83K MIRACLE
730 Words
*8:00am. 48 hours until rent. 72 hours until Friday.*
67k on the table.
Need 150k.
Short: 83k.
Jimmy’s ribs hurt every time he breathed.
Shoulder in a sling. Face bruised.
Doctor said "2 weeks bed rest."
Landlord said "Wednesday or get out."
"We can’t hustle like this," Alex said.
"Then we don’t hustle," Jessica said. "We beg. We borrow. We sell."
*Plan 1: Sell Everything*
*10:00am. Bukoto Market.*
They sold Jessica’s hair dryer. 25k.
Sold the TV. 40k.
Sold Jimmy’s extra jacket. 8k.
Total: 73k.
67k + 73k = 140k.
Still 10k short.
And now they had no TV. No dryer. No jacket.
Landlord came at 12pm. "Where is my money?"
"Tomorrow," Jimmy said. "Please. One more day."
"You had 6 months," the landlord said. "Tomorrow 6pm.
Or I change the locks."
*Plan 2: Borrow*
*2:00pm. Calling Everyone.*
Jessica called her aunt in Gulu. No answer.
Alex called 3 friends. 2 said "broke". 1 sent 5k.
145k now.
Jimmy called Sula.
"Boy, I’m sorry," Sula said. "I have 3k. That’s all."
148k.
Hassan called. "The injunction is filed. Judge will hear it tomorrow 9am.
If we win, Mr. Kato can’t touch you until case ends."
"What about the money?" Jimmy asked.
"One problem at a time," Hassan said.
148k. Still 2k short.
*Plan 3: The Last Hustle*
*6:00pm. Jimmy insisted.*
"One night," he said. "Just 2k."
"Your ribs—" Jessica started.
"Will heal," Jimmy said. "Eviction won’t."
Alex drove. Jimmy sat behind, holding his ribs.
No deliveries. Just sitting at a stage. Waiting for someone to need a boda.
*9:00pm. 1k made.*
*11:00pm. 1.5k made.*
*1:00am. A man offered 1k to go to Najjera.*
They took it.
On the way back, 2:30am, police stopped them.
"License. Insurance."
Expired.
Fine: 50k. Or boda impounded.
Jimmy almost cried. "Officer please. We’re trying to pay rent."
The officer looked at Jimmy’s bruises. At the sling.
Sighed. "20k. Last warning."
They had 149.5k.
Minus 20k = 129.5k.
They went home and didn’t talk.
*Day 30. Wednesday. D-Day.*
*8:00am. 10 hours to eviction.*
129.5k.
Need 150k.
Short: 20.5k.
Knock on the door.
Not landlord.
Mrs. Kato.
She walked in. Looked at the empty walls. At Jimmy’s sling.
"My husband is a monster," she said.
"I know," Jessica said.
"He told me Friday he’s going to hurt you," Mrs. Kato said.
"I came to give you this."
She put an envelope on the table.
Inside: 25k.
"For rent," she said. "Don’t tell him.
And leave Kampala after Friday. Go to the village."
She left.
129.5k + 25k = 154.5k.
They stared at the money.
"The miracle," Alex whispered.
*2:00pm. Paying Rent.*
Landlord counted. 150k.
Gave them a receipt.
"You have 6 more months," he said. "Don’t be late again."
House safe. For now.
154.5k - 150k = 4.5k left.
Food money.
*4:00pm. Court. The Injunction.*
Buganda Road.
Hassan in suit. Mr. Kato’s lawyers there too.
Judge listened for 30 minutes.
Looked at Jimmy’s medical report. At Brian’s arrest.
"Interim injunction granted," she said.
"Mr. Kato and his associates are barred from contacting,
threatening, or harming the applicants until main case is heard."
Hassan almost smiled.
Mr. Kato’s lawyer was furious.
Outside court, Mr. Kato walked past Jimmy.
Didn’t speak. Just tapped his watch.
Friday 6pm.
The injunction didn’t cover that.
*8:00pm. Home. Breathing.*
They had food. Beans and posho.
They had a house.
They had 4.5k.
For the first time in 30 days, they weren’t being evicted tonight.
Jessica bandaged Jimmy’s ribs.
"You did it," she said.
"We did it," Jimmy said.
Alex was on the floor. "What about Friday?"
"One day at a time," Jimmy said.
His phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
Text: `Injunction means nothing. Friday 6pm. Container 14.
Bring 1.2M or I take payment in blood. -K`
Jimmy deleted it.
*11:00pm. The Plan*
They sat in a circle.
"We can’t get 1.2M," Alex said.
"We can’t fight him," Jessica said.
"So what do we do?"
Jimmy looked at his hands. Bruised. Broken.
"Friday we go," he said.
"And we don’t go alone."
He looked at Hassan’s number.
He looked at the police report.
He looked at Mrs. Kato’s 25k.
"Mr. Kato thinks he owns us," Jimmy said.
"But he doesn’t own time. And he doesn’t own us."
He turned off the light.
2 days until Friday.
The house was safe.
Jimmy was alive.
The court was watching.
But container 14 was still waiting.
- Writer
