Chapter 7 Train huddles

The next morning, Kayla dressed in her usual sweat pants, hoodie and crocs and went to her fashion house. Not like anything was going on there but it was just her own way of escaping reality. She found peace in staying there. As she approached the building, she was met with a breathtaking sight. The wreckers were about demolishing the fashion house. "Hey! Hey!!" She screamed out "What the hell are you guys trying to do?" She screamed even more. "This land property doesn't belong to you, the original owner needs the land for something important." The wrecker screamed back.

"What? How does that even make any sense? After four years? Almost five years even." She thought to herself. "Well okay can I at least speak to the owner make he could give me more time to vacate the premises." "We were instructed to demolish the building immediately but you could pay three hundred thousand dollars in forty eight hours for compensation." "Three hundred thousand dollars in forty eight hours? How's that even possible." Her voice trembling. "I would assume you don't have money then. Boys!" Before she could say anything further, Aether fashion company was destroyed and back to the dust. Kayla entered the house to receive another news that the rent was due and the house owner gave them till weekend to pay the rents. She went to her room and locked herself through out the night, pacing back and forth, thinking of the next step she would take. She had no help. Her supposed fiancé hadn't called her in weeks, she was already two months gone in her pregnancy. Her best friend traveled to another town and didn't even inform her. Her cousin had been in the hospital for close to four months and wasn't even responding to treatment. Her whole family depended on her for everything. She had no choice, she had to leave, she had to run, but to where? She took the abortion pill she bought few days back. Still pacing round the room, she stumbled upon the ad sheets from the previous day and took a glance. It was her only opportunity and chance of rising up again. In less than ten minutes, blood flew from her uterus down to her fair ties, she was in immense pain but unleashed all her pains to her pillow. She bit her pillow so hard and cried till she fell asleep. 4AM the next morning, she was already prepared to leave the house for good. Before she left she wrote a small note for her family members. "I would be gone before you all wake up. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I wish you all the best and wish me luck in my future endeavors also. I'm sorry for not informing anyone before leaving but I need to figure myself out. If Marvin ever comes back, tell him his baby is gone and he will regret the pains he put me through. With love, Kayla." With that, she dropped the note on the kitchen counter and left the house. When she got to the train station, she asked around for the train operator going to Nexarville and they pointed to his direction. He looked mean, haggard and nonchalant. She cleared her throat and said, "hi please how much is it to Nexarville." "It's five hundred dollars." He answered abruptly. Kayla didn't have up to five hundred, she had only four hundred and fifty left. "I have four hundred on me. Could you be kind enough to help me?" She said softly, her voice breaking. The train operator scanned her perfect body, her well defined hips, her prominent waistline and her plump breasts. He cleared his throat and said, " I would help you but on one condition." "What's that sir." She asked desperately. "You see that small room over there." He pointed to a dark and small room at the corner. "Yes I do." "We're going to spend at least thirty minutes in there together, you know what I mean?" He smirked. "Are you asking me to sleep with you?" She was trying hard to hold herself from lashing out. "Shush young woman, don't you know there's a price to pay for every free thing?" His face was serious. "I know but please I can do any other thing for you, I can even wash your own train for you." She kept begging. The man heaved a sigh of annoyance and disappointment and said to her. "Fine! You're going to have to clean my train, the outer part seems okay, it's the inner part that needs cleaning." "Follow me." They went to the train and he opened the doors. What she say left her in awe. The interiors were worse than a dustbin area. The chairs were stained with faeces, both baby and adult. Food marks and stains were all over the windows and the floor. She get the toilet and it was even worse in there. There were two buckets, one filled with urine, one filled with faces. The water closet was brimmed with used sanitary pads. Before she could say a word, she ran out of the train and threw up. "Less throwing up, more working madame, we are meant to move by nine sharp and it's already seven so you have less than two hours to finish up." He whistled and left. Kayla started work immediately he left. She couldn't take chances at all. After all, a beggar doesn't have choice. She finished cleaning the train eight forty five sharp and people started boarding the train the train. Despite all of Kayla's work, she didn't still have a seat on the train. She stood in the middle of the train and held the handrail till the end of the journey. The journey itself was one tussle to another. Babies crying, couples arguing, people even started their left over food on her but she overlooked them because she knew her main purpose of boarding the train. When it was already half way through the Journey, she sat down and dozed off. "Why did you kill me mother, we were supposed to be one." The baby pursued her with a long staff. "I didn't mean to please forgive me, I had no other choice and I didn't want to give you a hard life on earth." Kayla kept running and crying. "I'll kill you!" The baby threw the staff to her. "Hello, the journey is over is over ma'am." A passenger tapped Kayla. "Noo please!" She screamed and woke up, panting heavily. She came down from the train and wandered around the area. Nexarville was so much better than Rivetown. Everyone was civilized, the city and clean and air was very fresh. For the night, she went to a nearby hotel and checked in with the four hundred dollars she didn't give the train operator. When she stayed on the bed and checked her phone, none of her family members called or texted so, she sobbed herself to sleep till the next morning.