My mother's blood stained the couch where I lay, and she collapsed to the ground, motionless and still. I was frozen in terror, unable to move or speak. I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake up. All I could do was stare in horror as the scene unfolded before me,
"Nightmares come through" I said to myself. After seeing what had become of my mother, the robbers ran out of the house carrying me, the robbers heard the police siren and tried as hard as they could to run far away from it, soon we were deep in a narrow forest.
"EZRA, Why the hell did you carry the child" the first robber said trying to pull off his mask, As I got a closer look at the man, I realized he was actually quite attractive, despite his imposing size. His features were well-defined and chiseled, and he had a strong, handsome face. His eyes were a deep, intense shade of brown, and his hair was dark and thick, he looked like he was just entering his 20's but his beards said otherwise'
"I thought we could sell him as a slave" the second robber, who appeared to be Ezra said
"You're so dumb. Now, I'm pretty sure we're fugitives", the first robber said
"EZRA, I thought we were just supposed to scare them, get their money and leave" The second robber annoyingly said.
"Drop him at home, I'll be back" The second robber said again, so Ezra took me and ran straight out of the bush.
Soon it was Dark, Ezra and I were under a shade, He started a fire, piling up some sticks and twigs to fuel the flames. He seemed to be preparing to roast something over the fire, but I couldn't tell what it was, then the first robber appeared out of the darkness, his clothes tattered and his hair disheveled. He was shivering from the cold, and looked as if he'd been through a lot. Ezra rushed towards him, exclaiming....
"Henry Welcome" while trying to run to him, Ezra noticed the scars all over Henry – the first robber's body,
"what happened?", Ezra asked
"Nothing Ezra".
"But Henry", Ezra insisted
"Ezra I am Fine but I came back empty-handed".
Upon hearing this news Ezra sprinted away, disappearing into the distance, Uncle Abel shuffled over to the fire, his shoulders hunched and his steps slow and unsteady. I scooted closer to him, giving him a shy, but affectionate look. He smiled weakly at me, and I could see he was exhausted, that night we drank pap and beans cake.
But back at Mr. Adam's resident their sitting room was a crime scene with blood on the floor and some items broken, Mr. Adam had connections to people in high places so he had up to ten detectives and four police at his attention, Larry and Gideon were still in shock so they were covered in towels while my mum's corps was carried away by an ambulance, Grandma sank to the floor, her shoulders shaking with sobs as she called out my mother's name. Mrs. Adams stood nearby, her eyes brimming with tears, but she held herself together as she tried to comfort Grandma, telling her to be strong and not to cry. Mr. Adams explained to the investigators the details of the second robber's appearance, as well as the location where he'd last seen him. With this information, the investigators had a new lead to follow.
That night, we all slept soundly, wrapped in the comfort of each other's company. Ezra held me close to his chest, his warmth seeping into my bones, and I felt a sense of peace that I hadn't felt in days.
When I woke up the next morning, only Henry was there by my side. His smile was tinged with sadness as he spoke, his voice cracking with emotion.
"Oh, you little boy, I can't believe you lost your mum at this age" he slowly said "Just like ….", He didn't finish this sentence but I realized that he had also lost his mother at a young age. Due to the hardship in the country, he must not have been able to find a decent job or any legal means of making a living.
"I won't hurt you", he said with tears rolling down his cheeks.
"But I am the cause of all these. all because of me you don't have a Mother anymore. And for that I am truly…. sorry" I became transfixed by his gaze, lost in the depth of his eyes.
In the afternoon a stranger raced into our shed shouting, I was playing with a group of children nearby while Henry was nowhere to be found.
"What's wrong?" one of the female neighbors managed to asked, the man dashed toward them, panting as he said,
"Where is HENRY? where is he? I need to tell him something"
"Just tell us what is happening" the woman replied
"EZRA. Have been arrested and taken away by the police" the stranger called out, and the woman let out a wail of despair. As the man's words sank in, the woman collapsed to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Meanwhile, Henry who had just returned, stood frozen in shock, his face pale as he struggled to process the news. The man's words had left them all reeling, and they were left wondering what would happen next.
The evening sky darkened, and Henry sat motionless beneath the shade of a tree, his legs splayed out on either side. His head was propped up on one hand, and he spoke in a weary voice,
"I knew it. I knew this would happen; I knew they would come for him. He removed his mask on the job he must have been recognized".
Mr. Henry was a kind and decent man, and he didn't deserve this. He had lost a friend and a brother, and my heart ached for him. I tried to make sense of what had happened, but it was all a jumble in my mind. The questions kept swirling around and around, like leaves caught in a whirlpool. Why had my legs been broken, and why had my father been so cruel? Why did my mother have to die, and how was my grandmother going to cope? Would the police ever find me, and what would they do if they did? Even if they brought me back, what would I do? I just want to leave the past behind.
Then suddenly Mr. Henry's head popped out of his hands and he steered at the air like he just thought about something, after that he carried me out of that place. We went to Mr. Henry friend's house, and that was where we spent the night.
My sleep was disturbed by the sound of the door being hammered aggressively, I shot upright, my eyes wide with terror as I saw Mr. Henry face frozen in panic. We both crouched beneath the bed, straining to hear the footsteps in the room above us. Heavy boots stalked across the floorboards, and I could hear the rustle of clothing and the crackle of radios. The police were searching for us, and we were trapped like mice in a cage. They soon left, and we crawled out.
"What happened? What did they say?" Mr. Henry asked his female friend as he shock in horror,
"They asked me if I'd seen you recently, and I had to lie to them. I told them no. They threatened to take me in for questioning and possibly torture me. You know how ruthless the police can be, and I was terrified of what they might do to me. I tried to buy my way out of it by giving them some money, but it didn't seem to make a difference. They finally gave in and left after further persuading" The lady explained to us.
"Thank you Elizabeth I will, I'll repay you back one day, I need to get this boy to a safe place, I can't go to his house, that place must be flooded with police officers" Mr. Henry paused, and the woman spoke up, her voice trembling with urgency. 'There's one more option,' she said, and I could tell that even she didn't like what she was about to suggest. My heart was racing, and I felt like I was going to be sick. 'What is it?' I asked myself.
Mr. Henry wore a cap that covered half his identity with a long coat, he placed me in a basket that had breathing holes so he covered me and wore the basket like it was a bag. He had everybody convinced till he reached a junction where he normally bought food and the food seller recognized him.
"HENRY!!" she shouted aloud repeatedly till he walked to her,
"Good morning Ma'am" Mr. Henry greeted
"Good morning my boy, I heard the police have gotten Henry, do you know why? Don't even mind me but, John said you have not finished paying him the loan you collected and that those stolen goods you gave him were not enough to make up the loan he gave you…" unknowing to them three police men were close by and as they passed by, they overheard their conversation, Henry waited for no warning before he dashed off, bullets flew into the sky from the guns of the police men, I didn't understand what the police men aimed for, innocent people got hit by the bullets, even if only one bullet touched Mr. Henry as he tried to make his get-away. Soon Henry was out of the police sight but he didn't stop running.
He ran for hours until he reached the gate of a local ORPHANAGE, he knocked on the gate and left me there on the floor, the gateman came out and looked strangely at the basket and as he opened it his face was enlightened, he took me into the orphanage and explained how I came about to the Orphanage directors, they agreed to accept me into the orphanage and since they didn't know my name they called me MOSES.