clarify what I meant:
“I’ve done what I’ve been asked to do and now I have to tell them that I am finished with the task. That’s why I’m asking for their telepho...”
His words that followed next stuck in my memory forever.
“It’s not possible to contact Dreams Ltd from here.”
I swallowed the lump that immediately came up in my throat and shook my head.
“Please, you have to understand, I haven’t committed any crime nor I am guilty of anything. They forged the documents so I could enter the territory, I had to get the parcel to you and I did. Now they have to take me back.”
Christopher's eyes were staring at my face.
“Did they say anything about bringing you back?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did the Corporation promise they’d help you to get out of here after your mission is accomplished?”
“No.”
“Then forget it.”
“What are you talking about?! This can’t be true! I just signed an agreement which confirmed that I was going to deliver you the parcel and that was it! I didn’t commit any crime!”
Christopher was listening to my shouting in silence and waiting for me to sit back on the sofa.
“Shereen, have you ever discussed with them anything about your return?”
“No.” I felt close to hysterics now. What is he talking about? Why wouldn’t they care about my return? Why? “They didn’t even tell me where I was going. They just told me the name of the city and that I must have certain documents to enter the area.”
Laroche sighed heavily.
“It’s all a fix.”
“No...” His words were bouncing off the protecting shield my mind had created. Subconsciously I didn’t want to let words penetrate through my mind; I didn’t want to accept them. “No, no, this cannot be true!”
“Shereen, did you ask the Corporation to do something for you - maybe for some money of something?”
“Yes.” I replied quietly.” I asked for money.”
“How much money? Not that it matters now, but just out of curiosity...”
“I asked for four hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
Christopher gave me a sad smile.
“That’s why they’ve sent you here claiming it was a way of “repaying the debt”. But you have to understand if they didn’t mention that they would help with your return – it was never part of their plan.”
“No!” I repeated again feeling my eyes welling up. “I’ll get in touch with them and...”
“But you can’t!” Laroche was starting to lose his temper. “Do you think I haven’t been trying? You can call no one outside of Tally. Don’t you get it? NO ONE”
“But there must be a way!” I shouted, feeling angry at myself for acting hysterically. “There must be a way, because you managed to contact them!”
Christopher crossed his arms on his chest and leaned backwards.
“I didn’t contact them myself. I asked another person who’d got out of Tally to do that for me.”
“But you contacted the person on the outside. How did you do that?”
“I got friendly with a girl who was getting out of here and asked her to do it.”
I was silent for a few moments searching Christopher’s face but my sixth sense was telling me he was not lying. And if this was not a lie – did this mean I’ll be stuck in Tally forever?
At this moment my nerves gave up and the tears came flooding. These were not just the tears pouring down my cheeks it was unrestrained sobbing. I couldn’t see or hear anything around me I was just crying and repeating “I’m not guilty, I’m not guilty...I just want to get out of here, I’m not guilty...”
The realisation that Laroche could be right was like a poisonous cloud, slowly but surely seeping through into my mind. Nobody promised me anything, everything happened so fast without much of an explanation. Mr Brahms didn’t come into the office that morning, not
“I’ve done what I’ve been asked to do and now I have to tell them that I am finished with the task. That’s why I’m asking for their telepho...”
His words that followed next stuck in my memory forever.
“It’s not possible to contact Dreams Ltd from here.”
I swallowed the lump that immediately came up in my throat and shook my head.
“Please, you have to understand, I haven’t committed any crime nor I am guilty of anything. They forged the documents so I could enter the territory, I had to get the parcel to you and I did. Now they have to take me back.”
Christopher's eyes were staring at my face.
“Did they say anything about bringing you back?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did the Corporation promise they’d help you to get out of here after your mission is accomplished?”
“No.”
“Then forget it.”
“What are you talking about?! This can’t be true! I just signed an agreement which confirmed that I was going to deliver you the parcel and that was it! I didn’t commit any crime!”
Christopher was listening to my shouting in silence and waiting for me to sit back on the sofa.
“Shereen, have you ever discussed with them anything about your return?”
“No.” I felt close to hysterics now. What is he talking about? Why wouldn’t they care about my return? Why? “They didn’t even tell me where I was going. They just told me the name of the city and that I must have certain documents to enter the area.”
Laroche sighed heavily.
“It’s all a fix.”
“No...” His words were bouncing off the protecting shield my mind had created. Subconsciously I didn’t want to let words penetrate through my mind; I didn’t want to accept them. “No, no, this cannot be true!”
“Shereen, did you ask the Corporation to do something for you - maybe for some money of something?”
“Yes.” I replied quietly.” I asked for money.”
“How much money? Not that it matters now, but just out of curiosity...”
“I asked for four hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
Christopher gave me a sad smile.
“That’s why they’ve sent you here claiming it was a way of “repaying the debt”. But you have to understand if they didn’t mention that they would help with your return – it was never part of their plan.”
“No!” I repeated again feeling my eyes welling up. “I’ll get in touch with them and...”
“But you can’t!” Laroche was starting to lose his temper. “Do you think I haven’t been trying? You can call no one outside of Tally. Don’t you get it? NO ONE”
“But there must be a way!” I shouted, feeling angry at myself for acting hysterically. “There must be a way, because you managed to contact them!”
Christopher crossed his arms on his chest and leaned backwards.
“I didn’t contact them myself. I asked another person who’d got out of Tally to do that for me.”
“But you contacted the person on the outside. How did you do that?”
“I got friendly with a girl who was getting out of here and asked her to do it.”
I was silent for a few moments searching Christopher’s face but my sixth sense was telling me he was not lying. And if this was not a lie – did this mean I’ll be stuck in Tally forever?
At this moment my nerves gave up and the tears came flooding. These were not just the tears pouring down my cheeks it was unrestrained sobbing. I couldn’t see or hear anything around me I was just crying and repeating “I’m not guilty, I’m not guilty...I just want to get out of here, I’m not guilty...”
The realisation that Laroche could be right was like a poisonous cloud, slowly but surely seeping through into my mind. Nobody promised me anything, everything happened so fast without much of an explanation. Mr Brahms didn’t come into the office that morning, not
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