God Has Spoken (8 page)

“Big Dread, please let her go,” Tiny faintly heard Dolly below. She sounded like she was underwater. “Come on, baby. You don't want to go back to prison for killing her. She is not worth it.”

Big Dread shook his locks as if he was coming out of a daze. Slowly he loosened his hold on Tiny's neck before he lowered her to the ground. “I should have killed your skinny behind,” he snapped angrily. “But I'll get you next time.”

Tiny bent over with one hand on her knee and the other massaging her throat as she sucked air into her stinging lungs. She coughed and choked, struggling to normalize her breathing.

“Tiny, what's wrong with you?” Dolly asked angrily as she bent over to stare into Tiny's face, unconcerned by what her man had just done to Tiny. “He only wanted to have some fun with you, Miss Goody Two-shoes.”

Tiny looked at her in shock.

“By the way, where is your little bundle of joy?” Dolly spat nastily. “Did the hog eat it for dinner?”

Tiny stood up straight, her eyes filled with tears at the venom coming out of her friend's mouth.

“Dolly!” Big Dread yelled angrily. “Come over here right now.”

Dolly rushed over to Big Dread, her eyes were filled with fear.

“As for you, don't even think you are setting foot in Big Dread's palace,” Big Dread barked at Tiny. “Unless you want to come and apologize to Big Dread.” He grabbed his crotch and stared pointedly at her.

Tiny turned away in disgust. Just the thought made her nauseous.

“Fine, then we are out of here.” Big Dread's voice snapped back Tiny's attention to him.

Tiny look at Dolly pleadingly, tears now running down her face. “Please, Dolly. I'm sorry.”

Dolly rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. “Looks like you are on your own, Miss Thing,” she informed Tiny. “You better go back to the country where you belong. Nobody disrespects myyyyyy man.”

Big Dread grabbed her by the arm and dragged her down the street, leaving Tiny staring at their backs in dismay.

“What am I going to do now?” Tiny asked herself. “It looks as if I am going to be spending the night outside again.” Using the back of her hand, Tiny wiped the tears from her face as she pondered her situation.

“It's no use to cry over spilled milk,” Aunt Madge had told Tiny on many occasions. “It's best to count your loss and move on.” And that's exactly what Tiny decided to do. She would find another place to sleep tonight, somewhere busier and safer. Then come morning she would figure out her next move.

Tiny walked back over to Knutsford Boulevard that was jumping with action. Bright lights, people everywhere, vehicles going up and down the street, and loud noises helped liven up the place. Tiny glanced around at her surroundings, looking for a place to rest for the night.

“Half Way Tree Road!” a bus conductor shouted from a parked bus across the street. “Anyone ready for Half Way Tree Road?”

Tiny looked up and down the busy road until there was a gap in the flow of traffic. She quickly crossed the street over to the bus stop.

“Half Way Tree, pretty lady?” the conductor asked Tiny as she approached the bus, his body blocking the opened door.

Tiny nodded her head. “How much?” she asked him. She only had two dollars left.

“Only two dollars for you,” the man replied as if he'd read her mind. Tiny took the money from her pocket and gave it to him. He moved away from the door, allowing her to get into the bus. Tiny walked down the aisle, ignoring the curious looks before taking the only available seat left in the back.

Since the bus was filled with passengers, they were off. It was a short ride that took only fifteen minutes and before she knew it, Tiny was getting off the bus on Constant Spring Road.

Half Way Tree was similar to New Kingston with the crowd of people rushing about in every direction, loud, honking vehicles zooming up and down the busy streets, large towering buildings and bright lights.

Tiny walked around solemnly. Her tummy growled as the aromas from the street side vendors' jerked chicken, roasted corn and mannish water tickled her nostrils. She was hungry again and tired. She had no more money or anywhere to sleep that night.

As she dragged her feet along Half Way Tree Road, Tiny came upon a little park in the middle of the square. It had a few wooden benches, the huge, deep, water foundation was dry as chip, and a few big trees scattered around. It definitely wasn't Jamaica's finest park, but it was in a busy location where she would be safe until morning.

Tiny walked over to an empty bench off to the side of the park and sat down wearily. She people watched for what seemed like hours, ignoring the gnawing of her stomach, before her eyelids began to get heavy. The night air was thick and humid. She curled up on the bench with her hands under her head as a substitute pillow. Before long she drifted away.

 

 

Fluffy, Mouse, and Breezy, three of Half Way Tree's homeless drunks, stared down at the young sleeping girl in awe. It was after three in the morning and most of the businesses were closed. The once busy streets were now bare and eerily silent, the vendors and commuters long gone. The excitement of a few hours ago had evaporated like a cigarette puff.

“She pretty,” Fluffy slurred with a one-toothed grin. “I want to kiss her.” He burped loudly.

“Shhh,” Breezy glared at him. “Don't wake her up yet until we're ready for action.” He took a swig from the flask in his hand, his crossed eyes looking in opposite directions.

“I want to be first,” Mouse whispered, scratching at the boils all over his body. “I'm the smallest one.” At barely five feet and weighing ninety pounds soaking wet earned him his name.

“Both of you follow me,” Breezy ordered before he staggered away from Tiny. Clearly the leader of the group, Fluffy and Mouse followed him over to the dry water fountain. Slowly they fumbled their way over the edge into their hollow concrete bed. During the day they panhandled on the streets of Kingston. At the end of the day they combined their earnings to get a small bite and a lot of alcohol. At night, they usually made their beds in the bottom of the fountain and spent the night.

“Mouse, you will go first,” Breezy instructed. “I will go next, then Fluffy.”

“Why do I have to go last?” Fluffy sulked, his fat, beefy face looked like a pitiful bloodhound. He even drooled like one.

“Because I said so.” Breezy turned a lazy eye on Fluffy, who hung down his head in fear. “Here, take a hit of this liquid gold.” He passed the bottle to Fluffy, who took a few sips, before passing it over to Mouse. The three men drank until the bottle was empty and they were as drunk as skunks.

“I'm ready to go,” Mouse slurred. He tried to stand up but fell back down on his behind. Breezy and Fluffy giggled as they slowly stripped down out of their filthy clothes. Their body odor could have knocked a person unconscious.

“Okay, here we go again.” Mouse stood up unsteadily to his feet. He cursed repeatedly as he fought to take off the dirty pieces of rags that he wore. Soon he was naked, his little, wrinkled penis almost invisible.

Breezy and Fluffy looked at Mouse and covered their mouths to stifle their laughs. They didn't want to wake Tiny who was still sleeping nearby.

Mouse slipped back over the edge of the fountain, landing unsteadily on his feet. Cautiously he took a few steps toward Tiny, his red eyes lit up in anxiety. Suddenly he stopped, his eyes bugged out of his head. He closed his eyes tight and smiled to himself. That was some really good stuff that Breezy gave him. It even had him hallucinating.

Mouse opened his eyes and this time he screamed in terror, instantly sobering up.

“Help me! Breezy! Help!” Mouse screamed as he sprinted back over to the water fountain and jumped in.

“Shhhh! Shut up before you wake her up.” Breezy snapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his screams. “What's the matter with you, man?”

Mouse stared at him with wide eyes, trembling like a leaf. “Giants. Giants. Giants,” he muttered over and over, pointing in Tiny's direction.

“I think the liquid gold was too strong for him,” Fluffy said to Breezy. “His little body couldn't handle the good stuff.” The two men laughed.

“Okay, let me go and do a man's job.” Breezy burped loudly. “Mouse, you go and take a nap. Be careful of the giants.” Breezy and Fluffy covered their mouths to smother their laughter.

Breezy grinned in anticipation as he climbed over the fountain and cautiously approached Tiny. He stopped and looked back over his shoulder at Fluffy who gave him a thumbs-up. As he turned back around, Breezy's crossed eyes began spinning crazily in his head. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Good God, Mouse was right.

Standing before Breezy on either side of the sleeping girl were two large, warrior giants. They seemed to be at least eight feet tall with long, sharp swords in their trunk of arms. Their bright red eyes glared at Breezy.

“What the heck?” Breezy finally turned around and ran past the fountain and out through the side exit, yelling, “Goliaths! Goliaths!”

Fluffy, surprised and alarmed by Breezy's behavior, hopped out of the fountain and ran after him, quickly followed by Mouse.

Tiny woke up startled by the screaming. Frightened, she jumped up and looked to see the back of a naked man running away from the park. Suddenly it hit Tiny what could have happen while she slept. But what ran them off, she wondered as she looked around her. A homeless man was across the street asleep under a shop piazza, and another figure was bundled up down the street, but she saw nothing or no one who had helped her.

Maybe it's my guardian angels,
Tiny thought. If only she knew how right she was.

Tiny spent the rest of the night awake, scared to go back to sleep. Soon Half Way Tree woke up and began to get ready for another busy day. People began coming out in numbers, the taxis and buses were going up and down the streets, and businesses were opening up their doors. It looked as if it was going to be a productive day for most . . . except for Tiny.

Tiny was hungry and needed to use a bathroom. Her body was stiff from the beating she had taken the night before and from sleeping on the hard bench. She had no money. She walked out of the park onto Constant Spring Road, looking for a public bathroom. Luckily she came upon a restaurant that was already packed with early-morning customers getting their breakfast.

Tiny slipped inside, looking around for the restroom. She noticed it at the back of the restaurant and silently made her way down to it. No one paid her any mind. She slipped inside the small bathroom and locked it. She was happy to see that it was clean.

Tiny quickly relieved herself, then went over to the face basin where she rinsed out her mouth and washed her face. As she looked at the swelling that was still visible on her face and the discoloration around her eye, Tiny teared up. “What did you do to deserve this? What are you going to do now?” she asked her image in the mirror. No reply.

“Hello?” Someone knocked on the door, snapping Tiny out of her thoughts.

“I'll be right out,” Tiny replied. She quickly walked over to door and opened it. Tiny smiled apologetically at the woman glaring at her before she hurried back into the restaurant. The smell of the delicious food caused her tummy to grumble. As she passed by a vacant table, Tiny noticed a used plate with a piece of leftover bread. She glanced around skeptically, inching her way closer to the table. Slowly she reached out and grabbed the piece of bread into her hand. With her head hanging low, she hurried out of the restaurant.

Once outside, Tiny stuffed the bread into her mouth and gulped it down in three quick bites. This just whet her appetite and soon an idea began to form in her head.

Tiny slipped back into the restaurant and stood among the other patrons as if she was waiting to place her order. Looking around on the sly, she noticed a few tables with leftovers. She slid over to the first table and quickly scooped up the piece of dumpling off the plate. The other table had three large pieces of bacon. Tiny smiled happily.

“Hey! You!” Tiny looked up to see an angry man yelling at her as he walked toward her. In panic, she rapidly maneuvered her way through the restaurant and ran outside, her hands filled with leftovers.

“That was close,” Tiny said before she stuffed the food in her mouth. She walked over to Molynes Road, chewing, as she looked around for another restaurant. She came upon a small, beautiful, bamboo-styled hut. Excited, Tiny hurried inside and stopped suddenly. Her eyes scanned the room to see that the few patrons inside had stopped eating and were staring at her suspiciously.

“May I help you?” a cold voice asked from behind the counter. Tiny quickly turned around and ran out. That didn't turn out as she expected.

Tiny spent most of the morning slipping in and out of restaurants, pastry shops, and bakeries, snatching up crumbs and leftovers. In most cases she was chased away, but a few times she got lucky and was able to get a little something in her stomach.

Tiny spent the day wandering the streets. When she got tired, she found somewhere to sit and rest, then she was off again. She walked the malls, looked into store windows, and people watched. For the most part she was ignored. Just another homeless runaway in town.

As night fell, Tiny became worried. She needed somewhere to sleep. She couldn't go back to that park. Wandering around aimlessly, Tiny walked out on Maxfield Avenue, and noticed up ahead a few police cars parked on the street in front of an old, brick building. It was the Half Way Tree Police Station. Curious, she hastened her steps and hurried over to the building.

Standing at the entrance of the walkway to the building, Tiny noticed a heap of junk vehicles piled up in an isolated, semidark area at the back. Most of these vehicles were involved in an accident or confiscated by the police. Looking around skeptically, Tiny sneaked around to the side of the building and made her way over to the abandoned vehicles. With her head hanging low she walked over to an old car at the furthest back. She grabbed the old metal handle of the right back door and pulled.
Ta-da!
It popped open.

Squeezing her small frame through the door, Tiny crawled over onto the backseat and pulled the door shut behind her. The car smelled stuffy, old, and moldy. She reached over and slightly rolled down the window at the front, welcoming the stiff, humid air that rushed in. With her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms under her head, Tiny curled up on the backseat of the car. Here she felt safer than she had been since she came to Kingston. After all, who would try to attack her at the police station?

The day after Tiny ran away, Aunt Madge sat at the top of the small steps with Baby Dupree nestled in her arms. Her worried gaze looked over the fields below and into the forest of trees visible in the distance. “Where are you, Tiny?” Tears leaked from her eyes.

As if sensing the sadness of the moment, Baby Dupree began to cry and kick her little legs. Aunt Madge stood up slowly and put the baby over her shoulder. As she rocked the baby, she sang one of her favorite hymns, “Amazing Grace.” “
T'was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.”
Pain washed over her body from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet. She felt helpless but knew in her heart that the only thing she could do at that moment was to continue knocking on heaven's door for the protection and safe return of her niece. It was all in God's hands now.