Sinner Mine

Chapter4

Jenny

"Father,” I replied.

Great, my sperm donor needed to be a hero.

“Yes it was him, telling me not to make a single noise, hidden behind a cabin. We waited until they left their spot, before he took me inside the cabin. He asked me what i was doing there and what I heard. I told him I didn't hear anything, but I knew he didn't believe me.”

“It turned out he was in on what I heard those men say. Because he told me to keep my mouth shut if I didn't want to get into trouble.”

Hum?

“What did you hear those men say, mama?” I asked her.

She laughs again before saying, “In short, they said that any villager that didn't agree to sell their land to them should be taken care of. Do you know what it means?”

“They were ready to kill the poor villagers?” I asked, shocked.

“Yes and they did.” she announced.

What?

“Amir, that's your dad's name by the way, told me that the people he worked with were Americans. That they were very powerful and influential fellows. He said they would go to any extent to get what they came for. Hearing that, what could I have done?” she asked, mainly to herself.

“I went back home and told my parents to sell their land and leave the village, but they refused, telling me that nothing was going to make them sell their inheritance and run.” She says.

“I told them they were in danger if they didn't sell their land to those foreigners, but they didn't have any. So I tried looking for ways to protect my family. That's why i started meeting up with your father in secret.” She swallows. Then continues,

“One thing led to another and we became a thing. By then, the strangers had already installed their mining site and the extraction of the mineral they sought was in process.” linking her hands with mine, she continues.

“After a month throughout their mining work they found nothing on the land that they acquired from the villagers who sold their land to them. The only lands untouched were ours and three other families that also refused to sell. At that point, the foreigners started to believe that they were giving wrong information about the resources that were supposed to be found there. That made them restless and frustrated because they had invested a lot of money and nothing was coming out of it.”

I think this is about to get creepy.

“On a fateful day, Amir reached out and told me about a conversation he heard between his boss and his inner circle planning on how to get rid of those who refused to relegate their properties to them by the end of that month without raising suspicions from the local government and all that. They were planning on setting our homes on fire and claiming a fire incident. I didn't believe him, obviously. Because I thought he was just trying to get me to persuade my parents to sign the land handover. I did try to make my parents leave the village for some time, but they still didn't have it.” she stopped to wipe a stray tear from her eyes.

“Because I was too persistent about wanting us out of there, they told us the real reason behind them not wanting to sell their land.” taking a resounding break, she poses and says, “This is where you pay attention, and I mean, really pay attention. I may not have another opportunity to tell you all this because things are getting really messy. So listen carefully, okay?” she's looking me dead in the eye.

This is some really f**k up s**t. I bet.

“Okay mama, I will pay attention.” I promise.

“My father told me that 2 years before the foreigners arrived, he realized there was a lake at the center of his main land leading to a small cave. He remembered thinking it strange that nobody knew it existed, even though the properties were extended to roughly 30 acres of land,” she says.

“Yes, that's quite strange. Perhaps his parents knew but didn't think it necessary to tell him,” I said.

“Maybe, maybe not. There was no way to find out. He then decided to venture there and find something very important.” she stopped.

“And what was that?” I asked, so eager to know.

“Something very precious and he believed that’s what the strangers were looking for. Not a so-called mineral they said they discovered there. Perhaps they knew the person who kept it there and somehow got information of where they could find it but didn't have the exact location of that precious thing. So they had to scrutinize all the areas to look for it.” she finishes. And it seemed like she is done talking.

“So what about my father in all this? Did they harm my grandparents? What mommy? You can't just stop talking like that.” I asked, in a ramble.

“I know, it's just that I am getting to the parts that made our life so miserable now,” she explains.

“It's okay. What's important is that I get to know why we lived the way we did.” I assured her.

“Like I told you before, your father was just fishing for information from me. Even though he saved my life, he wasn't genuine, and I got to see that part of him when i got pregnant. Immediately, I told him i was carrying his unborn child. He stopped meeting with me. I mean, he literally disappeared.” She tells me, a tear finally slipping from her left eye down her cheek onto my face underneath her chin.

Removing my face from under her chin, I wiped her tears with my hands. This is the part I really feared would end with her in tears. Mama is a strong woman but there's so much one person can take without breaking.

My poor sweet mom.

I opened my mouth to tell mama that it's okay, everything is gonna be alright. Even if is to feel a bit better myself. She doesn't have to relive those toxic moments of her life once more.

But that's when I hear it. A loud boom came from behind us. As I turned to see what was going on behind us, I heard mom curse. “s**t! they found me faster than I thought.”

“The people we are running from?”I ask in panic.”

“Yes kiddo,” she answers looking behind the bus.

“Are they the people bombarding everywhere? I ask again.

Shit!

“It okay, just a little bit more and we will be in Yaounde.” She tried to assure me with a barely there smile. But I know it's not that simple. These people are after our skins, and they won't mind casual damages. Because we're not the only ones in this bus.

As am about to say as much to mom. I heard another loud boom before our vehicle flew through the air and landing. God knows f*****g where upside down.

Jesus H. Christ

I don't hear the ringing in my ears coming from the shouts of agony in the bus the passengers are making. It's f*****g chaos.

I hurt everywhere.

“Mom?”

“Mom?” I asked again. Where is she? I need to find her. Maybe she's hurt. I have to get to her, but I can't seem to move my body or any part of my body at all. Probably broke a thing or two.

God! My head is banging. Can't keep focus. My eyes are heavy leaded, as I keep trying not to lose consciousness. I’m still searching for mom with my eyes open as much as they can. Where are you mama? I f*****g need you. Are you okay?

“Jenny? My sweet Jenny, I'm sorry I won't be continuing this trip with you. I need to protect you. For that, I have to do this and leave the rest to the almighty. I hope you get out of this. But I can't let them find you. Hold this bag baby. In it you will find some of the answers to all this charade. Keep the key safe, it's gonna change your life if you survive this.” My consciousness is slipping at fast speed. But I feel mama's lips on my forehead. Kissing me goodbye. I can't even tell her to stay with me, I'm so f*****g scared. I want her to take me in her arms and tell me that it's gonna be alright. It has always been both of us against the whole damn world. I can't make sense of all the gibberish things she said. But my lips won't form words.

Speak damnit. Tell her to stay with you.

Nothing comes out. Just tears running down my cheeks as I watched my mom taking off towards two men in all black approaching our busted bus. They grab her by the hair and with one swift movement, mom falls to the ground motionless. The last thing I hear is “good f*****g riddance, suka,” from one of those men. Before everything goes black.