BEST SERVED COLD

20

Zoe's life story is one of the strangest I heard in my twenty-four years of living and it's certainly not what I had in mind when I imagined her upbringing.

She was born in poverty. Both of her parents were very young when they had her, barely eighteen and they definitely didn't want to procreate yet. Zoe wasn't a blessing from God as I expected her parents to view her...She was an accident.

Though she hadn't realized yet because she was only a baby, her mom and dad were criminals, the kinds that could do about anything just for a bit of money. They stole, dealt with drugs and committed any other types of petty crimes. And thanks to their reckless way of living, they weren't able to offer security to their child, not that it mattered to them anyway. After all, Zoe was kind of a drag strapped on their ankles.

Despite it all, they had a second child four years later, this time a boy. Abel was born in the same precariousness as his sister. Their lives were at risk every time their parents received other armed criminals in their home or took the children along in their various thieving missions. But somehow, both Zoe and Abel survived.

The more they grew, the more they started to understand the danger that surrounded them but seeing no way out of it, they had no choice but to become stronger.

Zoe was the oldest and she took it upon herself to protect the only sane person she knew: her brother. Thankfully, their parents had enough common sense to put them in school but every time they returned home, it was a war for survival.

Zoe and Abel had no affection for their parents and for a good reason. They were never fed unless they fought for it. Real fights. Zoe tells me how she wrestled with her mother once and bit her so hard that she tore through her skin just for a chance to grab the only banana left in the fridge.

Their father was extremely violent with everyone. Countless times, Zoe and Abel had watched him beat the shit out of their mother while they were also present in the room. She also reciprocated with just as much violence but she was hurt the most because she was weaker.

That taught Zoe quite a valuable lesson. If you want to survive in the world, you have to become the strong one, no matter what it takes. She should never allow herself to be weak if she wants to protect herself and her brother. She pitied her mother for not having learnt anything on her side.

Things only took a tragic turn when their father started to pay attention to them.

Before, he did an impressive job at ignoring them, almost as if they didn't live under the same roof. Zoe and Abel were fine with that. It was challenging enough to deal with their mother's abuse. But then, the father was starting to complain on how fast the food was disappearing from their broken fridge.

"It's the kids." They mother had said to defend herself since her boyfriend was about to slam his fist in her face again.

"The kids?"

He sounded astonished, like he didn't know there were any kids in the house. The mother pointed at Abel and Zoe who were hiding behind the sofa. Their father stared bluntly because those kids were strangers to him, just like he was to them.

"If you're going to eat my food, you'll have to pay for it." He'd said. "Otherwise you get the fuck out of here, all right?"

"Yeah and while you're doing that, you can also work to pay for your school fees." The mother added. "That shit is cutting on our entertainment budget.

Zoe was ten. Abel was seven. What kind of work could they do? Well, luckily for them, their parents were looking for someone to deliver the "goods" they sold. So, every afternoon after school, Zoe and Abel went to their parents' clients to deliver drugs. It was fine, actually. They just had to keep straight faces on, refuse to get inside anyone's home and return home to give the money they collected to their parents.