[Hey Enke, do you think we'll ever get out of this dump? You think one day we can have our own place, and not have to steal when we need stuff? I want to have a room filled with clothes so I can wear something different every day, like they do in those rich countries.]
Freddy's voice brings me back from the thoughts I was lost in. I slowly sit up from my bed.
[Yeah. For sure. One day we'll all have so much money we won't know what to do with it all]
I respond back with the same thing I say every time as I look at the place we call home; some abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. It's night time, and our only source of light is what bleeds through the holes in the wall facing the street; thankfully there's a light right outside. It's pretty spacious all things considered, five meters tall, 10 meters long and wide; but half of it is filled with rusted machinery and broken car parts. Our beds are 'luxurious', worn out second row car seats tucked into one corner and near the emergency exit. The smell of expired engine oil lingers in the air, sticking to our clothes and clogging up our lungs.
Freddy coughs.
[I know I say this all the time, but thanks Enke. As much as I hate your guts sometimes, the rest of us would probably be dead somewhere if it wasn't for you. I know I would be anyway, I'm practically the tag along in this brotherhood of the six]
Again with the lack of self-esteem. Sigh
[Other than me, you're by far the most intelligent in the group. The opportunity for you to shine just hasn't come yet. I know you know this, so I'll stop here or I'll turn into a broken record]
He grins
[Huh, what's a broken record? Also learn some humility damn it! IMMORAL!]
I look back at him and question whether he was actually serious about anything he just said.
[Something I read in a book once at uncle China's, It means someone that repeats themselves all the time. Stop using the big words "I" taught you against me.]
For a ten year old he's unsurprisingly good at being annoying; his round face, messy afro and constantly squinting pitch black eyes makes him look like he's always suspicious of something or up to no good, but then he breaks out this cheeky grin that lets you think he means no harm. I'm pretty sure he needs glasses, but the owner of the local shop for glasses refuses to test him and prescribe him a pair; partly because he doesn't believe we could afford to buy anything without stolen money, but mostly because the owner doesn't like us. We beat up his kids once and he's held a grudge ever since.
We hear someone tapping on the door near our beds. Three times slow, four times rapid; it's Kunta. We like to pretend we're an important organisation, though it has come in handy for avoiding unwanted guests a few times. I push open the door slightly and before me are four thin ebony skinned kids, all barefoot and wearing dirty clothes that look like they were found in a bin; because they were. To be honest, besides the light brown eyes, my tied back afro, and the fact that I'm the tallest in this group of kids by a pinkie finger; I look exactly the same as them.
[Nothin' good this time, not even something to eat]
Kunta complains as he squeezes through the small gap. The rest follow behind him, and soon we're all standing face to face in a circle, next to our beds.
[What's the plan for tomorrow?] Kanaan asks as he moves to lean back onto a nearby column, his clothes loosely hanging over his wide frame. If he wasn't so skinny he'd look pretty muscular for his age.
[We've got the food they throw will throw away at the bakery, but as we went today we can't go again tomorrow or we risk getting into a fight with the other gangs. What about uncle China Enke?] Freddy sits back down on his bed and speaks his mind. The rest including me all squat where they stand.
[Uncle China is good as always, I'll be going tomorrow at around midday, that should give us all a meal for tomorrow; maybe two if we squeeze things] I respond. Thinking about the kind old man and his ridiculously loud laugh, I can't help but smile a little.
[I'll never understand why he's so nice to you. Just because you're smart and learn everything he tries to teach you, doesn't mean you're his son. All the other adults we've met don't give a damn about how smart you are; let alone care about us.] Kunta says in wonder.
I know he means nothing by it, he's just seen too many adults treat us like scum to feel fully trusting of the ones that do.
[I trust my guts, he's an exception. But don't misunderstand, I don't think it's love or anything; it's more like an agreement. I help him out, he teaches me because it makes him feel good. If I was to suddenly start demanding to be treated like a real son he'd kick me out in a heartbeat. It's not like he doesn't have the money or room to take care of me or even all of us; but he doesn't, has never even brought it up. We're on our own outside of him giving me knowledge and food in exchange for work.]
I explain my true thoughts on the matter, shrug, and then change the subject.
[By the way, Auntie Baku said we can watch stuff at her place again tomorrow night once the shop is closed. As group leader and Avatar, I declare we are watching… Avatar! Muahahahaha]
Kunta, as expected, is immediately triggered.
[Screw you! You're always the main characters, let one of us be the leader for once and I'm sick of Avatar, how about One Punch Man?!]
I sneer at him
[One Punch Man? It's funny, but the fights aren't as interesting! And anyway, I'm the leader because I've beat all of you up one on one. Wanna make a bet I can still beat you all five on one? If I lose, then you guys can decide who's leader and what we watch.]
Hehe.
[IMMORAL! Let's pummel this guy; I'm sick of that confident smirk on his face. I just wanna hit it at least once! IMMORAL! … but tomorrow morning, for now let's sleep. I'm too tired, too tired!]
Freddy jumps in before Kunta can say anything, not that I mind. I love fighting, always have.
===
With the sun cooking my skin alive, I take a few moments to look around; at the dirty floor where grass was supposed to be, at the dead trees sparsely dotted around, at the beeping cars and bustling city in the background. All of this whilst my friends charge at me with their punches.
Whoosh.
I love the thrill of barely evading fists, the wind brushing my skin, the sound they make when rushing past my ears. I can always see where they are going to hit, so avoiding most has never been much of an issue. I'm only human though, so this five against one situation I have myself in isn't exactly what I'd call "not much of an issue". I remind myself we're just playing around as Kunta grunts, lunges at my waist and attempts to grab me, I assume, to hold me still so the others can finally vent and give me some "friendly" punches.
Not gonna happen bro. Before he even has time to get close I'm leaping backwards towards Moh, who surprised by my sudden rush hesitates and shields his face to block what he thinks is going to be a punch. This gives me the opportunity to shoulder barge my way out of this encirclement, knocking Moh to the ground and giving myself just enough space to turn around and see two fists practically begging to make contact with any part of my beautiful face. I weave left towards Benny B, called so because he thinks it's cool and will throw dirt in your food if you disagree, giving his fist the slip and returning my own to below his waistline.
Yeah, we fight dirty; it comes with the territory of being orphans in Ethiopia, and having to fend for ourselves. Maybe in those rich countries we'd be carefree, not here. Benny B crumbles; Kanaan is onto me with another salvo of punches. Left, right, right, a hook and then a body shot, he might as well be saying them out loud because I weave around every single one. I grab Kanaan's head and just as I'm about to knee him in the stomach I get the shivers running down my back. I pull on Kanaan instead, spinning on the balls of my feet to quickly switch positions with him as I hear a loud THUD. Kunte's dropkick lands on Kanaan's back, making him stagger for 2 steps before he dives face down into the dirt. I take this opportunity to knee Kunte in the side before he recovers, and this is enough to leave him gassed out for now. I turn to see Freddy standing there, looking at the scene of destruction like it doesn't concern him; like he wasn't just trying to punch me a couple of seconds ago when they all had me surrounded. I accept his lack of will to continue the fight.
I declare victory.
[You guys, five on one and I still didn't get hit even once. Just give up and admit it, I'm the Avatar! A god is among you! Muahahahahaaaaa!]
Kunte coughs and responds, [Screw you Enke, if you didn-]
[If I didn't what? Fight you five against one? What would happen?]
Silence.
[It's okay man, just let me be the Avatar of the group, you can be Zuko or whoever you want]
I can't help it if I'm better than them all, I always have been and I refuse to be ashamed of it.
I try and defuse the tension though; they're my only friends, as much as I dislike the idea of sore losers, I've won and it isn't worth it anymore.
[Whatever, I need to go and help uncle China out soon. We can continue this another time. He gives me enough food for everyone so I can't be late; he hates it when… I'm…]
As I'm about to leave on higher moral ground, I notice a man leaning on a tree, maybe four meters away from us.
What the hell? How did "I" not notice him until now? Why do I feel like he's been here the entire time but none of us noticed? My nerves immediately go on edge, adrenaline pumps through my veins, filling every vessel with the potential to react at a moment's notice. I don't know why I feel like this, like the lives of me and my friends suddenly mean nothing before him. It's as if he could snuff us out of existence simply by breathing too hard; I know this can't be true, but my instincts are screaming otherwise, at the top of their lungs.
He smiles, and the feeling disappears as quickly as it came; all because of a simple change of expression on his face. I go from feeling like I'm at death's door, to feeling like the man in front of me wouldn't hurt a fly; even if it meant he would die instead.
I'm officially freaked out for the first time in my 13 years of existence. The strangest thing about it all is none of my friends seem to have picked up on the same things I did. All of them are looking at him like they would any other tourist that happens to find their way down this side of town; with pity.
Before I can even process what has happened, the man gently pushes off the tree and takes what I can only assume to be a fighting stance; his gently smiling eyes trained on me and no one else. Does he want to fight me? But why? Did he see my fight with the others and decide he wants to teach me a lesson? A grown man fighting a kid? He doesn't look embarrassed, that's for sure, nor does he look like he wants to kill or even seriously hurt me. He hasn't said a word but his body language seems to be speaking volumes, and for some reason it feels like he can read mine too; so I resist the urge to say anything before he breaks the silence.
So what do I do? Fight him? Or back down and walk away? When have I ever walked away from an interesting challenge that didn't seem like it would kill me? I mean, if my instincts are accurate, then he wouldn't need to do all this to kill me or anyone I know for that matter; so I honestly feel like he just wants to test me.
Breathe in.
haaaaaaa
Breath out.
Screw it, I'm going to try, and maybe I'll find out what this is all about.