Short heaves escaped her dried lips, the rain was unmoving, and as her fear heightened, the rain became heavier. There was nothing more harsh than wet gravel biting and latching onto the vulnerable skin that was on weakened knees.
It had been a long 13 hours for the preteen, and Mother Nature seemed to not be on her side. Thunder rumbled, lightning cackled in the close distance, it only drowned out every ounce of motivation the girl had left in her for the current training day.
Her guide, teacher, and life training shook his head, seeing the weak spirit nearly overtake the gyal he knew to be a warrior, not just because of her spirit, but because he was teaching her.
"Yuh weak, gyal?" The man stood, idle as the sky's stars above. Power leaked from his stance, intimidation was the only language he seemed to speak.
"No, sir," the girl replied. Her body shivered beneath the hard drizzled rain on her skin, still, she knew better than to admit she was any form of tired, stuck, or unmotivated.
It wouldn't slide, and it damned sure as hell wouldn't help get her inside and beneath some warm blankets like she craved.
"Break de fucking board!" He yelled, ever so calmly.
Her chest rose and fell faster, her focus was vivid, serene with her new goal in mind. Locking her upper bicep, she extended her right arm sharply, bracing her chest as she jabbed dead center of the very thick board. At the sound of the wood splinting, she fell on to the ground, sobbing in defeat and victory when she concluded her training for today was finally over.
"Fish don' get rewarded fa swimmin', ya know?"
His mustache was black as midnight and neater than the creases on her made bed; drill sergeants had nothing on Robert Maraj.
"Yes, sir...."
Extending his rain covered hand, he latched his fingers closed when he felt the warmth of his daughter's palm from beneath. "We all have duties, Onika.....you be the best at your duty, and I mean that. It's what your mother deserves."
Location: Houston, Texas // Space City
Looking down at the plane ticket in her hand, she took a deep breath and made sure to swallow away any island remains that would automatically give her away. North America was the dreamland everyone over hyped, and to finally get a taste of the good American air was another ride on a totally different plane.
A keen teacher, and an even more alert student, Onika Maraj double checked her surroundings slyly. She opted for dark shades knowing that the curve of one's temple gave them away along with their eyes. Spotting an empty cab, she stretched her suitcase handle the furthest north, dragging the confined box of clothes and belongings forward until she reached the yellow vehicle.
"See, I just told some young ass, tired ass skaters I got itis from that damned po'boy, but you're a nice looking young lady, what can I do for you?" She knew he hadn't lied about eating, the fried crumbs on his shirt were the indications.
Onika told him where to and sat cautiously the entire ride. Either the man was a weirdo, or everyone in Texas found it in their way to be overly welcoming.
"You gots to be a smart broad to get accepted into a college like that," he looked in the rear view mirror with a genuine smile. She nearly smiled back, but the subject at hand rendered her stuck.
"It's what your mother deserves," her father's voice screamed with large yellow, hazardous triangles.
"Was actually my least of concerns when it came to choosing," the young woman mumbled, taking in the passing stores as they inched closer to the apartments near campus.
"Well, I wish you the best of luck, Ms. Beautiful. This trip was on me, love seeing young black folk doing something!"
She nodded, exiting the cab, grabbing her single suitcase out of the popped trunk. Dancing her coffin shaped nails along the body of the taxi, she gave the man a small wave as a farewell and proceeded to advance towards her new living space.
"Let's start our mission...."
Head tilted, eyes wide, and breathing stable, she took in the Houston sky with a toxic mix of emotions.
And from there on, she juggled a silver household, cylinder key that held the access to her apartment, which was housing for transfer students and one of the nicest living areas on campus.
It made no sense for her phone to buzz as violently as it did in her pocket, and before she could even retrieve the device, she already knew who it was.
"Pa, Ma....."
"We told you to call immediately after you touched America soil!"
"I'm just getting settled into my apartment! I didn't have to pull out a weird, untraceable device to be looking suspicious in the middle of an airport. Everything's fine, thanks for asking."
"Watch ya sass! You've made it 'ere and proved to me your ignorant to discipline already!" She pulled the phone away from her ear in frustration, she'd been a disciplined child since she could remember and the tempting, intimidating words from her father weren't going to counter that.
"Where's my mama?"
Ruffling sounded through the receiving end, then Carol's naturally comforting voice flooded her worries away. "Listen Oni, your father is excited, anxious, nervous, and proud at the same time. He's happy you could seek vengeance when he never had the opportunity to."
"I understand that, and I won't let him or you down....especially you after what that sicko did to you!"
"You make me proud tremendously, my warrior baby. We love you and will check on you every noon on your clock!"
"I love you, tell the family I love them also and I'll be back before they know it."
The line went short.
She took a deep breath and turned around to double lock the door so she could complete some deep, intense cleaning. Mask securing her breathing currents, gloves vice gripping her soft skin that ran up to her forearm, and cleaning products that would disinfect every atom of dirt one could think of.
Before getting into an extracurricular activities, she closed her eyes and softly dropped to her knees.
"Lord, even though my intentions are rotten, my heart is pure.....cover my journey as I act upon what I deeply believe is correct. America be good to me....Houston be good to me. Amen."
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