His to Tame, Hers to Protect

    •10th June, 1984•

A rusty looking cab pulled up at the only bus stop on Hawaiian Street and an eighth month old pregnant lady alighted, dragging along a little boy.

"Pay up quickly, I gotta other jobs to do," the old driver growled at her from his rusty taxi.

The pregnant lady scoffed and dipped her right hand inside her purse, bringing out some notes.

She handed them to the old driver and he grabbed the crisps of dollars with a rush, startling the lady.

He grinned, showing off his brown coloured teeth, and then he zoomed off, leaving dust in the air.

Martha sighed and looked around the bus stop, as usual they were thugs and the ne'er-do-wells of the street, smoking heavily, laughing, chattering and playing cards.

Just making a hell of noise.

She held her small purse more closer to her, dragging along her little brother, Zach, then they turned off the bus stop, and took the road down the street.

"Come on Zach, you need to walk up a little faster, it is getting late," she said to him, he was trying his best to keep up with her pace.

The street was calm, cold and lonely. Why not? It was getting dark, and no reasonable young girl like her, was supposed to be out at that time.

But unlike her, she was pregnant, though young. Seventeen year old pretty Martha was eight months pregnant, she sighed, rubbing her left palm on her potruded tummy.

A tear escaped her right eye, her mother had really made her gone through a lot. A real lot.

Her mother, Cara was a whore. She had losed her father at age ten to the deadly cancer, and since then, her mother had turned into a whore.

The only possession left behind by her father, which was an old dilapidated storey building, had been turned into a whore house.

Cara and her like friends, attended to their ‘johns’, downstairs almost every night.

As soon as Martha turned sixteen, Cara introduced her into the prostitution world. Infact, she had termed it, her sixteenth birthday present.

And she had no other option, than to join her mother, although against her wish.

"No mother I can't, I can't. I'm too little for this," she remembered crying out to her mother the day she informed her of the new development. 

"What are you saying?" Her mother had asked, a heavy cigar was balanced in between her left fingers.

"You must be joking. You are too little for what? Girls of seven and eight are into this, and you are here, saying you can't," she blurted.

"Mama I can't, you have to listen to me please," Martha had said, pleading and crying.

Cara laughed wryly.

"It seems you have other ways with which you going to feed yourself," she had said.

"Mom?" She had stressed it.

"You are going to do this Martha, or you will leave my house", she had shouted and left the scene instantly, leaving her crying profusely.

Martha remembered all these in a flash, like it just happened yesterday. She sighed and cleaned off the tears that had already formed in her eyes.

Just exactly a year after indulging in prostitution, she was put in the family way. Cara had threatened to slash her throats and throw her into the streets if she doesn't go for an abortion.

But she was adamant, it wasn't in her agenda to get pregnant though, but terminating the little life that had begun growing inside of her was something she never wanted to happen.

Despite all the threatenings of Cara, she remained undaunted and unwilling to terminate the pregnancy, and Cara somehow didn't carry out her threats anymore, she just continued with her whoring business.

The two siblings walked silently down the street, saying nothing to each other.

A few minutes later, they came along a dilapidated storey building by the right and they entered.

Aww gosh! True to Martha's predictions, the storey building was well lit as lights shone from all possible openings and jazz music played on at its highest pitch.

She sighed and directed her brother to the back of the building, and through a small door, they entered.

Then they took the stairs and found their way up into their rooms.

"Aw, mom is at it again, Sis", Zach said pulling up a disgust face.

"Yeah, and that is why we need not disturb her, it is her work baby", Martha replied.

"I miss dad," he came again.

Martha sighed, where was this little kid driving at now? She rolled her eyes, saying nothing.

"Sis, I'm hungry", little Zach said, yawning. They had gotten to their room.

"Relax and let me get something", Martha said and dropped her purse on the bed, then dashed into the kitchen which was the next door.

The partying downstairs still went on, she could hear the chattering of ladies, and the stench smell of cigarette and booze filled the air.

Opening the small cupboard, she found nothing but just four raw eggs and a loaf of bread, she grinned. At least, there was something.

Then she put on the gas cooker and proceeded to make an egg sauce.

A few minutes later, she was done and together, they ate with some tea, then she lured Zach to sleep with a lullaby.

They had slept long into the night for like an hour when suddenly Martha was awoken by noises.

She got up with a start, her ears twitched as she tried getting the kind of noise coming from downstairs, huh, this wasn't partying.

She listened again, this was commotion and cries for help. She turned to her little brother sleeping peacefully beside her, he was oblivious of the happenings.

She instantly got down the bed and rushed to the French window, a little crowd had already gathered around the house and began clustering.

Jeez, she ran to the door and slightly opened it, heavy smoke filled her nostrils and then it dawned on her, the house was on fire.

Holy moly, what she gonna do now? She racked her brain for possible solutions. Soon enough, one came.

She first dragged the heavy wardrobe to wage the door after bolting and locking it, then she ran to the window and waved her hands, calling for help.

"Hey, look up, someone is there?" Someone among the crowd shouted, and everyone's attention was drawn to her.

"Let me throw down my brother, please get him", Martha said in a panic stricken voice, then ran to drag up Zach to the window.

Zach who was a very much deep sleeper was still asleep, breathing heavily, oblivious of what was going on.

She managed to squeeze him through the window, then threw him down. Someone caught him.

Suddenly the wooden door bursted open, and she turned back, holy moly! She saw the fire as it entered the room through the curtains.

Heavy smoke filled everywhere, her eyes became watery and soon enough, she began coughing.

The fire had almost caught up with her and before she could say ‘Jack Robinson’, she had jumped the window.

The next thing was herself landing with her side to the floor, then people around clustered. She could barely see clearly, nor hear them speak.

"Do you stand there and look? Quick let us rush her to the hospital", she heard a faint voice.

"Ohh, isn't it too late already?" A woman's voice asked.

Martha couldn't believe she was gonna leave mother earth this way, everyone just clustered around her, no one seemed to help. She decided to speak up with the last strength in her, at least for the unborn baby.

"Oh please, save..." she paused, then coughed out.

"Hey listen, she is tryna say something", someone said and they all moved closer.

"Save... my... baby," she stuttered, life gradually dwindling out of her.

Her eyes weakly flickered open and close, as she fought with life and death, her head twirled and suddenly, she blacked out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The doctors at the hospital fought tooth and nail to revive both mother and child, but it wasn't possible. Unfortunately, Martha couldn't make it.

The baby was still breathing though, but she was born premature and so, was kept in the incubator.

Cara herself managed to survive the fire outbreak after spending weeks in the hospital.

"So, how are you going to do this, Cara?" Rita, a friend of hers who had visited asked. "I mean your grand daughter is there in the hospital, no one to..."

"Enough Rita, I have nothing to look after the burden Martha left behind, Zach is enough burden already", she said.

Rita sighed.

"I know, but that isn't enough reason to abandon her, she is your blood, your own", she stressed, still trying to make her see reasons with her.

By now, Martha's little thing was already fresh from the incubator, and looking healthy. But she had no family to cater for her. Cara has refused to go claim her as her grandchild.

"I get you", she got up and walked to the window to open up the curtains.

"The only asset my late husband left for me burnt down, I'm now too ugly to continue with my job, Zach is there, we feed from hand to mouth, I can't bring the girl up", she shook her head.

Rita looked at her face, truly she was now ugly looking. The fire had done more harm than good, the whole of her left cheek now bore a very dark scar.

So dark to scare even the most weakened ‘john’ away. She sighed, even at that, she really cared for the little girl abandoned in the hospital.

"I hope not to drag this further with you", Cara said glancing down at Zach who laid on the only bed in the scanty room.

They had relocated to a shanty town, and in a dingy room in the slum located down the road from their street, after fire had dealt with the old dilapidated building.

"Even though, I still feel for that little innocent girl", Rita sighed.

She wished she could look after her, but she as well, wasn't able enough to, regarding her status, the child won't be given to her at all if she goes to ask for her.

Little Jasira grew up to be an amazing baby, despite no love and family care, she still grew like every other child.

She had been in the hospital for months, yet no one ever came to claim her, she was about taken to the orphanage, when Sara, a janitor in the hospital, pleaded to take the baby.

It wasn't difficult, owing to the fact that her status was okay, and that she could look after the baby. Jasira was given to her and she happily began nurturing her.

Sara was an old janitor who had worked in the hospital for years now, she had no family, no husband and children. So having Jasira now wasn't really a task, infact she was more than enthusiastic about it.

Jasira began growing up under the watchful eyes of old Sara, whom she took as her mother.

She enrolled her at the kindergarten school close to the hospital, where she grew intelligent and smart, amazing and brilliant kid, loved by everyone.

When she finally turned thirteen, an old woman came to claim her, ugh, she was told it was her grandma.

Never, this old looking hag can't be her grandma? With her left cheek carrying a huge scar, her small eyes as red as ever. Ew, this lady can't be her grandma.

She initially refused to go with the woman, making her threaten to take the matter to court. That was when Sara had to draw her attention.

"You have to go with her Jasi baby, she is your grandma", she said.

"I can't go with her mom, I have no grandma. I mean where was she when I was lonely, why didn't she come at that time?", Jasira asked.

Sara sighed.

"It is enough, if she takes this to court, I might be imprisoned, please try and listen", she pleaded.

Jasira sighed.

"Alright, I will be visiting".

"Of course", she nodded, smiling.

Jasira finally agreed to go with the old lady who claimed to be her grandma, not after she had given a proof though, and had told her the circumstances surrounding her birth.

Jasira... young innocent girl, she didn't know what grandma Cara had in her mind and she obediently followed.

Only for her to get home and she found out a different story.

Grandma Cara gave her something to eat, then had her locked up in a dirty room, she later found out she was going to be used to service some ‘johns’. She was introduced into the prostitution world at a very tender age.

Jasira cried out for help, but nothing was done to save her, nothing could be done.

She stayed with Cara for six months, being used to make money. She didn't continue school, neither did she visit old Sara.

She was just being locked up in a room, with little or no food, and being used.

One fateful day during the seventh month, Zach came to visit, grandma wasn't around.

"Hey you", he said as he opened the door to the room where she was kept.

She looked at him.

"Who you?" She asked.

Zach was taken aback.

"Hmm, what boldness. Didn't know Martha had a brave daughter for a child".

Jasira looked at the young man again, he really must know her.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Woah, I'm Zach, your uncle", he said.

Ohh, uncle Zach? Cara had taken out time to tell her everything she needed to know about herself.

She studied the man, he looked haggard and hungry, his eyes shone pure red.

"What do you want?"

"Mm, you look beautiful", he said in a whisper, licking his lips and staring at her body and lusting after her.

"You silly!" She cussed.

Within a twinkle of an eye, Zach rushed forward to get hold of her, she dodged him, instantly getting hold of the leather belt lying on the floor.

Zach looked at the belt in her hands as she waved it for him to see, his reddish eyes widened.

"Oh, is that a weapon?" He rhetorically asked.

"Plunge forward if you dare", she licked her lips.

Huh? How dare this little thing talk to him in such manner? Without thinking, he rushed forward to get her and she with all the strength and might she's got, wiped the belt across his back.

"Mm", he winced in pain and forcefully snatched the belt from her hands.

She growled, one eye on him, one eye around the room for another possible weapon, she saw a boot of a right leg, she instantly and tactfully put it on.

He crutched in pain nursing his back when she plunged forward again, smashing into his balls with the boot.

"Holy crap", he winced. "You idiot, I'm gonna get you", he made for his pocket and got out a chisel.

Her eyes widened, watching him. He matched up to her, still clutching onto his balls.

"You are dead", he said and raised his hand to hit her with the weapon, and instantly, she smashed onto his balls again, this time, real hard.

"Ouch", the chisel fell off his hands and he flopped down on the bed, nursing his pains.

Hurriedly, she picked up the chisel and made for the door, luckily it wasn't locked, as Zach had forgotten to lock it up after entering, or rather cared less to lock.

She got outside the room, then using the chisel, she locked him up inside, then dashed out of the house.