She had found something that would mean she'd never be poor again - but there was a catch.
Doing business with him had never been without a cost; a cost that went deeper than money. It was a tough call, but she had to make the choice to change her life for good - even if she had to do that.
So she did what she had to do, and cut off all contact with the others. Just one trip to Colombia with the 'goods' would be all it took. She would never live in the 'projects' again, having to do all manner of things just to put food on the table.
Her kids would finally go to the schools they dreamed of. She was going something illegal, but why did the government care only at that moment?
Why didn't they care when the people were suffering and going through hell? Why didn't they care about the people who voted them into power? They expected the people to keep on struggling.
Why shouldn't they help themselves, after the way they'd been treated? She could never understand it all; she just had to accept it as one of life's bitter tenets.
But even while she kept on telling herself all this, she was still afraid. As she walked into the Departure hall, she kept checking her phone and email, wishing someone would make contact. She kept wishing someone would call her back, and she wouldn't have to go.
Her heart was in her mouth, but she struggled to keep her cool. The officials could spot fresh meat like her because they always looked out of place, scared, guilty. She hardened her face and joined the queue, taking out her phone and acting as though she was making a call.
She couldn't get caught. And she couldn't run away. Not when her family was like that. She had gotten a loan from the bank to pay her kids' fees the previous month, but she was soon reaching the deadline. There was nothing left of the money except a few dollars which she had planned to use to get to the depot.
Once she offloaded the goods and got her money, it would be smooth sailing...
"Ma'am can you come with us?" A voice said. It was one of the officers.
She was a stranger in a very strange land. She had forgotten to continue with the calling act, and the perplexed look on her face stood out.
She followed him to the little room, where they searched her bag. It was too late, and as they touched the false bottom and began to ask questions among themselves in a language tmshe couldn't understand, she knew it was all up.
Saying a little prayer, she slit her both wrists before they could stop her, and hoped that just this once, her prayers would be answered.
She prayed that she would die.
**************
Inspired by @wakeupkitty
This was created with 7 random first line prompts courtesy of writingexercises.co.uk. I didn't quite hit the mark as to the number of prompts used, but I tried anyway.
Quickly remove the "inspired by" part to somewhere else or delete it. Let the story begin at once, please. 🍀