untitled #1

I

It was another sticky hot summer morning and I was already late for work. I scarfed down Raisin Bran in

a cup while I shimmied into my trusted flats. I consolidated items from my various purses into my tote

bag: my favorite Chapstick, earbuds for the ride to work, and two stray dollars. I sat at the bus stop and

waited for my daily 7:45 AM bus.

As a tall man walked past the bench, I shot him a courteous, quick smile and nodded. He stopped, turned

slowly and came back to where I was sitting. He asked for some change. I remembered the dollars I

grabbed earlier and I handed him what I had which he took as an invitation to sit next to me. 

He gave me a new name

baby

and told me how much he knew about me from watching me on the bus. A cloud of nausea passed over

me as I realized how much this stranger knew about me. He noticed me tense up and told me

“Don’t worry baby, I’m not gonna hurt you or nothing, you gave me two dollars remember?”

I tried looking away, but my body was stuck, unable to move. I sat still, quiet. Despite my eyes never

meeting his, he never once stopped looking at me. He leaned closer and moved his eyes slowly down my

face until they landed on my mouth.

“You got all your teeth don’t you?”

I still see him around town. I’ll never forget how hard I ran home. Unlike fairytales and movies, my

villain won’t disappear.

II

The familiar smell of gasoline and a scent that I like to call “the city” met my nose as I made my way

through the place where my parents grew up. I hailed a taxi and joined others in a tightly packed blue car

as we made our way through busy streets. I signaled my stop and walked briskly toward my aunt’s house. 

When I arrived, I was welcomed by the smell of injera and popcorn and coffee. I found my seat among

my cousins at the foot of a creamy leather couch. The loud buzz of conversation and music was broken by

shrills of laughter and the occasional loud clang of a pot in the kitchen. As I turned my head to hear for

the second time where Helen had gotten into school, my eyes locked with a group of young soldiers fresh

from the posts they worked during the day that had just arrived. 

Adults and the elders adorned them with praise and ensured that they were well fed. The men flashed

movie-star smiles as they made their way to the couch we were sitting up against and leaned over to talk

to us.

“You’re all so pretty. You’d be beautiful if you smiled.” 

I hesitated. I felt nauseous, equal parts from his words and the smell of tej they carried as they reached

me.

One of them saw me scoot closer to my cousins and focused on me.

“Come on sweetie. Just one smile and we’ll leave you alone.”

They never did.