Mawufemor was only 8 years old in 1996, but he had seen enough hardship to last him a lifetime.
He had been wandering the road of Desperate Life
—aimlessly beneath the barren sky.
So afraid that he would not be found—
Fearing it wouldn't be long before his sun goes down.
He just needed someone—just someone—to lead him home.
Eventually, Mawufemor landed at the Abeka Market, a town about 2 kilometres from Lapaz.
In the beginning, life was difficult because he was unfamiliar with the terrain and was unaware of the territorial nature of the market and its environs. Later on, however, he began to interact with other boys his age and older who had also made the market and the lorry station their home and meeting place. Among them was a 10-year-old child named Awutsey who was as courageous as Shaka Zulu. Then there was Azumah, a 15-year-old fingersmith with a reputation for being the fastest pocket in town.
Each child on the street in Abeka mastered a vice. These vices ranged from those of a confident con artist to those of a masked thief. And it was demanded from the area's lord, Scorpion, a 25-year-old ragamuffin rogue who was the master of all he oversaw: petty theft, pickpocketing, armed robbery, rape, murder, and intimidation. The majority of the people he led were under the age of 16, largely school dropouts or truants, but one of them, Mawufemor, had never been the inside of a classroom!
Mawufemor discovered love and acceptance, something he had yearned for his entire life. The beauty of Abeka's street life back then was that they had the entire town to themselves. The whole community trembled at their appearance since they were suspected of using narcotics, particularly the locally growing cannabis sativa known as "wee." They stole whatever they saw that pleased them as they marched through town! When the shopkeepers went home for the night, they made their homes in the shops. These youngsters knew how to pick locks, access rooms to sleep snugly, and indulge themselves in some treats, especially if the shop was a "provision shop." The gang stayed together in everything they did and always had each other's backs.
And when it came to trouble, they were never far from it. Every day brought a fresh set of challenges to tackle: from being pursued by the owners of the stolen goods to being rounded up by the police on some occasions. They were beaten severely and left for dead on two occasions. They would, however, wake up hours later and move.
Calamity had always been close by for these kids. They had lost roughly six of their gang members to the cold hands of death between 1996 and 1998. Two of them had been poisoned on purpose by their victims, three had been stabbed at various times during clashes with rival gangs, and one had been shot in the head by the boss himself for failing to account for "sales" he had made for the day. However, this did not discourage the others from getting more adventurous.
Mawufemor was hesitant at first. But after a year of living with these kids and feeding off their labour, he began to pick up on their trade. He began with the fundamentals, such as pickpocketing and being a confident trickster. The surprise was that the 10-year-old had carved out a niche in pickpocketing and confident trickery, combining both vices with intelligence! He was gradually becoming the boss's favourite!
However, an event will occur that will forever impact Mawufemor's perception of the gang and street life in general!
One day, when he was about ten years old, a young girl, perhaps just about to reach her teens, and her companions were walking home from school when they passed by the market. The girl could not tear her gaze away from Mawufemor; she continued to stare. Three days later, her pals began taunting her that she was in love with the shady-looking fella. This girl approached Mawufemor on the fourth day.
“Why are you here? Why are you not in school?”
“I-I-I don’t go-go-go…!” he stammered.
The other pupils laughed hysterically and teased the girl about her husband's inability to speak. Mawufemor felt pitiful; laughter at his stutter was usually his lowest moment, thus he chose to remain mute when a question was posed rather than speak and stutter. The small girl became enraged with her colleagues and reprimanded them before going over to give Mawufemor his very first ever hug.
From that day forward, a friendship began. Mawufemor would spend the entire night absentmindedly contemplating the young girl. Never before in his life had he experienced such warmth and happiness. When she finally arrives with her companions, he would dash to meet her. The little girl would reciprocate the action, and they would meet each other halfway, wrapping themselves in a warm embrace.
“Be careful of that girl, understood?” One day, the boss finally reprimanded him. He'd been watching the two for a while and had a feeling he knew where it was going.
"Women should not be trusted. Did you hear?"
He nodded in fear. Scorpion threatened to deal drastically with him the next time he sees him with the girl.
Mawufemor was perturbed and agitated. How would he tell his dearest friend and source of joy not to return? Or not to visit when Scorpion was present? His little heart did not want any harm to happen to his new companion.
Mawufemor quickly realized, however, that these threats were not empty at all.
One evening, after the girl had left, Scorpion requested Mawufemor and two others to accompany him on an operation.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Comments
But why the threat from Scorpion?