Patsy (the victim)

37

Flashback

""où allez-vous(where are you going)?"A beautiful light skin lady sitting in a medium size parlour ask.

"Ce ne sont pas tes affaires(it's not your business)"the average height boy say lighting up the cigarette and grab his backpack that's hang by the door.

"Bilal!"she call but the boy hiss and exit the parlour muttering incoherently to himself about how tired he is living with his mum.

She sigh tiredly and turn her gaze to the portrait on the TV stand and grab it staring at the man in the portrait.
In the city of Douala in the Cameroon lives 35years old Maryam, her life hasn't always been perfect married to the love of her life mansur at 16 she was blessed with beautiful triplet all girls, 3years into the marriage things got sour they separated and he got full custody of the three girls, mansur moved to Gabon and start a new life with the girls leaving a lonely Maryam, just when she thought she lost it all, on a beautiful Sunday evening she met a Nigerian man named "Amin" he showered her with love, attention and wealth for Maryam he's the best thing she will wish for, she was 20years as of that time and money matters alot to her, regardless the age gap between she and the 40years old man Maryam still want to be with him because she believes it's the only way to have a good life, barely 3months after meeting Amin he bought her a 2bedroom apartment with everything she will ever dream of to make it a home, he promised her a more comfortable life if she agreed to marry him which Maryam didn't think twice she agreed and with the help of her uncle she got married to Amin, a week after the wedding Amin left for Nigeria he promised to be back and take Maryam with him to start a new life,
As weeks past Amin stop picking her calls and his line went all off, Maryam become worried but with no information about Amin she decide to wait 2months past and she realise she was pregnant with Amin son, no matter how she try to reach Amin it's seems difficult, with no choice Maryam decide to hope and keep waiting,
But months past and she gave birth to there baby boy, Now 16years later Maryam still hope Amin will come back to her, Bilal start to grow up as a normal kids but somehow he was later diagnosed with Autism spectrum which makes him developed some estranged behaviours, slowly as he grow he seems to be Ok until he reach teenage age, he start associating with the wrong peer's and Maryam watch her son life crumble down, his dreams shattered as he slip into the world of drugs, when she stops giving him money he started stealing and got arrested many times she have loss all hope on Bilal, all she do is pray that some day Amin will walk through that door and she can give him his son to him because the responsibility and problem is too much for her to handle all by herself.

"B!"some teenage boys yell Bilal name hyping him as he approach them.
They exchange some handshake and offer him some of the white powder cocaine but he decline as he continue smoking the cigarette in between his finger.

"I need to leave for Nigeria."Bilal say after a while and the boys give him a questionable look.

"You need money to go there,
Did you find any information about your father?"one of them ask and Bilal shake his head.

He need to leave Cameroon to find his father because it's the only way he can support his drugs addiction, he need money and his mum told him his dad was rich, he's been detained several times in Douala and he's not very sure the next time he got into trouble he will be out of prison especially with his mum been jobless now.
The loud gunshot that echo around the surrounding is what gain there attention and they all scramble to safety since they know it's the police, unluckily for Bilal he was caught with 2 of his friends.

For Maryam she knows it won't be long before someone knock on her door to tell her, her son is once again in trouble with the law, the police station around town have become conversant with her do to how she always come and bail out her son.