Chapter 1: Forsaken

AZIEL’S POV

I hid under my blanket as I did every day waiting for my mom to come back home from work. I was at home alone a lot and we didn’t live in a safe neighbourhood. Sometimes, I would hear gunshots and one time, a neighbour of ours was stabbed. I stayed as quiet as possible so I didn't draw attention to our apartment.

I looked at the time on my digital Spiderman wristwatch and was relieved to find that it was just five minutes till my mother returned from work. I did this every day.

It had always been just me and my mom. We had lived in this neighbourhood for the past year after getting evicted from our last house. This was all we could afford with the money that my mom made from bartending, we didn’t have a lot but we were always happy.

Most times my mom got back from work very late. She would work till 2 am sometimes and I would always wait for her till she got back. I could never sleep knowing she was out there and it was very dangerous.

It was exactly 1 am when I heard the keys jingle and I rushed to the door. The moment my mom stepped into the house, I hugged her.

“Hey, little man. What are you doing up by this time?” She asked me like she always did.

“I was waiting for you.”

She crouched down to give me a proper hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ve told you Aziel, honey, you don’t have to wait for me. You need your sleep.”

“I was scared. I can’t sleep when I am scared.” My mom gave me a sad smile.

“Well, let’s get you off to bed. You have school tomorrow.” She told me.

We went to the room that we shared and she tucked me into my bed. She kissed me on the forehead and wished me goodnight.

After a while, after she thought I had gone to sleep, I heard her sob like she did every night when she thought I was asleep. I made a vow that one day I would get rich and my mother would never have to suffer again.

***

It was two days after my birthday, a day I will never forget, my mom had come home from work the day before, she looked way more exhausted than she usually was and she looked almost terrified. I knew that whatever had happened she would never tell me. She said she was okay, but I knew it was a lie.

Even at the age of six, I could tell that something was wrong, she put me to bed and for the first time in a long while, she didn’t cry.

I assumed everything was in my head and I was worrying for nothing, so I slept off.

The next morning, my mother woke me up very early. She said we were going on an adventure. I was very excited. It had been a long time since I had left the house to go anywhere aside from school and I was about the chance to finally see other places.

We got to a bus station, which I found odd. Why would we be going on an adventure to a place so far away and to Chicago, nonetheless? I pushed the thoughts out of my mind and decided it would be a fun trip. My mom wanted me to meet some of her friends. She had stayed in Chicago before she gave birth to me.

The trip lasted only three hours and we finally arrived. We took a cab to a very remote part of town. It was almost like our neighbourhood at home but it seemed better.

When we got to a particular house, my mom handed me my little suitcase and we hid in the bush. We waited for about thirty minutes, when a man, who looked to be in his thirties drove into the driveway, got out of his car, slammed the door to the car and did the same to the door of his house when he got in.

“Look at me, baby. We are going to play a game, okay?” She spoke as her voice choked and tears started to fall from her eyes.

My little mind struggled to understand why us playing a game would make her sad.

“Why are you crying, mommy?”

“Don’t worry about it, okay? Now, I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay?”

I nodded in response.

“Take this envelope,” She pulled out a white envelope from her bag and handed it to me. “Then go and stand in front of that door, okay? I will be standing right here. I am going to give you a signal, then I will leave and when I do, I want you to knock on the door and hand the man that just came out of the car this envelope. Do you understand?”

“Where are you going?” I asked. I was now very scared of what was about to happen. I didn’t know what was happening but I knew that it was not good at all.

“I will come back, I promise. Just do as I say. Remember, Mommy loves you so much okay? I will be back before you know it.”

That made me feel a bit better but I could still tell that something was wrong.

“Now go.” She said and gave me a push towards the house.

I looked at her for a moment before turning and walking towards the door with my suitcase and the envelope in my hand.

I looked at my mom who was still standing by the bushes. She gave me the go-ahead to knock and then she ran away. It hadn’t occurred to me that that would be the last time I would ever see my mother again.

The man opened the door and he looked less than pleased to see me standing in front of his door.

“What do you want, kid?” He spat out with annoyance.