Downtown Kingston was a huge part of the Jamaican economy. As Tiny stared up at the old high-rise buildings that rose up in the sky, she purred in pleasure. The streets were crammed with hardware and wholesale stores filled with anxious, screaming, shoving consumers while the buses and cars narrowly navigated their way around the masses in the marketplace.
Sitting in the middle of the chaos is the famous Victoria Park. This was in honor of Queen Victoria of England. Tiny remembered reading about this park in a book that Dolly had lent her, and she grinned in excitement as she looked up at the statue of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
As she wandered around the huge park, Tiny gasped at its beautiful landscape, which included a wide variety of flowering plants and trees such as the royal palm, the lignum vitae, and the national tree of Jamaica, the Blue Mahoe. Nature lovers fanned out everywhere while small kids ran around playing. Everyone was enjoying the park, including Tiny. She found a cool place under a big tree. Lying on her back in the grass, she closed her eyes contentedly. A few minutes later she was sound asleep.
Tiny’s stomach grumbled in protest as the hunger kicked in. Slowly opening her eyes, she stretched her hands over her head and yawned. Night had fallen, and it was dark under the tree where she slept. Moving her body into a sitting position, Tiny glanced around and noticed that the park was almost empty. The dim light from the few working street lamps scattered around fought against the darkness as the large trees now cast eerie shadows on the ground. It was a huge contrast to the scenes earlier that day.
Reaching out her hand to the side, Tiny fumbled around for her bag but felt nothing. Alarmed, she jumped to her feet and frantically looked around, but there was no bag. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Surely her mind was playing tricks on her! She opened her eyes and looked down at her feet again, but the bag wasn’t there.
In a panic, Tiny ran around the park hysterically searching for the bag. Tears ran down her face as she looked under trees, crawled under benches, dug down in Dumpsters, felt around in the grass, and checked behind the fountain walls, but there was no bag. The bag was gone.
Exhausted, Tiny sat on a bench and wept. All her money and clothes were in the bag. Now she had nothing. Her stomach grumbled again, and Tiny felt a cramp in the bottom of her tummy. What am I going to do? she wondered. She had only planned on getting some rest before taking a bus to New Kingston to look for Dolly. Instead, she had fallen asleep for hours while someone stole her bag.
Tiny got up and sluggishly walked out of the park into the street. Wandering around, she noticed a handful of buses and a few cars while the shutters of most of the businesses were closed. The crowd from earlier was gone, and the few people remaining were packing up to go home.
As Tiny dragged herself up the street, she passed a small car parked by the side of the road. The left front door was open, and a man dressed in all-white stood in front of it.
“Hello, beautiful. How ya doing?” the animated driver asked, a toothpick dangling from the corner of his mouth.
Tiny paused, shrugged her shoulders, then walked away.
“Wait!” the man shouted at her back. “Hold on a minute.”
Tiny stopped and turned a long sad face to the man, her teeth gnawing away at her bottom lip.
“What’s the matter, baby?” the man asked. “Come here. Tell me what’s going on.”
Tiny took a few steps toward the man. She had no money and needed a ride to get to Dolly. Maybe this kind gentleman would help her. “Someone stole my bag in the park with all my money. Now I don’t know how I’m going to get to my friend in New Kingston,” Tiny said solemnly.
The man noticed the look of despair on Tiny’s face and instantly his face lit up. “Maybe we can work out a little something,” he said to her, licking his lips as his hungry eyes roamed over her body. “A beautiful girl like you will have no problem getting a ride.”
Tiny looked at him horrified as it dawned on her what he was implying. “Are you suggesting that I sleep with you in exchange for a ride?”
“Listen, baby.” The man leaned his back against the car. He crossed his ankles and folded his arms. “It’s obvious you have no money. You have something I want, and I have something you need. Yeah, exchange is no robbery.” Grabbing his crotch, he winked at Tiny.
Tiny’s mouth popped open in shock. Without another word she turned and hurried away, the man’s mocking laughter trailing after her.
Once again in the park, Tiny sat on a bench squeezing her legs together. Her full bladder wasn’t cooperating. Unable to hold it any longer, she crept behind a tree and sheepishly looked around. Bending down, she quickly relieved herself and hurried away.
After a while, Tiny sat in the grass, her back against a tree. This one was directly under a street lamp, but it gave her little comfort. She noticed a homeless man sleeping on a bench across from her and another a few feet away under a dark tree. At least she wasn’t alone. “I’ll just stay here until morning,” Tiny said aloud. “Tomorrow, I’ll ask someone for directions and walk to the club to find Dolly. Then everything will be all right.”
As the hunger pain slammed into Tiny’s body, she ignored it as her mind flashed back on Aunt Madge. Tears welled up in her eyes. “I love you, Aunt Madge,” Tiny whispered. “Please forgive me, but I just had to get away.”
Chapter Eight
Back in Falmouth, Aunt Madge was on her knees by Tiny’s empty bed praying. “Dear God, I place my little girl into your capable hands. It’s a cruel world out there, Lord. But I know with you watching over her, Tiny will be all right. Please bring my baby back home to me safe and sound. I decree and declare that the devil shall not hurt a single strand of hair on her head. In your holy and mighty name I pray. Amen.”
Aunt Madge held onto the bed and pulled herself up off her knees. Feeling tired and drained, she went and sat on a small three-legged stool by the window, staring out into the black night, her mind consumed with Tiny.
“So where in Kingston is Tiny going?” a church sister had asked Aunt Madge earlier that day in the market.
“Kingston? What are you talking about?” Aunt Madge responded as she weighed out the yam for the woman.
“I just seen Tiny take off on a bus heading for Kingston.”
The yam fell from Aunt Madge’s hand. “What? You must be mistaken,” Aunt Madge replied nervously as she searched the woman’s eyes, pleadingly. “Tiny is home getting her rest.”
“No, ma’am. I know Tiny since she was a baby, and it was her on that bus.” The woman saw the shocked look on Aunt Madge’s face and realized she didn’t know about Tiny’s little trip. “Sister Madge, I’m so sorry. I thought you knew.”
Aunt Madge felt her feet wobble. Worry etched across her face as she quickly lowered herself onto the stool by her stall. Where was Tiny going in Kingston? Who was she going to? Was she coming back?
“Are you okay?” the woman asked Aunt Madge with concern. “Can I get you anything?”
Aunt Madge shook her head and shakily rose to her feet. Without a word, she grabbed another piece of yam off the stall and handed it to the woman, waving away the money she held out to her.
As if in daze, Aunt Madge cleared off her little stall, packing away everything in the big straw basket. Rapidly blinking away the tears, she hoisted the heavy basket on her head before walking away from the market in distress.
Shortly thereafter, Aunt Madge arrived home. Leaving the basket at the top of the steps, she hurried inside the house. She still held some hope that her church sister was wrong. After all, it had been said that everyone has a double somewhere out there.
“Tiny! Tiny!” Aunt Madge shouted, down on all four looking under the beds. “Where are you, Tiny?” she cried as she looked behind the doors. “Baby, are you in here?” she said as she searched in the bathroom. But the house was empty.
Still not giving up, Aunt Madge ran back outside. Dashing into the kitchen, she looked around anxiously. No sign of Tiny.
> Dear God, maybe she went back to the river, Aunt Madge thought. A lump the size of a baseball rose in her throat. Coughing and wheezing, Aunt Madge bent over, sucking deep breaths into her lungs as she struggled to breathe. Composing herself, she headed for the river.
“Please, God. Don’t let Tiny do anything foolish,” Aunt Madge prayed as she slipped and slid down the rough trail, grabbing at the tall grass on either side of her to prevent a fall. Walking quickly through the field, fear oozing through every pore, she headed toward the sound of running water.
The hot Jamaican sun kissed her face as she stood at the edge of the river. Using her hand to shield her eyes, Aunt Madge peered across the water where the huge, tall rock loomed into the sky, unoccupied. It looked as if Tiny had indeed left for Kingston. But although her mind was confirming the obvious, Aunt Madge’s heart refused to accept it.
“Tiny! Baby, where are you?” Aunt Madge chanted as she walked the riverbed. Looking behind trees, in deep ravines, around big rocks, in tall grass along the riverbank, she searched for Tiny. Traveling east, west, north, south, mile after mile, Aunt Madge combed the surrounding area. But no sign of Tiny.
A little over an hour later, totally exhausted, Aunt Madge slumped down on a rock, her aching, swollen feet stretched out in front of her. She now knew in her heart that Tiny had really left. It was then that the floodgates opened. Aunt Madge rested her throbbing head in her hands resting in her lap and bawled. Deep, wrenching sobs vibrated through her entire body.
Tiny was gone. It was like an echo in Aunt Madge’s brain as she slowly walked back home. Her little girl had done run away.
Aunt Madge was still crying when Mother Sassy brought home Baby Dupree later than evening. “She’s gone,” Aunt Madge informed her longtime friend as she took the baby from Mother Sassy’s arms. “Tiny ran off to Kingston.”
Mother Sassy wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulder and the women cried together. A few minutes later, they prayed together before Mother Sassy left to go home.
“Looks like it’s just you and me now,” Aunt Madge said to the baby that night as she rocked her to sleep. “But I will never stop praying until your mother comes home.”
And praying she did. Aunt Madge pounded on heaven’s door, beseeching the Lord to send guardian angels to watch over Tiny. Unbeknownst to her, Tiny would need all the protection she could get. She was a little guppy swimming in a pool of sharks.
Chapter Nine
Tiny’s head dipped. Alarmed she sprang awake, her eyes scanning her surroundings suspiciously. After receiving the indecent proposal from the rude man, her radar was up. She couldn’t afford to fall asleep. She had to stay awake until daylight.
It was the wee hours of the night. The park was dark and eerily silent. Tiny spotted a few more homeless people scattered around on benches and under the trees. Taking a deep breath, she slowly allowed her body to relax.
Yawning, she rolled over on her side, the grass tickling her face. With her head cushioned by her hands tucked under her neck, she stretched out her long legs and stared into the night. A smile crept up on her face as she thought about seeing her friend, Dolly, again after all these months. Yes, tomorrow everything would be all right.
Tiny’s head nodded again. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she struggled to stay awake. Through tired, slanted eyes she peeped at the trees in her blurry vision. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically. Soon, long eyelashes draped closed over droopy eyes, and Tiny fell into a deep sleep.
Moments later, her eyes popped opened and widened in terror at the faces looming above her. A scream started in her throat but was muffled by the huge hand covering her mouth. She tried to move her arms, but they were pinned to her side. Desperately, she tried to kick her legs, but they wouldn’t move. She attempted to twist her body but could barely move. Tiny was pinned down to the ground.
Helpless, the tears leaked down the side of her eyes, wetting her neck before disappearing in the grass behind her body.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” the menacing voice boomed in Tiny’s ear. “I think Santa is a little early this year.” A chorus of harsh laughter rang out into the night. A cold chill ran down Tiny’s spine.
Visibly shuddering, her panic intensified, again, Tiny tried to move her body, but to no avail.
“Relax!” the command echoed in her ear. “You give us a hard time, and I’ll put a bullet in your skull. Understand?”
But Tiny writhed even more. Twisting this way, turning that way, she felt her body loosen a little against the human restraints. A burst of energy washed over her, and she kicked out her right leg, making contact with something soft. Angry expletives reverberated in the air.
Baff! A hard fist connected with Tiny’s left eye, snapping her head further back into the grass. Pain exploded in her head as she thrashed wildly in the grass. Arms frantically tried to hold her. But she bit into the hand over her mouth and screamed in terror.
Tiny was slapped repeatedly. Her face was on fire. Undeterred, like a wildcat, she clawed and yelled. “Help! Help! Somebody, help me!”
Then the scream lodged in her throat. The heel of a hard boot clamped down on her windpipe. Pressing and crushing. Blows and kicks rained all over Tiny’s body from every direction. Whimpering in agony, she closed her eyes, finally welcoming the big black spread that came down and covered her. Tiny slipped into unconsciousness.
Aunt Madge woke up gasping for breath. Cold sweat washed her from head to toe. Her nightgown clung to her body. Glancing across the room, her eyes fell on Tiny’s empty bed and her eyes were instantly filled with tears. Slowly she pulled her body away from the baby who was curled up asleep at her side. Placing one foot on the floor, then another, she stood up and tiptoed over to Tiny’s bed.
Something wasn’t right. Aunt Madge felt it down to her bone. Kneeling by the bed, she began to pray again for Tiny.
Pain ripped through Tiny’s body. Moaning, she sluggishly opened her eyes but only one gave her a blurry vision of a mocking face before her. The other was swollen shut.
“Welcome back,” said the cold voice in her ear. “I thought we lost you there for a minute.”
Whipping her head to the left, then right, Tiny saw that her hands were pinned to the ground by two men. Horrified, she looked down at her feet that were spread apart and pinned down by two other men. A feeling of dread filled her body. “Please. Please don’t hurt me,” Tiny whispered through dried, cracked lips. “Please.”
“Oh, we don’t want to hurt you, baby,” said the cold voice again. He was obviously the leader of the group. “Not if you cooperate with me and my boys.”
“What do you want?”Tiny asked. She refused to acknowledge the obvious. “I don’t have any money. Someone stole my bag earlier today.”
“Looks like you are having a bad day,” the leader teased. “Luckily, we are here to make it better for you.”
Their sinister laughter echoed throughout the park. Tiny closed her eye against the tears that leaked down her face. Hope was rapidly slithering away.
I’m sorry, Aunt Madge, Tiny thought. I didn’t know it would end like this.
Tiny’s eye popped open when she felt something wet running down her cheek. Bile rose up in her throat as the gang leader swiped his slimy tongue across her lips. She turned her head away. Angrily, he grabbed her face and spun it back toward him.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” Spit tickled her face. “But I will if I have to.” His bad breath filled Tiny’s nostrils and she gagged.
His rough hands grabbed her breasts and squeezed hard. Tiny let out a loud scream before his hand covered her mouth. Struggling against the human restraints, Tiny was unable to move as the other four men held her down. Breast milk soaked through her bra and wet the front of her thin blouse.
“Well, what do we have here?” The gang leader’s eyes lit up as he grinned in appreciation. With one hand still covering her mouth, the other hand pulled a pocketknife from his waistband. Leisurely, he r
an the knife down Tiny’s face, across her throat, then over her breasts.
Tiny sniveled in fear. She tried to plead with her attackers, but her words were muffled.
The sharp blade of the knife sliced Tiny’s blouse opened. Shortly after, she felt a small breeze fanning against her exposed breasts as her bra was cut away. Eager hands kneaded her sensitive breasts.
“No!” Tiny shouted in her head, straining against the hold on her body but to no avail.
The gang members chuckled and jeered as they eagerly watched their boss. As customary, he would get the first go at Tiny before she was passed on to them.
Next, Tiny’s jeans were cut away from her body. Tiny tried kicking her legs, but they anticipated that move and held her firm. Poor Tiny was no match for these five strong men.
The knife continued its journey as it moved up her legs. Seconds later, her panties dropped at her side. Except for the pair of sneakers on her feet, Tiny was naked.
“Wicked! That’s what I’m talking about,” the gang leader yelled. His eyes grew big as they feasted on Tiny’s nude body. “Boys, we done hit the jackpot tonight.”
Humiliated, with her eyes tightly closed, Tiny prepared for the worst.
“Turn her over,” the leader commanded.
Tiny was flipped over like a pancake. Her buttocks were up with her face kissing the grass.
Someone slapped her hard on her bottom, and Tiny wailed like a wounded animal. Then Tiny felt her legs pulled even further apart, before a hard, smelly body was on her back. “Help!” Tiny shouted before the hand was clamped over her mouth.
“Just relax, baby.” The foul breath fanned her face as he slipped a hand under Tiny’s hip, raising her bottom higher in the air.
Tiny felt the man’s aroused body brush against her bare bottom and she knew she was about to be gang-raped and killed right there.
God Has Spoken Page 5
