RESCUED

You have to understand me all it ever was, was a means to an end, a way to survive and compete in this cruel world. But here I am surrounded by the whole clan and I have to pay for my sins. For a while it worked. I was the envy of my friends and family, I could do it all. So let me introduce myself, Layla Moyo. I am a lady who made a series of mistakes after I grew tired of my humble life. My life changed when my friend introduced me to the Queen. The Queen wasn’t royalty in the normal sense but in the power she held. I had heard the whispers from my mothers, aunts and grandmothers about the woman who could grant wishes but always took something in return. When anyone talked about her, it was always a warning. Growing up I always dreamed about the life I wanted to live, a well-paying job, a handsome boyfriend, a house and traveling the world. I didn’t grow up poor, but it was comfortable, I was fed daily, clothed and had warm shelter. My life was actually a happy one, and I loved my family deeply, and it was one of my wishes was to one day give them a fancy life. The fancy life we saw on TV, the houses, pools, trips and fashion, drove my ambitions. I studied hard in school, I was determined to make it. I passed high school, went to university and all was great, and I got my degree, but that’s when the troubles began. My parents passed on, so relying on my parents for food and clothing ended, and I needed to find a job fast. A job in my country where jobs were non-existent. I couldn’t give up, so I tried, and I tried from waitresing jobs to cleaning jobs. I couldn’t get a job. After surviving on the little money my parents left me, I was stranded and needed new ways to make money. I truly thought about selling my body but that only harms me. So I went to my friend Charity (could I really call her a friend after all this, I will let you judge). My friend and I had so much history, grew up in the same neighborhood and went to the same schools, but she was doing so much better than me in so many ways. Charity was now living in a beautiful fully furnished duplex apartment (hope you don’t see me green while reading this, but that’s the truth: I was jealous and I wanted her life) Charity's life was awesome. She was a famous socialite going on dates with men who took her to countries like Dubai and Switzerland while my passport lay in my drawer gathering dust. So I visited my dear friend Charity one day to catch up and dig up all her secrets. The first time I saw Charity’s place, I couldn’t believe that the girl I grew up with was living like that. The world I built up in my dreams was the life she was living. When she arrived at her place, she had already ordered some food for us and some wine. She told me how her life was so awesome and there I sat in so much awe and wanting it all. Oh, God! How naive I was. I sat there, and my jealousy grew and grew, and I eventually asked what her secret was and, honestly, I kinda laughed when she told me The Queen. The Queen was a myth. Nothing like that ever existed and even if she did, wasn’t it bad and had consequences? Charity swore there were no consequences, and she was living her best life, so here I made the worst decision of my life. I am now on the hot seat facing my weeping aunts and angry uncles and for what. (Can an apology even suffice for what I had done? would you forgive me? Lets see) Charity told me it was easy, and it was she just had to connect me with the right people, and she kept her promise (I wish she hadn't). Charity facilitated everything. I was just glad that my life was about to change, and I didn’t ask the right questions. I was given instructions on what to buy and where to buy. I didn’t mind these instructions. They were easy. The only difficult instruction was to break up with my boyfriend David, my sweet, sweet but broke boyfriend. The kind of boy who made you smile no matter what kind of day you were having. I lost my best friend when I broke up with David and I shattered his heart and he didn’t know why. I was too chicken to do it face to face, so I sent a text. And he came to where I lived and pounded on my door, asking and pleading, but I was blinded by the life I was being promised. (I ruined so many lives). So here I was blowing up the only relationship that was meaningful in my life, because the idea of me dating a rich guy and the dream was better than not the loving and caring boyfriend I had. I regret this decision as I write this because David, even though he isn't rich, lives a beautiful life with his wife and daughter. That baby was meant to be ours, if only, but other than a broken heart, I didn’t ruin his life like I did, like the people who I am facing right now and the people who aren't even born yet. That’s how crazy my story is. I ruined everyone's futures. After I followed all the instructions, I was ready to meet The Queen and make all my dreams come true. Desperation is never a good thing. I was given a address to go to and this place wasn’t in the fancy neighborhood where my friend Charity lived, but I went. The house was odd looking. You couldn’t tell the front from the back, but I wanted who I was to judge this house. I was greeted by this older man, and he told me to remove my shoes and enter the house silently and wait. I did as I was told, and I was nervous, but my life was about to change. There were no chairs, but there was a white cloth in the middle and there I was standing waiting for the myth The Queen?(Did I ever think this was a cruel prank by Charity definitely, but you have to try it right). A little child came to greet me and told me to sit on the white cloth and close my eyes, so I did. The little child sat next to me and started singing in a language I don’t know. We sat there, and the child sang and sang, the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stood up. The air in the room changed. I could feel the presence of someone or something. I was tempted to open my eyes, but the instruction was to keep my eyes closed. The child stood up and started circling me, chanting and that the child was not the only one ,so many people were chanting and circling. I could feel my heart in my throat, I had goosebumps and sacred stiff. I didn’t move. I sat there silently and then suddenly I felt cold water all over my body, but the smell told me it wasn’t water. Still I kept my eyes shut. I wanted the life I dreamed of, so I was going to do everything in my power to get it. And just sitting was too bad, right? I was instructed to open my eyes and there was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was breathtaking, almost perfect, her skin flawless, eyes glowing but holding no warmth. She looked straight at me, smiling, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes, it was like staring at a beautiful nightmare. That should have been my warning, her beauty wasn’t comforting. All I can say was awe mixed with unease. I was standing at the edge of the cliff, so beautiful but dangerous. At my first meeting with The Queen, we didn’t talk much other than her asking for my details. It was just that, I had my doubts when I left. I knew how I felt when I saw her but thought maybe I had built up this Queen in my head and nothing I felt or saw was true. Then two weeks later I was summoned to the house again. This time I didn’t have to wait. The moment I entered, there were other girls, including my dear friend Charity. Everyone was seated on different colored cloths. The only place left was the white-colored cloth, so I walked slowly to that cloth and sat down. Charity smiled at me as I sat down, and I nervously smiled back. The Queen loved to make an entrance and the first time I saw her was no exception. Drums began to bang, ululating and dancing, all the girls stood up and jumped around. I just stood there and looked at the surrounding celebrations. When everything quieted down, everyone resumed their seats, and then silence. I will try my best to describe the silence but forgive me if I can't translate into words. The silence was unnatural, too thick to be real, it wasn’t just the absence of sound, it was the presence of something else and deep down I knew it wasn’t good. After the long creepy silence and everyone looking at The Queen in her seat commanding the whole room, everyone bowed down, and my name was called out, and I was instructed to stand in the middle (don’t know if I should include what happened to me in those moments, but let me tell you a little part of it I am afraid of you judging me). The group of girls formed a circle around me all standing, and they started chanting. It was eerie. I don’t want to lie, but this was it, my life was about to shift. The Queen stood and approached me with a pot full of red liquid, and it was poured all over me. I was instructed to strip down to my underwear and the chants and cleansing continued. What followed after was a series of promises and chants I had to recite. I didn’t understand what I was giving up. It is a lie to say that there is nothing more important than money. There is trust me. When the initiation was over, I was given a clay pot of red liquid, a white cloth and beads. The instructions were so simple it was unbelievable, Instruction 1. wash your face with the red liquid Instruction 2. always chant and pray on the white cloth before leaving the house Instruction 3: the beads went everywhere with me, so easy and non-consequential. My mistakes were only beginning. With a skip in my step, I rushed home to start my new life. The very next morning, I woke up, washed my face in my life-changing red liquid, wore my best clothes and took my beads into the world I went to. I walked to my usual bus stop and got the shock of my life. After waiting for a few minutes, a beautiful car stopped and the man inside offered me a life. My heart didn’t just beat, it pounded like it wanted to escape my chest. Thrill and disbelief flooded through me, this was it, and it was working’ as he rolled the window down and smiled at me, it felt like every incantation cracked open a door. I could hear the echo of the Queen’s voice saying it had started.