84 // Cheated

It was approximately 11p.m. when Sonya Smith arrived outside her apartment building, she paid the Uber driver and stood on the pavement as she watched him drive away.

She heaved a sigh, turning around to face the old rusty building in plight. It did not matter what time of the day it was, the building was always dull, its quietness intimidating. It was worse now that she was unemployed, just the thought of returning to this place every single day made her feel poor.

In a way, Jorge’s hospitalisation had rescued her; Meneer Brown could hardly say she used up too much water or electricity, she was barely ever home; she bathed and ate at the hospital and only ever stopped by to get a change of clothes.

No one had to know that she had not paid rent these past three months or that she had cancelled all her clothing accounts, all that was mundane as compared to her boyfriend’s life. It was sad that he had lost his memory and would be wheelchair-bound, but the wo