Leah
At age twelve (12) I had to stop going to school and find a job mind you, I was only twelve with little knowledge due to me stopping from school for either being ill, no money or being too bruised I had to give up the thing that gave me sanity for eight whole hours and get a job at such a young age.
I went to the corner store in search of a job the same day I came from school and the house was empty just like it had been for the past two days I started to wonder at this point if my mother is hungry or is it that she fed off the drugs she did I used to think about it very deeply.
After speaking with Mr. John he had informed me that I was too young but that was my only hope of eating some real food or to even stay alive, but I was turned down and had to do another night of fasting and praying I fasted unintentionally but I always prayed whether it's for better or food.
After that night I went back there every day and ask him, after about a week he finally gave me something to do I cleaned the floor and at times wipe and pack the shelves sometimes he gave me extra pay when he knew it was rent time because I told him about my situation.
Most times I get the goods that are near expiring if he didn't return them to the company he bought them from if people came and were suspicious about me being in the shop he told them I was his little niece and that I was being homeschooled by his big daughter.
When I'm not working John's daughter Shayla would stop by the store and help me catch up with my studies because I was no longer enrolled in a school, even though I was learning it came to stop quickly when out of the blues twenty-year-old Shayla was proposed to, she got married in the same year and migrated she now has a two-year-old daughter who I have only seen on pictures.
She started her life.
At work, I felt at peace I always regretted going home every day because while walking home or being dropped off I have high expectations that my mother would be sober only to go home to see men handling her, or she is knocked out, sometimes I would have to prepare my self for her abuse whether it was mentally, physically or verbally it all hurt pretty badly.
Years had passed, and I was still working at Mr. John on my 15th birthday he bought me a phone I was so happy but I had to hide that from my mother because I knew she would sell it to get a fix and I didn't like the idea of that I always cherished things that were given to me whether they are new or old, I cherish it because I knew what it's like to not have it.
My mother sold most of my stuff I buy with my little savings, stuff like that would break my heart because I worked for it I had two torn-up sneakers and I replaced them throwing the old ones away only for my mother to sell the new ones I bought.
And even after I ran down the garbage truck I didn't receive my old shoes back and had to wear socks to work for two days until Mr. John help me out with shoes and when I came home I would leave that shoes outside under the steps knowing she wouldn't find them and I had them up to this day.
Then approximately 5 months later I got a call from a lady saying that she was my grandmother and that she was going to fly me out to where she lived, so I took the offer after going over it with Mr. John, I packed my bags now I'm here with her in a car in a whole other country.
I explained some of this to her and kept what I wanted to myself because I didn't know her like that and I only confided in Shayla and Mr. John.
Sometimes I wish I had died during birth but I quickly prayed to god every time I felt like that because Pain is temporary, so I had to keep going.
She looked at me with pity but I looked back at her with pure disappointment because it's been all these years and then all of a sudden.