Paradox

It is 2002 in Zona Este, a small town down the coast border of Mexico where Sarah had grown up. There were no GSM phones, no internet, and the swiftest means of communication were through letters.

Sarah had grown up in a strict household under the guidance of her parents as they lived as one big family on an estate owned by her father.

It was a closed neighborhood with their home being the stand-out landmark in the vicinity due to her father's love for extravagant colors.

He had the walls of his fence painted red, blue, and white as he grew up reading magazines and hearing tales about the Promised Land, the USA.

He had dreams of visiting, a dream he made no secret of as he had flags of the United States everywhere in and out of his home. He also made sure his children learned the English language from an early age. It was his long-term dream to one day live a good life there, a dream his daughter, Sarah hoped to fulfill.

It was all going according to plan as she was in her third year of junior secondary school and had her final exams to write before applying to a senior secondary school to further her education. All these were halted when her mother died.

This happened when Sarah's mother was at a bank to deposit cash she had earned and saved over time from her clothing business when an unfortunate bank robbery happened.

She was a casualty of the incident.

It was an evening like every other as Sarah had been on her way home from school...

"Today was so stressful!" said Sarah letting out a huge sigh.

"Yes it was, I'm so grateful it is a Saturday tomorrow" replied a girl in uniform beside her.

"Me too!" echoed the boys behind them.

"The road feels scanty today, it is almost as if it is a Sunday, or is it?" one of the boys asked.

"Are you wearing a school uniform or a suit Kelvin?" asked Sarah with a smirk.

They all laughed at this point.

"A uniform of course, but It seems like something happened, the last time the market was this empty was September last year, and you know what went down, right?---" he continued.

"What happened last year?" inquired Sarah.

They all leaned in at this point.

"Nine-Eleven" he whispered.

"Oh!" echoed the rest of them withdrawing their heads.

"Let us hope nothing of that sort has taken place." said the girl in uniform beside Sarah.

They kept on walking but they noticed a strange countenance around each person they met along the way.

"What is wrong with people today?" asked one of the boys.

"Look, guys! Isn't that smoke from a distance---I told you guys something was wrong!" Yelled the same boy in a manner that seemed like jubilation.

The further they walked, the more clearly they could see. Right on a hill, they all looked into the eye of the burning flame as its thick fumes darkened the sky.

They walked together for a few minutes then parted individually towards their homes.

The evening felt strange once more to Sarah as she noticed the gates into her father's compound were wide open. This was a rarity and so, it aroused suspicions.

The air patted on her skin differently and innately she knew something wasn't right. She had heard while eavesdropping along the way from passers-by and strangers that a robbery had occurred in the town's only bank.

She shrugged off the information knowing she had parents and relatives who preferred the traditional methods of burying money in contrast to keeping it at banks. But little to her knowledge, her mum decided to try a different flavor of punch that week.

It all began at the market the previous day where her mum had gotten a flyer shared by an advertising group throughout town.

It was a popularization strategy employed by the new bank to get a large consummate to trust them with their hard-earned money.

A great number of villagers read the content of the pamphlet with disdain and moved on with their lives with some even squeezing the paper as it as soon as the advertisers went on to give the next person but Rebecca's mum took a keen interest in the idea and had made a decision there and then to give it a try. Little did she know she would be also giving her life.

It was a horrible day for Sarah and everyone connected to their family.

They were really popular in the community and the dark cloud which loomed over their home at that moment spread all through the town. It was a sad day in the little town of Zona Este.