What the hell?!

FOURTY-TWO

LEONE

Fuck!

What was I doing?

We hailed a tricycle much to my dismay. Lynnette was grinning at me. I believed that she thought that this was some fun therapy for me, but I wasn’t really feeling it. I just wanted to protect her. This was a new environment, and one couldn’t be too safe here.

I had no idea how they did things, so I had to protect my woman. The thought jarred me. Was Lynn my woman? Fuck! I can’t think of that now. I had to think of other things, and then, I would be fine.

“Do you have a list of things you want to get for yourself?” Lynn asked suddenly.

I turned to look at her, and she looked like a dream in the long blue skirt, and white waistcoat. There was nothing inside it, or… I coyly peered deeper and I noted she was wearing some sort of camisole. Damn it! She looked so hot right there, and I wanted to…

“Leone,” she scolded, as she looked away from me, a blush creeping into her cheeks.

She had caught me staring. Well, what could I have done? She looked so beautiful like that and it was driving me insane.

“I can’t help it, but to answer your question. Well, I haven’t thought of anything. You know why we came here, so…” I trailed off.

She turned her gaze to me, her expression so sad. “I’m really sorry. That was out of touch, and stupid of me.”

I shook my head at her. “It’s not your fault.”

With a sigh, she placed her purse on her thigh. The same thigh I had rested my head last night in the park. The memory was so beautiful, and I couldn’t help but smile at it. It was a memory that I couldn’t forget. It had a permanent spot in my head, and I was so grateful for that. I was grateful for everything actually that had to do with Lynn.

When this blows over, I would have to prove it to her. I was about to say something, but the tricycle pulled towards the side of the street. I scampered down, and so did Lynn. The market was beaming with people, and there were stalls everywhere. In the strangest fashion, I saw fruits on carts like in those Indian serials. Wow!

I have been in America for so long, and this really took me aback. They were always so neat in this country, but now, I was forced to reevaluate that thought.

“You look like a kid who just saw Santa,” Lynn teased.

I smiled at her. “Don’t tease me so brutally. You know how much I love to shop. It’s like my superpower. I have the urge to go into every stall, and never leave,” I said softly.

She placed a hand on my arm and grinned. “Then, what are you waiting for? Let’s paint the whole town red,” she said fiercely.

Her excitement was contagious, but I refused to be swayed. She looked like a complete porcelain doll. The one that I wanted to hold in my hands and never let go, and hell, she’d been so touchy of late. I had no idea if she even knew that she was behaving that way.

“I can’t come with you,” I said slowly. The look at her crestfallen face was enough to make me feel guilty, but I honestly couldn’t leave.

“But, why?” She asked in confusion.

I sighed. “Well, though I love to shop, I can’t go in there knowing my mom…” I trailed off.

Lynn closed her eyes slightly. I knew she was frustrated because she hoped I would have loosened up, but I was still stuck with my gloomy ways. But, I was trying, right? I had cracked a few jokes, and acted like I was ok for a few seconds. That should count as something, right?

She slowly released my hands and then clamped it over her purse, like it would save her the stress of looking for what to hold.

“It’s fine,” she choked out. She awkwardly cleared her throat and gave me an overly bright smile. “Will you be ok on your own?”

I chuckled bitterly at that. “I’m not a kid, Lynn,” I teased as I looked right at her cleavage.

She blushed scarlet at this. “I should get going,” she mumbled as she ran off.

I couldn’t help the smile that touched my lips at her ways. She was the cutest and sweetest. Suddenly, she ran back from where she had gone towards. I rose a brow at her.

“Eh,” she started. “Stay at the ice-cream store, and get something to leak, so you wouldn’t suffer from dehydration,” she said softly.

My smile stretched further. “I would keep that in mind.”

She miked at that, and ran as fast as she could to the market. I hoped she didn’t get into any troubles. She was such a bundle of energy, and I loved it so much. I loved how flustered she could still get because of me. I turned slightly to the ice cream store, but couldn’t even step towards it. My mood was shifting so rapidly.

Oh! Wait!

I had never been happy for a minute. I was simply acting to cheer Lynn up. She had distracted me, but it wasn’t enough to stop thinking of mom. I slowly walked away from the place I stood. I was so tired, and I needed to search for mom. She could be around here. It was a hight possibility. I turned towards stalls, and turned over people that i felt looked like mom, and then, apologising when they ended up being other persons.

It was a vicious circle, but I couldn’t really stop myself from continuing the process. The urge to see her in this crowd was overwhelming. I couldn’t have stayed back for nothing. She should be in here, she had to be.

At that moment, I heard curses, and then a loud crash. What was that? I turned from the process of touching yet another woman, and ran towards the gate. At the far left, a crowd gathered over two women, who were screaming at the top of their voice. I groaned as I wondered how I was going to stop them from doing something rash.

This type of things was commonplace in markets, so why was I getting so excited about it? I need to mind my business. I folded my hands across my chest, and watched them fight it off. The crowd weren’t so helpful as they were more like mute spectators.

“Let go of my child!” A woman screamed.

That voice.

I blinked. What the hell?

I had heard it before, but it sounded different. My foot moved before my brain could even control it. The child in question was wailing, and I was slightly scared about this.

“She is not your child,” another woman spoke. She sounded so distraught and horrified at the same time. “You crazy woman, let go!”

“I won’t!” The first woman spat out. “I carried her for 9 months, and I won’t let another woman steal her from me.”

There was collective gasps and murmurs from the crowd.

“You’re confused,” the other woman spoke. “This baby isn’t yours, so please leave my daughter.”

Then, there was tears. It was a lot, and brutal dragging.

My heart hurt with each step I took towards them. Oh, my goodness! This wasn’t good. Why wasn’t anyone asking the girl to identify her mother? This would have easily solved the case, but they were all looking like this was a sitcom, and not a real occurrence.

“Give way,” I said calmly.

The audience grunted in frustration, but pushed me back. The fuck! I decided not to go through this in the polite form, but it was hard. With great shoving and manoeuvring, I finally moved to the front of the row.

A beautiful girl of about 5 stood at the centre of the scene, and a woman clutched her possessively. She was blond with shabby clothes. While another woman dragged the girl’s hand. The girl in question was trying to jerk her hands from the woman who was pulling her, and wailing. This woman was in a weird outfit that could have seen better days. It was all a mess.

“Do tell everyone, munchie, that I’m your mother,” the woman in long brown hair pleaded.

What?

Munchie?

Mother called Sienna that name.

No!

It can’t be!

I swallowed the lump in my throat as both women kept fighting with all they had. My eyes slowly misted over, as I took reluctant steps forward. The child was still wailing, and pleading to be released because they were hurting her.

The sounds intensified, and I could see mother in front of me, crying because of Sienna. It was almost too real, but it was all in my mind. I shot my hands forward, and slowly turned the woman in front of me around.

A gasp tore from my lips in shock. She was mom!