A slow, lonely death.

Family can bring us the greatest joy. Family can also bring great pain not even a stranger can outdo. The painful and disappointing family episodes can bring many of us to our knees wondering how those who claim to love and chanted, 'Blood is thicker than water' treat us with such disdain without remorse.

-Clarissa Burton.

Leticia.

Terror stole her words as she was stunned into silence by the cruel statement that escaped her mother's lips.

"You remember that day ehn? I was already planning your funeral. You should have just died then, but that stupid doctor, he just had to cut my joy short." Her words were sharp and calm, in contrast to her very malicious tone.

The gaze she pointed at Leticia was angry and murderous, as if she was wishing to end her life with her bare hands and get it over and done with.

Leticia felt goosebumps all over her skin. This was the woman that she did everything to please.

"You really do not mean that, right mommy? You're just angry right?"

No matter how absurd her mother's requests were, she tried her best to do everything. Every single thing her mother instructed, she did without reasoning or questioning it.

Seven years ago, she risked her life to please her mother, just to receive her love like the rest of her siblings, all to no avail.

Right from a young age, the woman always called her a witch, a curse and any other unthinkable name a mother will ever call her child. Unlike her, the rest of her siblings were showered with love and affection while she was treated like a housemaid.

She always told herself that it was because she was a bad child.

 For that reason, she worked hard and got a scholarship in the university to avoid being a burden to her parents. Throughout her university days, she never asked for a dime from them.

After everything, her mother looked her in the face, telling her how she wished she died.

"Angry my foot," Victoria scoffed.

She felt a stinging pain in her chest as though she was being pricked with a thousand needles. "Please mommy, take back your words, you don't mean it," she pleaded again.

Victoria sized her up with an irritated expression. "Oh please. In fact, from today henceforth, I'm not your mother, we are not your family. I disown you, Leticia, you are a stranger to us now. I'm glad I did not even put your name on the family register."

"Security!" Two uniformed men scurried inside to where they were.

"Take this girl away from here, throw her on the streets- I don't care what happens to her. All I know is that I should never see her in my house again."

The men grabbed her by her arms. She struggled and kicked and begged, all to no avail. Her mother had just thrown her to the hungry lions of Lagos.

As she realised that she was fighting a lost battle, she stopped struggling with them and let them do as they pleased. They dumped her outside the gate like a sack of rotten potatoes.

Sitting amidst the piercing stones and wet sand, in the cold night breeze, tears slowly seeped from her eyes and she burst out into heavy sobs. Was she that horrible a human or just a curse like they all said?

She became weary from all the crying. With a throbbing body, Leticia managed to pick herself up, shivering with clattering teeth. She let her weak legs carry her to a destination she knew nothing about.

"Please God," she whispered, "help me please."

She walked in slow steps towards the tall gates of the estate. Her eyes were tired of the exercise she put them through.

The vigilante group had arrived and were pointing their light towards her. There was no way to escape or hide from their prying eyes. Squinting her eyes, she approached them with no explanation in mind.

"Excuse me, aunty, where are you going by this time?" One of the men asked, focusing the rest of the team's attention on her.

She lowered her eyes, thinking of what to say.

"I'm talking to you," he said. They were staring at her expectantly.

"I-My baby is very sick, I need some medicines for her and the pharmacy in the estate is closed." The lie came quicker than she expected.

"Hmm..." Was his reply as he continued to gaze at her, stroking his beards.

"Oga abeg allow her make she de go, see as cry de her eye. She no de lie," one said.

[Sir please let her go, there are dried tears on her face. She's clearly not lying]

"Okay."

He nodded to the other man by the gate.

"Thank you, sir."

The throbbing of her head increased as she continued to wander on the nearly deserted road. She was sure it was already past one a.m. in the morning.

She stifled a yawn, stumbling as her big toe came in contact with a sharp object.

"Ouch!" She yelped, bending over to grip her toe. Hissing at the stinging sensation, she squatted to inspect the wound as a fresh batch of tears found their way down her cheeks.

In the middle of the night, the only source of light was the dim street light, which instead of shining was merely casting shadows around.

As she was sniffing, she sighted a table through in the front of what looked like a shop or. . . she couldn't say.

She stood up from her position, limping towards the direction of the shadow. Her fingers traced the table. It was wide and long enough to accommodate her size.

She smiled. At least she had somewhere to lay her head.

Her gaze swivelled around the area to see if there was anyone around.

Satisfied that there was no one in sight, she climbed it, curling into a fetal position to shield herself from the cold breeze.

The events of the evening replayed in her mind like a broken record.

Maverick and her mother were just angry with her. She would go when their mind had settled, she thought to herself, shutting her droopy eyes.

"Madam! Madam!"

Leticia tried to reason if the call was from reality or her dreams until beneath her was trembling, and it felt like an earthquake was about to take place.

She jerked up at the sudden noise, only to be met with a sympathetic gaze from a middle-aged woman.

"I'm sorry ma, I'll leave now," she apologized, jumping down from the table.

"It's okay. But are you sure you are fine? Do you need anything?" The woman questioned.

She thought of lending the lady's phone but shook the thoughts away. It would be taking advantage of the woman's care.

"No, thank you ma. I'll leave now." She scurried away from the shop, limping with as much strength as she could muster.

Another day had begun, and she still had no idea what it held for her.

Would it be as tragic as the day before? Or maybe Maverick will call her back and tell her that it was all a misunderstanding?

She sighed, hoping it was the latter. Anything worse than the previous happenings would leave her traumatized.

The day went as fast as it came. It was already nightfall and Leticia was famished. She tried to ignore the rumbling of her empty stomach and her parched throat, hardly able to put one foot before the other.

She thought of reaching her other friend, Demola but there was no means to do so.

Being stranded on the streets of Lagos was not a nice experience, what made it even scarier was the fact that she had no idea how long she would last.

Maybe she would drop dead suddenly. Then no one will bury her, and she'll be left to rot away like an unfortunate lizard who met its death by a heavy blow to the head.

The difference between herself and that lizard would be that the lizard at least had somewhere to go.

She chuckled at her pathetic state, which was interrupted by a noisy engine and blinding lights.

Looking up, she was met with the sight of a Toyota Camry car that halted a short distance from her.

She went towards the car hastily to see who it was. Perhaps the person had come for her.

"Mr Chukwuma." She rapped on the car's passenger window continuously as she recognised the dark-skinned man seated in the driver's seat, looking straight ahead.

"What is it?" He asked, turning to face her with an annoyed grimace when the window was lowered.

"I heard something baffling yesterday, sir. My husband said you told him I had been begging you to be my lover, and that I promised you money as a reward?" The last word was hard to leave her mouth as she felt repulsed by it. Cheating on someone who accepted her was something she could never do, not to talk of stealing his money.

Leticia awaited Chukwuma's response while the man continued to gaze at her with a locked jaw.

The car jerked forward suddenly and she lost balance, falling to the ground.

She winced, dusting away the sand that was sticking to the fresh blood dripping down the wound from her knees. 

"You should stop trying to find answers that are insignificant to your situation, instead, worry about how to protect yourself from what is about to befall you. If I were you, I would run away from this place in this instance."

Before she could ask the man what he meant, he had already driven off, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. An exhausted sigh escaped her lips. Her only hope was diminished. 

Holding back the tears that were fast approaching once again, Leticia managed to lift herself off the dirty ground, flinching as her whole body hurt like she had been run over by a truck. She took in her physical state. 

Her beautiful peach coloured dress that she put on the day before was now brown as a result of the dust and dirt accumulated from the numerous times she fell on the floor.

While moving, she saw a black van swerve to the road adjacent to her. Four men dressed in black clothes filed out of the car with quick strides. Towards her.

She stumbled backwards, shivering in fear. Were they ritualists? Or kidnappers? Her imagination started to run wild. She picked her pace, her feet flying over stones and leaves, away from their sight as they were moving closer to her.

A feeling of confusion and helplessness washed over her. 

A thin layer of sweat coated her forehead, cold air biting into her lungs as she searched with her weak legs where to hide.

Unfortunately for her, there was nowhere to hide. The street was eerily quiet and people were not even in sight.

Leticia came across a little kiosk that looked abandoned and she entered it. She collapsed on the floor with her breath coming out in short gasps. 

A hole was by the side of the wooden thing and she peeped through it. They passed the kiosk and were running forward.

Without wasting time, she scampered out of her hiding place towards a road opposite the kiosk. The road looked familiar.

A closer look and she realised it was the same road she passed through the night before. She heaved a sigh of relief.

The fence of cruiseville was in sight and she couldn't be happier. At least she could hide in her mother's place if she told them about the strange men that were after her.

Her moment of joy was cut short when one of the men in black suddenly appeared before her. Her heart hammered in her chest. 

She turned back, only to be stopped by another of them. To her left and right, more of them stood. 

Leticia's body went cold with dread. Her thoughts were going haywire and she wondered if she was truly going to die like that. 

A step forward and the men caught her by her biceps. 

"Please I don't know who you are. I have not offended anybody, please let me go," she begged, struggling with the little strength she had left in her. They hoisted her body from the ground and started moving while she kept begging and struggling.

In the midst of the strife, she happened to see a familiar car approaching them. 

"Noah!" She called when she saw her brother's face. "Please help me, Noah, I don't know these men and why they are after me, I beg you please help me!"

He made eye contact with her and continued to drive amidst her screams. 

"Noah! I'm here, can't you see me? It's me, Leticia, don't you recognize me? Save me from these men, please. What if they kill me?" There was no reply or attempt to stop the car.

"Somebody help!" She tried another option. One of her captors dealt a heavy slap to her cheeks and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

She felt a cold, sharp metal pressed to her neck. 

"If you no close your mouth I go waste you and nothing go sup," His eyes held the promise he made, the voice was hoarse and his mouth oozed a mixture of both cigarettes and alcohol; the two things she hated with passion. She swallowed the urge to retch.

[If you don't shut up I'll kill you and nothing will happen]

Her words died in her throat and only her terrified whimpers could be heard. He removed the knife from her throat and she was about to scream again when a stinging sensation on her neck halted her struggles.

"If they kidnap you I'll pray for them to help me kill you."

A teardrop leaked from her eye as she remembered her mother's exact words to her. Maybe this was how she was destined to die. A slow, lonely death, and perhaps, her dead body will be thrown away to rot, or worse still, dissolved in the ground by acid. No one to even mourn her at least. What a pathetic life she had lived.

With those thoughts, she felt her vision getting more blurred by the passing seconds, then the darkness consumed her. 

"Welcome to hell."

Woah *sighs* how was the chapter? Intense? Boring? Heartwrenching? Whichever one you feel please leave your opinions on the comment box.

For me, it was kinda sad, not sad enough though *cue the evil laughter* there's more to come so stay tuned, or is it glued? Whatever, I don't know, choose the word that rides your boat LOL.

And... I'm not sure the song fits the chapter so can you please suggest a song? I'll be waiting!

Okay, that's it for now. Is it worth it? If yes then please... pweety pleaseeee press the star okay? Okay! Thank you;-* 

See y'all next time and thanks for the support. I really really really. . . I could go on and on but you get what I mean haha. . . I appreciate.

I still remain, Chubiley... Or Caupcayke... Or whatever you prefer. Okay, I'm off now, Bye-bye!!