13

The elderly fishmonger, do you still recall her? If you don't, let me give you a little help. She's the fish monger whose wares were ruined by Lisa's dad Rolls-Royce and afterwards, Nelson Woodley (who happens to be greatly annoyed due to the fight between him and Jack (Lisa's father) and the money he has to compensate him with) teaches her a cruel lesson in not being too greedy. The chapter ended with a strange man in black secretly following her as she headed back to get her basin and return home sadly.

So I guess I've refreshed your memory a little. So let's not waste time and head over to today's meal portion. (^_^)

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Rayford's street in the slum.


The elderly lady finally reached home sighing heavily repeatedly. Today was like practically the worst day of her life. She kept replaying what happened over and over again in her head and couldn't help but also cuss for the millionth time. How could youngsters these days be so evil to a woman like her? Now she's lost everything. She lost the golden card and the money it contained to that guy she owed a little money, and also lost lost her wares. To say the truth, she hadn't sold anything till she met those two bastards. She took out the key to her run-down apartment and carefully opened the lock on her door.

She also gently pushed the door open. No matter how angry she was, she couldn't kick her door; it was very old and any strong movement would crush it. You could just give it the name 'Paper Door'.

Finally, she entered her one room apartment and put the lanterns on. There's no electricity in this area coz people here are struggling to survive, where would they have money for those light fees? It was already evening and the room was dark so she had to light the lantern and hang it on a nail that protruded from the wall. It wasn't that bright but she could still see. As they say, half bread is better than none!

She scanned the room with her eyes and smiled bitterly as she recalled the past. Her husband died 10 years ago leaving her with 6 children. Her husband's relatives threw her and the kids except for the firstborn Mark, out of the twin duplex the very night he was buried. That night, it was chilly and rained cats and dogs. She and her 5 kids had to sleep at an abandoned building where they unfortunately met bad people. She lost two of her children to them and almost got violated by those ugly bastards! It was a poorly dressed man who saved her and the remaining kids.

Now, both of them are married and live in the slums. Her three kids are now grown up and married in the slums too. There are two types or grades of slums. One, the slums of hope and two, the slums of despair. Her 3 daughters married into the first slum type while she lived at the second. The first type had electricity though it wasn't often. There were also some other necessities there too and a low-cost school. As long as her daughters and future grandchildren didn't go hungry, naked or homeless, she was fine with her sons-in-law.

Her current husband is a cobbler and apparently is still working tirelessly.

She sighed again and started some chores and 30 minutes later she had prepared food that she wouldn't eat unless her husband had returned. he put the food in a cooler gifted to her by a kind customer. It was really pretty. Yeah, girls and women no matter their age love pretty things and nice deeds. She asked her neighbor what told the time and he replied 6:40. Her husband would soon return and he needed hot water. The firewood left was enough for that. So she took two big green buckets and a two old hankies. Time to go get water!

She was gonna get water at the nearby stream as that would be quicker. For drinkable water, she'd go a bit farther to get it. It wasn't exactly pure but if she boiled it, one could still enjoy it.

She headed to an alley as that was the only way to the stream. A minute later, She stood in place terrified. A tall young man resting his back at the wall of an abandoned house, possessing red dragon tattoos which were visible on his left leg and right arm, was waiting for her ahead wearing dark sunglasses, a black face cap, white wrist-watch, a black and white stripped t-shirt, black summer shorts, a black gel dance knee pad on the right leg, and white high top converse. (A/n: It's a pretty long sentence huh? (^_^) )

To her, the scariest thing was the fact that a gun was in his right hand and he was even caressing the tip! Who is he? Is he here to blow her head off? But she hadn't troubled her late husband's family to see her only son even once since she was kicked out. All these years without seeing him were like a needle in her heart. She always knew when he was sick due to the pain she always felt when her late husband was alive. If she was far away from her son and he got sick, she'd feel it. This has helped her know how he is all these years. Recently, she hasn't felt any pain in her heart and so she knew he is doing well wherever he is. To her, that was enough; no need to ask for more!

So now back to current situation, what should she do now? Walk past him? Turn around and flee? Could she escape his bullet? Should she walk to him and ask him questions like: 'Are you lost?' 'How are you doing?' 'Who're you here for?' 'What's ya name, my son?'

Nah, she had no such courage.

"What to do then? Think, think" she was still stunned in place not daring to move. A second later, the young man left the wall heading towards her. Every step he took made her heart drum so hard. She never knew her heart could be this lively ever!

She couldn't do anything; just had to wait there for him to get to her. When he finally did, he smiled and tucked the gun in his shorts.

"Are you Dorothy Jane Greek, widow of late Morrison Tyler Hills?" he asked.

"..." her eyes went wide with fear. He said everything so accurately, was he really here to send her off to the earth? What about her husband? What about... she snapped out of her thought as the young man touched her feeble shoulders. She wanted to tremble but couldn't. Surprisingly, his big hands felt warm and she almost relaxed. But recalling he had a gun, the thoughts of relaxation fled.

"Yes or no? Don't be afraid, ma'am. I won't kill you" he tried to reassure her but she began to shake and sweat appeared on her forehead.

She just recalled something. That youth who handed her a gold card in the afternoon, maybe this was someone he sent to kill her?

"Yes... or... no" he repeated, dragging his speech.

Sighing in defeat, she nodded in admittance.

"Yes...Yes, I am." she bowed her head, trying to prevent the tears welling up in her eyes from racing down her cheeks. So this was it; the end to her life. She had regrets: not seeing her husband, not seeing her daughters and her son. She couldn't get to say goodbye to them. Just they say 'Life isn't balanced'.

"Goodbye, world" she cried in her heart.