Chapter 3: The Escape part Deux

Kytriya beamed from ear to ear as Jez led her out into the fresh air outside of the Charles de Gaul Airport. Jez hailed a taxi with his left hand while reaching with his right to clumsily cuddle her as he was carrying his briefcase in that hand. She quickly handed the Taxi driver her briefcase while a medium built man ran very fast towards their backs.


Just as the man was almost close enough to grab Jez's briefcase, Kytriya spun around and grabbed his shirt, just below the neck, and used her foot to trip him, letting him fall to the ground. Jez signaled for the police officer to come over. The police officer helped the man up and sent him off with a warning. Kytriya stopped beaming.


Jez rolled his eyes towards the heavens and mildly swore in Hebrew, under his breath, "Oy vey! Baruch Haba!" Then, feeling guilty, he thought he should apologize to God, "Scheisskopf! I've forgotten how to apologize in Hebrew!" So, in mostly German added, "Verzeih mir! Ich vergesse meine Ivrit." [Forgive me! I forgot my Hebrew!"

* * *

Jez quickly led Kytriya to his home on Chapeltown Street, Ancoats, Manchester, UK. It was within a short bus ride to China town, Grandon Studios, and other cool places. To say that Kytriya was ecstactic, would be an understatement as she always wanted to visit her fave Actor's old haunts. On top of all this, she discovered that they were a long walk to a really cool shopping Mall.

Jez set their baggage down, unlocked the door and held it open for her. With butterflies in her stomach, and feeling like she was going to hurl, Kytriya walked inside, taking a deep breath.

"I can't believe I'm home! At last!" Kytriya wobbled on her legs and reached back to grab Jez. "I feel like..."

Jez quickly reached down and grabbed her legs. He carried her inside and placed her on the couch. "Its okay. I'll get the stuff. I think you need to eat."

Kytriya opened her mouth to say something, but dry heaved instead. With the baggage safely inside, he grabbed her, and walked briskly to the bus stop. Distractedly, he looked left, hoping that the bus would be coming soon. He ran into a toddler eating chocolates.

The toddler held up her bag to Kyt. "Eat!" Her mother quickly came over.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! She just loves to share!"

"Actually, I'd like to buy that off of you!"

"Really?" The mothers jaw dropped. Having a sudden inspiration exclaimed, "Her blood sugar crashed, didn't it!"

"Here, eat! Me done!" The toddler reached in the bag, took out a chocolate, then stuffed it in Kytriya's mouth. "Me play mommy." The toddler kept feeding her chocolates until they were all gone. Oblivious to the Double Decker bus that had pulled up, her mother and Jez just stared in complete shock.

The driver opened the door and yelled out. "Coming?"

Embarrassed, they quickly clambered aboard, and took seats. Kytriya's blood sugars stabilised, but it was only a temporary fix. She needed complex carbs of some sort, and needed it soon. Jez wondered if they would arrive at the restaurant in time, so that she could walk herself in, or if he'd have to carry her once more.

* * *

Jez helped Kytriya off the bus, before wrapping his arm around her waist for better support and into Mawabi, a Japanese restaurant that specialised in Noodle dishes and Sushi. Even though she seemed fine, he wasn't taking any chances. A server noticed that she didn't look well, and quickly went over to their aid.

"Does she take Orange Juice?" The server asked helpfully.

"Yes, Orange juice please." Jez was glad that she had correctly surmised what was up.

An older child of around 11 had just chosen a table for his family, when he suddenly changed his mind. "Please sir, sit her here. We can wait."

"Thank you! Apparently her blood sugars still aren't as stable as we'd like them too be." Jez said apologetically.

"No worries. I'm diabetic and she looks awful! Her face turns colours like mines do!" He quickly apologised, "I don't mean no offence sir. She's very beautiful. I mean her face just isn't how it ought to be."

"No offence taken. I knew what you meant. Just blame it on the unprecise language we speak." Jez sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her.

The server came back with the Orange juice, and handed it to her. Kytriya downed it like she had been fasting for 40 days and nights with nothing to eat nor drink.

Jez decided to order for both of them. "We would like 2 orders of the following for here, mock-duck gyoza, Salmon Yaki Ramen and Yasai katsu curry. All onion free and alcohol free. Then, we'd like the same order except 6 each, and to go. The to-go they don't have to get down right away. Whichever and however is best for them. But do try to get one order of noodles quickly for her."

"Very good. And what would you like to drink," The server asked.

"Oh yes, 4 Ginger beers please."

"Very good. I'll have this right up."

Kytriya leaned her head against Jez and closed her eyes. Sleepily she asked, "How can we afford all this?"

Jez leaned his head close to her ear. "I do make some good money with my website. Its not what I want yet. But wait. Soon you and I will be very wealthy indeed."

"I don't even know what your website is really about. I mean, I've seen parts of it. But I don't understand how it makes money." Kytriya turned her attention towards the server who had just came with her food. "Thank you. You've been very good to me. I appreciate it."

"No problem. It is my job."

Kytriya absent-mindedly grabbed her chopsticks with her right hand, not even considering that she was technically a lefty. She positioned the chopsticks correctly in her right hand and pinched some noodles between the wooden ends. Jez looked on amused, wondering if those noodles would actually reach her mouth. Kytriya took a bite of the noodles as if she had been a righty her entire life. Jez had all he could do to keep his jaw from dropping.

He forced his mind onto the real subject at hand, answering her question. "That's what ads and paid accounts are for. They bring in the dough. However, I am in the process of creating a much better online multi-player role playing game. When I get that finished, we could become very rich indeed."

Kytriya's eyes widened as she was so used to not having what she wanted, let alone what she needed, that the thought of being able to buy whatever her heart desired had never occurred to her.

This did not slip Jez's notice. "Well, you aren't the only one surprised. To be quite honest, I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off let alone get you this far."

* * *

They spent the afternoon going to thrift stores, consignment shops, and stores like K T Xammko, and Narshells before heading for Welrus Mart. Finally getting home, Kytriya plopped all of her bags on the couch and let go. The bags promptly leaned over and rolled to the floor, spilling its contents all over the room and underneath the couch. Kytriya folded her arms and rolled her eyes.

Jez laughed while putting his packages down on the floor, "I'll help you. Bags almost never stay put where you think they should. Here, I'll lift up the couch while you retrieve the fruit."

Kytriya's mood quickly switched from happy to fear mixed with anger as tears filled her eyes. "I told you not to give me the fruit bag!" Kytriya yelled, scared of the consequences of what was going to happen next.

Not easily offended, Jez calmly stated, "Its okay. Don't worry about it. The Fruit and Veggies will survive. And, so will you. I'm not your mother," He laughed, hoping it would help her laugh at the mess.

It was his sorry attempt at teaching her how to make lemonade out of the lemons. Kytriya only cried harder.

He became serious and spoke in the most comforting and reassuring way he knew how. "I know that your mother would hit you whenever you spilled, or did something that didn't line up with your mother's way of thinking. I'm not like that. You are allowed to make mistakes. You are allowed to be you!"

As soon as she had all the stuff out from under the couch, he put his end down, and went over to give her a big hug. "I'll pick up the rest of it."

She just hung on to him for dear life. He reciprocated and hugged her even tighter.

Kytriya finally stopped her nearly death grip on Jez and moved towards picking up a bag. Jez did not let go, but instead kissed her on top of her head before explaining the rules once more. "I will never violate you. However, I must apologise. I have neglected to tell you the other rule that I insist that I live by. I shall always help you and be there for you no matter what happens. That means that I am never allowed to mentally, physically, sexually, emotionally or verbally abuse you regardless of what you do or not do. Instead, I will help you fix whatever went wrong. And yes, you can scream, cry, and throw all the facial tissue you want. I'll still be here for you and support you in anyway that I can and you want me too."

Kytriya tried to hold back the tears, but failed as they streamed down her face and dropped to the floor. She once more gave him a bear hug that teetered on a death grip. "Its okay Kytriya. I do understand. The life I rescued you from was hell. I saw how bad it was at school. I can only imagine how hellish it was at home."

Kytriya looked up at him while choking back the tears. "My grandpa murdered my grandma before committing suicide. My mother saw that and has been living with that ever since. She is like that grandpa I never met."

Jez rubber her back soothingly. "She is not properly dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. That's why she abuses you. She is afraid that you'll make the same mistakes she did, and the same mistakes you grandpa and grandma did. She abuses out of fear. You scream out of fear. I do understand. Its okay. I can help you not live life in fear. PTSD treatments is one of the things I studied as a young child. A student going to school, majoring in PTSD often asked...no begged was more like it, to hold me. It helped him study. He was a straight A student too, and was fluent in several languages. So, I got to read the latest PTSD treatments in German, Dutch, Japanese and even Icelandic language. Well, the Icelandic language paper was really dealing with depression causes by too much darkness and not enough light. Anyways, I suppose we should really get the food put away, and you on your merry tour of your new house of Shalom."

"Shalom means peace. I know that word!" Kytriya explained happily.

"Yes, and this will be known as a house of peace. Well, at least for as long as I can keep the people looking for us at bay. Don't worry. I have many tricks up my sleeve. And, in two weeks, we should se things move very quickly! Okay, maybe not. It might take me several months yet, as I am still the only programmer on my site. But no matter. I do have several blogs that I do write on, and that do bring in customers and money."

"How much money do we have?" Kytriya turned her head upwards towards him.

"Enough to get by better than your parents did. I do have more money than that. Oh, what I mean is, if you accidentally rip a pair of pants, we can just go out and replace them. No more patches on holes! And, if you decide you are craving a meal out once or twice a week, I can manage that - especially since where we would eat, the prices are fairly cheap. I would suggest that we pick a day where we go on a mini-holiday. That will be the day where we sit in our favourite spots and work on the computer, chit chat, goof off and eat out. That includes coffee houses, parks, where ever your " heart desires!" He put significant emphasis on the your.

Kytriya beamed at him while he wiped her tears with his fingers. She choked out in a barely audible whisper, "I...you." She tried, but just could not say the word love.

Jez responded, "Thank you. You are loved, and loved very much by me."

Jez and Kytriya each grabbed the bags of food and marched through the too white dining room, with its white victorianesque built-ins and white walls and proceeded into the kitchen. Jez quickly put his bags down on the floor before grabbing hers. He didn't want a repeat of earlier, as he really didn't think she could handle it.

The kitchen was square, with the refrigerator to the right of the door, a small area of cabinets that went around the corner and abutted the stove. More cabinets reached to the end, where a small breakfast nook was found on the wall opposite the fridge. On the wall to the left of the fridge, and opposite the stove was a sink, and dishwasher on one side of the pantry door and the laundry machine and dryer on the other side. Everything was white, even the breakfast nook.

Kytriya wrinkled up her nose at the kitchen. She peeked into all the cupboards, and saw mismatched dishes and cups and lots of empty spots.

"I do intend for you to pick out what you really want in your kitchen. Well, our kitchen. Can you tell who is on my mind?" Jez laughed at himself. Kytriya smiled. "And, Kyt, here is where the silverware is. Is also conveniently mismatched. But, in two months, I should have some splurge funds for you and I to get what we really want in this kitchen. I want to get good china, and good silverware. I take no responsibility for the colour scheme. That was the previous owners catastrophe."

"It is very blinding," Kytriya exclaimed. With concern in her voice, she added, "Can we get pretty plastics too? I'm afraid I might break something."

"Of course we can. I wouldn't be too concerned with breaking anything. That's what vacuum cleaners are for. Besides, everyone breaks things from time to time. Otherwise, they wouldn't be human. They would be God."

She laughed. "Do you mind if I climb on the cupboards to reach that stuff?"

"I don't mind, as I know you are an avid climber and all, but we need to prevent anyone from finding out your true age. So, just make me your gopher until we can find an appropriate step stool or something that would work for you."

"Okay." Kytriya walked over and peeked through a door, revealing a good sized room with many white shelves. "We have a library in the kitchen?" She was both shocked and ecstatic.

"That's a pantry, but I don't mind if it acts as a library too. One can never have enough of those," Jez laughed. "You are so my soul mate! You love books as much as I do."

They quickly put the rest of the groceries away, before going back to the foyer and heading upstairs. The foyer was small, but did have a closet on the wall to the left of the door. It too, like the rest of the house was very white. The oak stairs creaked as they walked up them. She humoured herself with trying to avoid the creaks, which was impossible as these stairs were very old indeed. On the second floor, straight ahead was a door leading into the office.

Jez moved to stop her from entering. "Lets save the best for last. Follow me."

Kytriya thought she knew what was behind that door - his library. He led her down the hall, past the bathroom and straight through the only door at the very end. A King sized poster bed that had very high mattresses greeted her. it took up almost the entire room. To the right of the door and around the corner, was a huge wall of closets.

"I built those closets myself, as wardrobes were completely impractical in this room." Jez offered.

"Yes, I agree. But, where will I sleep?" Kytriya was confused as she only saw one bed.

"With me, but we'd keep our clothes on. Strictly for safety. That is also why I pinched and saved until I could afford a King sized bed. I wanted us to have our space. If they find us here - they won't - but if they do, I want them to find both of us together, and not have you find me gone or me find you gone."

"Right, that makes sense. Besides, if you hear something, its easier for you to get me out. I'm a very sound sleeper." Kyt said, relieved that she wouldn't be sleeping in a room by herself.

"And I'm a very light sleeper. I hear anything and everything. My hearing is exceptional. However, unlike most people with exceptional hearing, I got used to loud volumes. My father was half deaf. He liked to turn up the volume really loud to drown out mother."

"I'd never be that rude to you!" Kyt said indignantly.

"I wouldn't either - do that too you." Jez said warmly. "I love you too much! May I be honest with you? I know, its mushy stuff but... and totally unreal for children to even go there at our age," He quickly added. "But...I felt a love for you before I even knew who you were. I mean, when I was reading all that stuff as an infant, I knew I was reading this and learning this stuff to help someone - someone I loved dearly. I just didn't know who that someone was. Every year, as I matured and learned more, I came to realise who you were. I knew that you probably had brain damage, probably had Developmental Delay Disorder, that you probably were abused. It was the only explanation I could come up with as to why I was never held by a student studying Civil Engineering or Rocket science. The computer programming I realised was so that I could program a solution for you. Then, my dad decided that I wasn't allowed to home-school anymore. I knew then, that it was time to meet you. My mother, of course, retaliated and said that I should be allowed to home-school. But I told her that it was okay."

Kytriya stared in disbelief. Sure, he had told her some of this earlier, but it wasn't like this. He had said it differently before.

"Yes, this is the real story. This is what I didn't dare say earlier. I knew I'd tell you the truth someday, as soon as we were in a safe place to do so." Jez stopped his rattling long enough for her to finally get a word in edgewise.

"Wow! That is something! I felt a something inside me on one day a very long time ago, but didn't know what it was. I didn't know what love was. Can you teach me what love is?" Kyt asked.

"Yes, I can teach you what love is and what it isn't. In time, I will. Love is respect. And, respect is the first thing I shall teach you. You will get used to being respected for once." Jez stated as a fact.

"What if I do do something wrong. I mean, something that mean punishment?" Kytriya asked, confused on what the rules were.

"We will simply discuss it and I'll explain to you the pros and cons of what you did. Then, we'll come up with a solution. It will be a learning experience, but not punishment. Proper Discipline comes with learning the what for of something. I never believed that the 'rod' they speak of in the Bible meant hit a kid. It also does not mean that kids are property to be taken advantage of."

"Okay." Kytriya's head was spinning as she was so not used to this.

Over to the left of the door was another door. This was one of two doors leading into the only bathroom in the house. The bathroom was also white with a small linen closet to the left of the sink, situated across from the door they were standing in. To the right of them was the toilet, and to the right of both the sink and the toilet, was the bathtub.

"I swear the previous owner never knew colour existed!" Kytriya joked.

"Thats good! Well, should I show you the Pièce de résistance?" Jez so excited, he could barely contain himself. "Here, let me lead you. Close your eyes and take my hand."

"Okay." Kytriya did as she was beckoned, and blindly followed.

He led her down the hallway, opened the door, and led her inside. "Now, feast your eyes on this."

Kytriya saw not only purple colour on the walls, but black wooden bookshelves with colourful computer books on the shelf. The bookshelves surrounded the U-shaped desks. The ceiling was painted a gold.

"I love this room! Your colour choices are amazing! Thank you!" Kytriya ran over to the desk. "Which one is mine?"

"Your choice, really. I can always move my things, so try out both sides and see which one you feel more comfortable using." Jez suggested.

"I like this one, because its further from the door," She said, while pointing to the desk on the other side of the one she was standing at."

Jez grinned from ear to ear. "I surmised correctly then. Why I took the other one. Here, we still have time, and some money left over. Lets head over to the bookstore and get your books. I did get much of the educational stuff you should learn online, but not everything is covered. Now, I want to make perfectly clear, that anything you don't get, just tell me you don't get it. Don't just sit there in frustration. My job is to figure out how to teach you. That means that if the 10th method doesn't work, then I will have to just find the 11th method. Somethings, you may be simply incapable of learning. Don't worry about it. There is plenty of other things you can learn instead. You won't be lacking. Besides, you might be able to learn those harder things later in life."

"Okay. I guess I won't worry about learning then, or what I can't learn or whatever." Kyt said.

"Ready?"
"Ready. Can we get me a Calculus book? I just love the way they look!" Kyt said excitedly.
"Of course. We can also get Molecule illustrations too. No, we should get beads and wire and make our own Molecular chess sets! Do you play chess?" He asked, hoping beyond hope that she did.

"Well, I actually play suicide instead of chess." Kyt said honestly.
"Good!" Jez rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I meant that its good that you play chess. Suicide? You can't be that bad of a player! Its okay that you tend to give your pieces away when you play. You'll get better - especially with my teaching you." He winked.

Later that evening while Kytriya snored soundly, Jez lay there awake, wondering if he would be able to get that RPG working before they ran out of money. Today had been very expensive! Everything added up so quickly. She's worth it, but will we make it until I get more money? Its not like I have a set paycheck. People either come or they don't. I can't guarantee that tomorrow anyone would visit my website.

Realizing that he wasn't going to sleep until he got more done on that MMORPG, he carefully got out of bed, trying hard to not wake her. He sat down at his computer and typed away until the wee hours of the morning. He didn't go to bed until 4 that morning, only two hours before she awoke.