"Hola! I'm Christanté".Valentina turned around to see a little boy standing right behind her. He wore a broad smile on his face and seemed excited to see Valentina.He must be like ten, Valentina thought.She bent over a bit and patted the little boy on his head. This made him chuckle."I'm Valentina. What're you doing here?" Valentina asked, knowing that it was inappropriate for a child of his age to be where he was. She observed him closely and he seemed to be stressed out."I work here", Christanté replied, the smile still on his face.Why and how would a little kid this age be made to work here? "And what kind of work do you do?" Valentina went on, slowly trying to pick her words. None of these was making any sense to her."Well… I'm made to clean the bar, serve drinks and…" Christanté paused for a second and shifted his gaze to the ground. He wasn't sure if he was talking to the right person. The smile on his face was gone and he had a nervous stare in his eyes. Valentina neede
Marcus walked into the room, carrying a little nylon bag in both hands. He had no idea if to place it down and take his leave or just await Josefina's arrival. He was still contemplating this when Josefina creeped into the room, unnoticed. She took her position behind him but didn't say a word. He could feel the warmth of her breath, hitting sharply against the nape of his neck. He turned around sharply, almost bumping into her."I'm sorry. I was sent to deliver this here", he said and placed the parcel on the bed. He made to take his leave but paused when he heard her mutter something inaudible."I didn't get you"."I said, what's in there?" She repeated, lifting the parcel up from the bed."I have no idea". He stammered as he said this. He slowly turned around and walked out of the room. Josefina had her eyes on him the whole time.She unwrapped the parcel to find out it was from her grandfather, Él Ligeró. It was a parure made out of diamond. It must have cost a fortune, she though
It was a Friday night and as always, Euphoria Discotheque was on their usual routine. Valentina stuck her head out from behind the curtains, scouting around for nothing in particular but her attention was drawn to the young man who sat across the room. She must have seen him before but it was quite difficult for her to conclude since he had his back turned at her. But anyways, she had seen more than a dozen men visit Euphoria Discotheque five days in a week, so it wasn't so much of a big deal. She calmly retreated as she felt a surge of anxiety building up within. The voices around her were slowly drowning out and they only filtered into her ears once in a while as muffled sounds. She reached for the little vial sitting on the counter, flipped the cover open and threw the pills into her mouth. She inhaled deeply and made for the dressing mirror. She stood there in her amazonian figure which sat well on her wafer-thin body. She had a decanter shaped waist and her complexion had an impe
July 10, Dulsie's ninth birthday. It was mid-afternoon on a Saturday. The gentle breeze swept across the garden as Lucia rushed about to set up the little umbrella shades for the party. Candela had arrived at the early hours of the morning alongside her husband and kids to help her sister set up things for her daughter's birthday party. The kids had run along to go play hide and seek inside the house. Candela's daughter, who, because she had already turned nine, liked to say she was a year older than Dulsie, even though they were really only four months apart. Lucia's husband, Elvio, had stepped out to go get Dulsie's cake and some groceries from the mall. Candela's husband, Esteban attended to the barbecue stand. The meats were only halfway cooked but they still gave out an appetizing smell.In the shades of the backyard, there was the sweet odor of lime and sticky charred sauce and at intervals, the kids would run by to get some chunks of meat and afterwards, return to their play."
"No mum! Due to the heavy traffic, I couldn't make it to Donald's place for the lessons. Just decided to head back home, besides I'm very tired", Marcus said hurrying to his room. " No! Toasted bread again? I hate toasted bread", was his comment as he stepped into the kitchen. Emma was in her room making a drawing of her best Disney princess 'Barbie'. Aiden was also painting his Disney hero 'Ben 10'. "Emma! Emma! Emma! Oh no. I'm very sure this girl is just making one of her useless drawings of Barbie again. What a jobless fellow. Even her younger brother. I don't know what in God's name is wrong with these kids!" Their Mom, Mrs Kinney was so upset, having no one to help her out in the kitchen. Her phone rang on the balcony and she ran off to answer it. By the time she got back, the toasted bread had gotten burnt. She screamed and yelled, calling on the kids to come help her make another meal. Maybe noodles. Marcus was so happy about the new development and he willingly helped o
Finally, two days had gone by and the children were released. Emma headed straight to her room and she was bedazzled by the sight. Everything in her room had been changed and all her paintings and portraits had been gotten rid of by her parents. "Mum! Is this actually my room? I didn't leave my room this way. This isn't fair", Emma cried. Aiden too was trying to understand what was actually going on. He was almost in tears. Mr and Mrs Kinney were in their room listening to their kids' wailings but didn't make a move. "Their addiction has to stop. They can't go on like this. They ain't kids anymore for chrissakes. I think they should even take a break off from social media. That'd help them a lot", and with that Mr Kinney made his way to Emma's room and snatched away her phone. Same with Aiden. * * * Marcus was up in his room studying and he soon got bored. He changed his T-shirt and put on a pair of white canvas before he left for Eric's house. As he arrived, he saw Eric with two
Marcus swung his backpack to his back and left the dining room after having his breakfast. He looked around and went into his room to collect the pack. Unfortunately, Emma and Aiden were in his wardrobe. As he picked up the pack it accidentally fell down and a powdered substance spilt. "What the hell is this?" He stuttered, sniffing the substance. It was too strong for him. " Gosh! This is cocaine. What have I gotten myself into now? Eric never told me the business was of this nature". Emma wanted to scream but Aiden was quick to close her mouth, " Shh… Don't make a sound. We have to follow him to where he's going". Bella nodded. Marshall packed up the cocaine and sealed it in another plastic bag. He put it in his backpack and hurried off. He didn't go through the usual route but decided to take a path that would be shorter. He knocked sharply on the door and a man opened it. Emma and Aiden hid behind a car a few meters away from the warehouse. Marcus put his backpack down on a
"Please ma'am, did you see a black Chevrolet SUV drive past this route some hours ago?" Emma asked an elderly woman who had just stepped out of a mall situated at the far end of the road Marcus and his abductors had taken."I just arrived here a few minutes ago. I think you should ask the lady at the counter", the elderly woman said and walked off carrying a bagful of groceries."A'ight, thanks", Emma replied and walked towards the entrance of the mall with Aiden following closely behind. They approached the lady at the counter and greeted her in the calmest tone they could muster. They had to appear as calm as possible to avoid suspicions."Good day ma'am, please did you see an old, black Chevrolet SUV drive past some hours ago?" Emma repeated the question to the lady behind the counter. She seemed to be busy with some calculations and took a few seconds to round up what she was doing before she looked up at the kids standing in front of her."I'm sorry, I had to clear something", an