taken. The guards would reach her in just another second or two. She glanced up at the olive-green uniforms. National Security Agency. It was too late for her. One of the men grabbed a handful of her hair and pressed his lips against her ear. Nausea threatened to knock her off her feet as his coarse stubble scratched her skin.
“Going for a walk in the rain?”
The backpack was only a few paces away, but she refused to look at it. Keep it hidden, Lord, she prayed. When Simon came back and found her missing, at least he could take the Bibles to those who needed them.
For the first time since she left Yanji, the verses she memorized about fear flowed from her spirit without effort. Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. God had sent Simon to walk with her for a day. Now the two of them would be torn apart once again, and the Holy Spirit himself would have to give Hannah the power and strength she needed to carry on.
The first agent clenched her hair, exposing her throat, and his partner walked in slow circles around her. “Look what we have here.” Both men chuckled.
She focused all her energy on inhaling and exhaling. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear. Though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
“It’s not safe for a little girl to be out alone in the big, dark woods.” He stopped and stroked her cheek. His finger ran down to her neck. “You never know what could happen to a nice little thing like you.”
She thought about the backpack. If she could get them to leave now, it might stay hidden. “Where are you going to take me?” She tried to sound brave, but her voice was betrayed by an incriminating squeak.
The man frowned and shook his head. The other agent twisted her arm behind her back. Her heart pounded in her chest, its thud echoing loudly in her ears. She followed the men. She had to get them as far away from the backpack as possible. She prayed Simon wouldn’t return until they were gone. She prayed he would find the Bibles where she left them.
The ministry had to continue.