Murderville Page 0,12

limits. They noticed a metal crate that sat open on the port that contained imported vegetables. Knowing that he didn’t have much time, A’shai ran over to the shipping crate to steal a snack. He lifted his foot and kicked through one of the wooden containers, causing tomatoes to spill out onto the crate floor.

“Hurry, Shai,” Liberty whispered as she shuffled her feet nervously.

“Here, wrap these in the bottom of your dress,” he instructed. He handed her five large tomatoes and then stuffed as many as he could into his own loose pockets. They were both running on empty and just the sight of the ripened fruit made their mouths water. Something as simple as a tomato was like a luxury dish for them. It was what the wealthy people in Sierra Leone had access to.

It looks so good, Liberty thought. She could hardly wait to bite into it.

She was jarred from her thoughts when a firm hand grasped her shoulder.

“What are you two doing in here? You little port thieves!” a man yelled as he turned Liberty around forcefully, causing the tomatoes to fall out of the folds of her thin fabric dress.

A’shai immediately sprang into action. “Let her go,” he yelled, trying to force bass into his voice.

“You’re not supposed to be here. You’re . . .” before the man could finish his sentence A’shai had kicked the man square between his legs, causing him to double over in pain. Without needing instruction, A’shai and Liberty took off, running to the other side of the port.

“You see those kids?” A’shai asked as he looked in the near distance.

“Yeah!” Liberty shouted.

“Run to them . . . go . . . we can blend in with them,” A’shai shouted. He turned his head to look back at the man who had given chase and as he turned back around he collided head first into a woman, the impact sending him to the ground. He looked up into the eyes of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Like a model on a TV screen, her blue eyes made her angelic and he was momentarily star struck by her magnificence.

Liberty stopped running and looked behind her. The man was coming up on them fast.

“Stop them . . . stop them!” he shouted as A’shai scrambled to his feet and grabbed Liberty’s hand as he looked around desperately for a way out.

“It’s okay,” the white woman said as she put her hands up. “Everything will be fine.”

The man came running up, breathing hard as he finally caught up to them. “These two . . . stealing . . . stealing fruit . . .” He was so exhausted from the chase that he could barely get the sentence out. He put both hands on his knees as he sucked in air.

“He’s lying!” A’shai shouted back defensively.

“It’s okay. They’re with me. They just got lost,” the white woman insisted as she looked the two kids up and down. She pulled out money from her pocketbook and handed it to the man. “This should square things, right?” she asked.

The man grumbled something underneath his breath, snatched the money, and then walked away.

Confused and skeptical, A’shai looked at the woman as he stood in front of Liberty.

“Is this your sister?” the woman asked.

“She’s my wife,” A’shai stated proudly as he stuck out his chest all the while still shielding Liberty.

“Ohh,” the woman responded with a slight chuckle, slightly caught off guard by his mature response. “Well I’m Ms. Beth, and your names are?”

“I’m A’shai, and she’s Liberty,” he responded.

“It’s very nice to meet you both. You have a very pretty wife, A’shai,” Ms. Beth responded.

A’shai nodded his head, his lip curled from mistrust as he eyed the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, Ms. Beth.

“Where are your parents?” Ms. Beth asked.

“They’re around here somewhere,” A’shai acted as though he was searching for them. “They’re probably looking for us right now. We better get going.”

Ms. Beth stopped them and said, “If you need some food . . . you know while you wait for your parents . . . I can help.”

A’shai shook his head and replied, “We’re fine. I told you our parents are coming soon.”

Liberty tugged at his arm while whispering, “Come on, Shai. I’m hungry. Let’s just eat something. She said she can help us.”

Knowing that Liberty was running on an empty stomach put A’shai’s back against the wall. He knew that they had drawn too much attention to themselves and he wanted nothing more than