Chapter Seventeen

**Nine Months Later**

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you are pregnant."

"Why?", Caro shrieked.

"You're getting fat in all the right places, your skin is much brighter... and you're getting taller too."

"Oh come on, Trisha. Just say you're jealous."

"True that. If I could have a backside like yours..."

"Ah!"

"What?"

"There are children in this house!"

"Don't children have backsides? Or should I could it rump, bum, buttocks..."

Caro covered her ears with her palms.

"You're acting like you're one of the children."

"I'm a Christian."

"Really? Last time I checked, there was a lot of fucking in the Bible."

"Oh God, Trisha," Caro moaned in frustration. "Why can't you say something righteous?!"

"I'd be righteous if Absalom didn't bang his father's concubines in public for all Israel to see."

"Good night," Caro said and promptly got to her feet.

"The night is good," Trisha slurred as she emptied the remaining contents of her glass just as Caro walked away.

Getting to her room, Caro turned on the lights and stripped before the standing mirror. Yes, Trisha was right. She was fat. Her belly was no longer flat and hard-muscled, it was now soft and even a little jiggly. Her waist was soft and rumpy too. She didn't bother turning to survey her backside; she just held it with her hands.

Judging from the distance between her waist and the end of her buttocks, Trisha was very right. Her backside had jutted out a lot and she wasn't very happy with it. She had always mocked people with big backsides, but she never thought that she herself would be a victim one day. All in all, she knew was growing and eating a lot of good food too.

She had not started menstruating just yet, but she wasn't really worried. If it would come, it would. If it wouldn't come, she wouldn't die. Ever since she heard about it from some visiting health officers and later, from older members of her class, she'd always considered herself ready, though if she had any say in the matter, she would prefer not to have any pains. Well, when she gets to that bridge, she would find a way to cross it, she sighed as she dove and landed on the bed. Tomorrow, Trisha would be better, when the drink would have cleared off her head.

***

Caro woke up the next day, fresh and happy as she had been waking up for the past nine months or so. Only during this time had she known that life was good. But there was no way she could know that this would be her last day under Trisha's roof. She sauntered into her bathroom, and after all the morning necessaries, she exited it, threw on clean clothes and made her way down the stairs. Her destination... Trisha's room.

It was Sunday and since she wasn't a church-goer, she always woke late. Only Rennie, who was a devout Christian, woke up to finish her chores in time for the morning service. Caro, on the other hand, was not a fan of institutionalized religion. Her teacher, Miss Andrews, who had taught her to speak good English and also introduced her to Christianity, was not a fan of local churches and Caro, being a loyal protege, did everything she did.

As she approached Trisha's room, she wondered if she could be roused by this time of the day. Only God knew how much alcohol she had consumed the previous night. Even though her fake age was only a few months to 18, Caro had always refused to share in the consumption of anything other than soft drinks. She had vivid memories of the things her father had done under the evil influence of alcohol and she had no wish to tow the same line.

"Come in," Trisha called in response to her knock. Caro opened the door slightly and peered in at her. She was lying full length on the bed in the previous night's clothes and with a pillow over her head.

"How're you feeling?", Caro asked.

"Never better," she replied, throwing off the pillow to expose a messy hair and tired face.

"Are you sure?"

"Never surer." Then she promptly fell to snoring loudly. That was Caro's cue to leave.

She shut the door quietly and turned around to see the boys rushing straight for the same door.

"Hold on, guys. I think your Mom wants to be alone for n..."

"Ian stole my cup and tr..."

"He stole mine first," Ian countered.

"Liar! Thief! Robber! Ro..."

"Hey hey hey. Do you know you are shouting in front of your mother's room?"

The boys' eyes widened in fear and they quickly followed Caro as she began to make her way over to the kitchen.

"So who stole whose cup?", she asked as she took her seat on a kitchen stool to act as presiding judge.

"He's the thief," Moses replied.

"He stole mine first," Ian countered. "No, you broke mine."

"You liar! I didn't!"

"Okay! It's okay. Now, where's the cup in question? You, go and get it."

Moses rushed off and soon returned with a fancy plastic cup that was only used when brushing their teeth. Caro received the cup and held on to it. "Now it's mine. If you guys quarrel over any other thing, I'll take that too. Now, have you guys eaten?"

They both shook their heads.

"Then go and look for your food and mine too, wherever Rennie kept them."

They both went in separate directions and began a calm search.

"I'm in a hurry," Caro called out. "I cannot be late for work. So the first person to find the food will give the other person two hard knocks on his head."

Immediately, it turned into a highly frenzied search!

***

Caro was now a full scholar again. She had been attending school for months and was even preparing to sit for her final junior exams, all thanks to Trisha.

Evenings on some weekdays and afternoons on weekends were the periods she spent working and further improving her tailoring skills at Immaculate's. Today being Sunday, she had gone early and also closed early.

As she walked through the shortcuts heading back home, she could not help but put a palm to her stomach to feel its constant quivering. It disgusted her that she had so much excess fat in most parts of her body and she was desperate to burn them all off, starting today. That was why she had decided to take shortcuts instead of boarding a cab as she had always done in the past.

From now onwards, she would walk all the way home and 'by fire by force', all the fat would vanish. But wait! If she jogged, wouldn't that be best? If Trisa could notice all this, she would simply go out of her mind!

Just as Caro was about to break into a jog, she heard a sharp whistle from behind, making her turn around immediately. Some ugly, gaunt, rough and filthy-looking young men were seated in a nearby abandoned construction site and staring at her with hungry eyes. One of them who looked like their leader gestured for her to come, but Caro narrowed her eyes and shook her head in pity, thinking perhaps too much weed had gotten to the wrong part of their brains.

With a hiss, she turned around, ready to continue her journey. But she was stopped short almost immediately. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed something huge blocking her way. She had to take a step back to really identify what it was. And it was a human! A giant to be exact.

Caro had to look far above her line of sight to see his cruel face. Then she swallowed. To say she was in big trouble was the understatement of the century. If only she had not taken shortcuts.

"You no hear when dem call you?", the giant's voiced boomed at her in what Caro imagined was one of its lowest tones. She was too overwhelmed to formulate words, so she simply nodded to confirm that she had indeed heard the call.

"Oya, dey go," the giant said, waving her toward his ruffian pals. Caro knew that running away was a stupid idea. The guy's hand could easily reach her from more than a metre away not to mention his legs. The only option she had was to obey. She had to do everything possible to not give him a reason to hold her, because if he did, she would be finished. No miracle would make her escape from the grasp of such gigantic hands. So taking a deep breath, she turned around and began walking toward the construction site with the giant following closely behind.

She tried to increase her speed as subtly as she could. The goal was to put some, but not much distance between them and make him feel as relaxed as possible.

As she walked, she kept her eyes on the ground and prayed inwardly. She knew that the giant's pals and the giant himself couldn't wait to start work on their next gang rape victim. Her heart was pounding wildly, but she willed herself to remain calm. She didn't know exactly how far behind or how relaxed the giant was, but if God was really her shepherd, it would not matter.

Suddenly, she whirled round to face the giant without taking her eyes from the desired level. Before he could say Jack, she lashed out with her left foot and delivered her best kick ever to where she knew his balls would be. It was a good strike!

"Haaaaa!", he howled in pain, grabbing his crotch with both hands. Caro did not wait to mock him. Veering to the left, she took to her heels immediately!

Caro ran hard and fast like a madwoman. She could hear shouts from behind her and she realized that the giant's friends were after her! In a few seconds, both shoes had left her feet and she had the chance to run the fastest she had ever run. She could feel her heel touching the back of her head and she could hardly see the road ahead. She didn't know where she was headed and she didn't care!

After running for God knows how many hundred metres, she came to a stop when she was totally exhausted. She could no longer hear shouts behind her and the adrenaline powering her had run out. If they were to come after her now, they would surely get her. She was just out of breath, strength and everything else.

She slumped down on the ground and lay flat on her back. Every part of her body hurt. Her heart was one exertion away from exploding and her lungs... she was just filling them up with air since they were first filled when she was created.

She would never forget what just happened. The whole episode wasn't really a bad thing, rather it was a big eye opener. She had known that she was a fat piece of trash, but she never realized how bad it was. When she was still slim, she could run twice the distance she had just run without feeling a millionth of the exhaustion she was currently feeling. What if those guys had followed her all the way? She really needed to go back to her old self... fast!

When Caro got back home, she opened the gate as quietly as she could and stole into the compound. She really did not know why Trisha never had a gateman, but it was a blessing for her today. Nobody would notice that she was shoeless and disheveled. Her bag had also been lost during the race.

Like a thief, she tiptoed her way into the building and managed to sneak into her room without attracting any undue attention. She breathed a sigh of relief when she had accomplished this feat, but she was also worried about their security. If she could get in so easily, what stopped someone with an evil intention from doing the same? Yes, there were soldiers stationed at one end of the street, but was that really enough? She would have to discuss it with Trisha sometime soon. The sooner the better.

***

Caro had been in her room for the past few hours, reading and watching TV. She had totally forgotten about the race incident that had happened earlier in the day and was now focused on being "over-prepared" for her upcoming exams. But a few minutes before supper time, she heard a knock on her door.

"Come in."

The door was opened slightly and Rennie's head peeked in.

"Madam Trisha wants to see you in the sitting room."

And then she shut the door. With a sigh, Caro got off her sofa and put on her slippers and then stepped out of her room. It never crossed her mind to guess or even think about why Trisha would want to see her, she just padded down the stairs to go answer the summons.

She was only a few steps from the foot of the stairs when she froze. She had just heard a voice coming from the sitting room. A voice she could never fail to recognize! But could it be someone else who just had a similar voice? No. Trisha wanted to see her and then, this voice. It was no coincidence. But just then, another familiar voice spoke, a female voice. That did it for Caro. A cold shiver ran down her spine. This was it! Her parents were here!

Without thinking, Caro took off her slippers and quietly ran back up the stairs. When she got to the top, she put on the slippers and hurried on.

"Have you seen her?", an approaching Rennie asked.

"Yes," Caro nodded enthusiastically, sporting a fake smile. "She wants me to get something for her."

Something must have looked off to Rennie because Caro could notice the surprised and doubtful look on her face, but she didn't wait to find out why it was there. She simply hurried to the back door and let herself out. Then she ran to the gate and slipped out of the compound as quietly as she could. Clothed in an evening gown and a pair of slippers, Caro ran into the night.