Araba: Hell no!!! I won’t reduce myself to such a thing. There is no amount of money in this world that can make me offer myself cheaply like that.
Dorothy: Don’t worry my dear time will tell. We all said that once.
After the other girls were done with their customers, Dorothy told Araba she could go ahead and sleep. “Why, are you not coming to sleep too?” Araba asked. “No dear. I have another customer who is rich, he will come and pick me up any moment from now. He has booked me for the whole night. You can lock the door because I won’t be returning until tomorrow.” Dorothy retorted.
Araba stood up from where she was sitting and walked towards the room. She looked around the neighborhood and saw the fervor of immoral activities that were taking place that night. She had slept early the previous night so didn’t realized what a hell she was in.
Araba laid on the mat thinking to herself. “What kind of place have I come to seek refuge? I came to Accra to seek my father’s friend but look at what destiny is bringing. I am in a den of prostitutes, thieves and drug dealers. God, please protect me from this peril and make a way for me.” With these statements, Araba went to sleep.
Araba was deeply asleep when she heard screaming amidst running. There was a commotion outside her room. People were running helter-skelter, and she didn’t know what it was. The commotion was so alarming that she had to come out to see what was happening.
When she got out of her room, she realized it was a raid. The police had come to the slum and were arresting people. People were running in different directions to save themselves from the grips of the police. The police had received a lot of reports of how prostitution and drug dealings were taking place in that slum.They also received reports of child trafficking occurring at the slum. In response to the reports, they organized a surprise raid to eliminate the social threat that was overwhelming the city.
Araba was confused because she didn’t know where to run to. She was just seeing people run past her all in the attempt to get far from the police. She didn’t really know her way around the place. Meanwhile, the police were also drawing nearer to her direction. In a state of confusion, she followed where the majority of the crowd were running to.
She ran with all her might towards the direction. Sleep was eroded off her eyes. She was in danger and her adrenaline was high. She followed the people as they moved into nooks and crannies to swerve the police. She had none other alternative than to follow them although she didn’t know where they were going.
The people Araba was following managed to locate a secure location after 30 minutes of running. Most were concerned about the properties they left behind. They knew the police would confiscate all of them, but that was not Araba’s problem at all. She was thinking if that was all her life in the city would be for the rest of her stay.
“Am I always going to be running around like a fowl in this place? Am I always going to be running away from the police like a criminal? I need to do something about my current situation.” She told herself while panting for breath.
“Wait a minute!! Where would I even go if I leave Dorothy’s place? I still don’t know how to locate my father’s friend nor have the financial sufficiency to survive. Oh God!! Please help me!” She pleaded for God’s intervention when she realized the reality of her situation.
They all had to sleep at that place of refuge for the rest of the night amidst mosquitoes. At dawn, the coast was clear and everyone left for their respective abode. Araba got lost for thirty minutes, but was able to locate her way back to Dorothy’s place.
She was surprised at what she saw when she entered the room. Everything was in a mess. The police spoiled most of the things in the room. As she was observing with shock on her face, Dorothy walked in. “What!!!! What has this place turned into? Tell me what happened to my room in my absence.” Dorothy asked with shock on her face.
“The po…li…ce.” Araba muttered with an indistinctive voice. “Yes!!! What has the police done!!?” Dorothy asked but this time around with impatience. “I was asleep when I heard a commotion outside. I left to see what was happening and realized the police were raiding. I had no option so I fled. I just came to the room. I am also surprised at the mess they created.
When Dorothy heard about the raid, she quickly moved to check under the table. She had hidden illegal drugs a friend brought to her for safe keeping under the table. She will be in serious trouble if they weren’t there. When she got to the table, she took out the blue bucket that was under it and looked through for the drugs.
She continued to search for some time, but the drugs where nowhere to be found. She was sweating profusely under the cold breeze of the morning wind. Alas, the drugs were gone. The police were able to locate them and had confiscated them.
Dorothy sat on the bare ground lost in thought. She didn’t know what to do because the drugs were costly. What even scared her the more was the people whom the drugs belonged to. There were a bunch of dangerous guys and didn’t wish to be involved in a controversy with them.
There wasn’t any easy solution to this problem Araba had brought on her. The drugs were very expensive, and she didn’t have the money to pay back. The only solution was to make Araba pay for the damages. But how was she going to make Araba pay? She had no better job that was fetching her much.
Araba stared aloof as she watched Dorothy sat on the floor lost in thought. She didn’t know what she was thinking. Was she angry with her for leaving the door opened for the police to have access to the room? What was she thinking about? These thoughts troubled Araba a lot.
“Araba, you are like a sister and you know it. But, this problem is huge and I don’t know how to go about it. I left some important stuffs here that belonged to some powerful people in this neighborhood. You left the door open for the police to have access to those important stuffs. Now, I have to pay back, but I don’t have the money to pay.” Dorothy said in a sad tone because she knew the gravity of the issue at hand and the consequences that followed. “So what do we do Sister Dorothy?” Araba asked immediately. “The only thing that can give us that kind of money now is the business I do at night. You need to join me so we can raise the money together all else both of us are good as dead when those dangerous people come around.” Dorothy elucidated.
To be continued….
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