•10th June, 1984•

A rusty looking cab pulled up at the only bus stop on Hawaiian Street and an eighth month old pregnant lady alighted, dragging along a little boy.

"Pay up quickly, I gotta other jobs to do", the old driver growled at her from his rusty taxi.

The pregnant lady scoffed and dipped her right hand inside her purse, bringing out some notes.

She handed them to the old driver and he grabbed the crisps of dollars with a rush, startling the lady.

He grinned, showing off his brown coloured teeth, and then he zoomed off, leaving dust in the air.

Martha sighed and looked around the bus stop, as usual they were thugs and the ne'er-do-wells of the street, smoking heavily, laughing, chattering and playing cards.

Just making a hell of noise.

She held her small purse more closer to her, dragging along her little brother, Zach, then they turned off the bus stop, and took the road down the street.

"Come on Zach, you need to walk up a little faster, it's getting late", she said him, he was trying his best to keep up with her pace.

The street was calm, cold and lonely. Why not? It was getting dark, and no reasonable young girl like her, is supposed to be out at that time.

But unlike her, she was pregnant, though young. Seventeen year old pretty Martha was eight months pregnant, she sighed, rubbing her left palm on her potruded tummy.

A tear escaped her right eye, her mother had really made her gone through a lot. A real lot.

Her mother, Cara was a whore. She had losed her father at age ten to the deadly cancer, and since then, her mother had turned into a whore.

The only possession left behind by her father, which was an old dilapidated storey building, had been turned into a whore house.

Cara and her like friends, attended to their 'johns', downstairs almost every night.

As soon as Martha turned sixteen, she introduced her into the prostitution world.

And she had no other option, than to join her mother, although against her wish.

"No mother I can't, I can't. I'm too little for this", she remembered crying out to her mother the day she informed her of the new development.

"What are you saying?", her mother had asked, a heavy cigar was balanced in between her left fingers.

"You must be joking. You are too little for what? Girls of seven and eight are into this, and you are here, saying you can't", she blurted.

"Mama I can't, you have to listen to me please", Martha had said, pleading and crying.

Cara laughed wryly.

"It seems you have other ways with which you going to feed yourself", she had said.

"Mom?", she had stressed it.

"You are going to do this Martha, or you will leave my house", she had shouted and left the scene instantly, leaving her crying profusely.

Martha remembered all these in a flash, like it just happened yesterday. She sighed and cleaned off the tears that had already formed in her eyes.

Just exactly a year after indulging in prostitution, she was put in the family way. Cara had threatened to slash her throats and throw her into the streets if she doesn't go for an abortion.

But she was adamant, it wasn't in her agenda to get pregnant though, but terminating the little life that had begun growing inside of her was something she never wanted to happen.

Despite all the threatenings of Cara, she remained undaunted and unwilling to terminate the pregnancy, and Cara somehow didn't carry out her threats anymore, she just continued with her whoring business.

The two siblings walked silently down the street, saying nothing to each other.

Minutes later, they came along a dilapidated storey building by the right and they entered.

Aww gosh! True to Martha's predictions, the storey building was well lit as lights shone from all possible openings and jazz music played on at it's highest pitch.

She sighed and directed her brother to the back of the building, and through a small door, they entered.

Then they took the stairs and found their way up into their rooms.

"Aw, mom is at it again Sis", Zach said pulling up a disgust face.

"Yeah, and that is why we need not disturb her, it's her work baby", Martha replied.

"I miss dad", he came again.

Martha sighed, where was this little kid driving at now? She rolled her eyes, saying nothing.

"Sis, I'm hungry", little Zach said, yawning. They had gotten to their room.

"Relax and let me get something", Martha said and dropped her purse on the bed, then dashed into the kitchen which was the next door.

The partying downstairs still went on, she could hear the chattering of ladies, and the stench smell of cigarette and booze filled the air.

Opening the small cupboard, she found nothing but just four raw eggs and a loaf of bread, she grinned. At least, there was something.

Then she put on the gas cooker and proceeded to make an egg sauce.

Minutes later, she was done and together, they ate with some tea, then she lured Zach to sleep with a lullaby.

They had slept long into the night for like an hour when suddenly Martha was awoken by noises.

She got up with a start, her ears twitched as she tried getting the kind of noise coming from downstairs, huh, this wasn't partying.

She listened again, this was commotion and cries for help. She turned to her little brother sleeping peacefully beside her, he was oblivious of the happenings.

She instantly got down the bed and rushed to the French window, a little crowd had already gathered around the house and began clustering.

Jeez, she ran to the door and slightly opened it, heavy smoke filled her nostrils and then it dawned on her, the house was on fire.

Holy moly, what she gonna do now? She racked her brain for possible solutions. Soon enough, one came.

She first dragged the heavy wardrobe to wage the door after bolting and locking it, then she ran to the window and waved her hands, calling for help.

"Hey, look up, someone is there?", someone among the crowd shouted, and everyone's attention was drawn to her.

"Let me throw down my brother, please get him", Martha said in a panic stricken voice, then ran to drag up Zach to the window.

Zach who was a very much deep sleeper was still asleep, breathing heavily, oblivious of what was going on.

She managed to squeeze him through the window, then threw him down. Someone caught him.

Suddenly the wooden door bursted open, and she turned back, holy moly! She saw the fire as it entered the room through the curtains.

Heavy smoke filled everywhere, her eyes became watery and soon enough, she began coughing.

The fire had almost caught up with her and before she could say 'Jack Robinson', she had jumped the window.

The next thing was herself landing with her side to the floor, then people around clustered. She could barely see clearly, nor hear them speak.

"Do you stand there and look? Quick let's rush her to the hospital", she heard a faint voice.

"Ohh, isn't it too late already?", a woman's voice asked.

Martha couldn't believe she was gonna leave mother earth this way, everyone just clustered around her, no one seemed to help. She decided to speak up with the last strength in her, at least for the unborn baby.

"Oh please, save...", she paused, then coughed out.

"Hey listen, she's tryna say something", someone said and they all moved closer.

"Save... my... baby", she stuttered, life gradually dwindling out of her.

Her eyes weakly flickered open and close, as she fought with life and death, her head twirled and suddenly, she blacked out.