My husband never came back from the store. I ran across him at the train station forty years later. “You won’t believe what happened to me,” he told me, his eyes welling with sorrow.
Forty years have passed since my husband vanished. I asked him to go buy some milk one day while I was cooking, and that was the last time I saw him.
I initially assumed he was late because he had just run into a friend or a neighbor. But as the day wore on, my worries increased.
I contacted the store that evening after he failed to return home. I was informed by the cashier that they hadn’t seen him all day. Nor had any of our friends or neighbors seen him.
Without hesitation, I called the cops. They promised to find him fast after asking me a few questions when they arrived at our residence.
Weeks became months, and days became weeks. Among the neighbors, rumors began to spread. Some claimed I had ejected him, while others alleged he had fled.
I started to lose all hope as time went on. Then, one morning forty years later, I discovered an envelope in the mailbox that had no return address on it.
A single sentence read, “Hurry up and go to the train station,” inside. Even though I didn’t recognize the handwriting, I assumed it was his. I hurried.
I spotted him as I got to the train station. A man with his hands gripped on his knees, seated on a bench. He had a slightly hunched back and white hair, but it was unmistakably him.
I walked over, my heart pounding. “You’re not going to believe what happened to me,” he added, turning to face me with a smile.
With a feeble voice, he said, “They abducted me, Clara.”
Men grabbed me on the street forty years ago and pushed me into a car.
They forced me to work for them, and I had a lot of debt.
They were fully aware of you, myself, and the children.
If I attempted to flee or get in touch with you, they threatened to kill me.
I was crying uncontrollably. “What prevented you from fleeing?”
I made an effort, but they had supporters everywhere. They would pursue you even if I fled.
I had a chance following an FBI raid, but I was apprehended once more. They made me an offer: in return for my family’s safety, I would work secretly.
“At last, they were taken into custody, and I am now free,” he declared
