Thud!!! Thud!!! Thud!!!

The sound of the shovel scooping up the sand from the ground unto the grave made him realize it is too late.No one can wake the dead.He started looking around him;mourners were all crying and weeping,even the ones he never saw in his life.He wondered.

"Where did all these people come from?" "Who are they?"

Maliq didn't have a single tear in his eyes,he could not,not here like this.He was numb.His eyes was fixed on the brown coffin.His mother insisted on the brown colour because that was his father's favourite colour.She went all across town to buy it at a very expensive price because she could not get the brown colour in town.All this for the man who abused her almost everyday.What a lucky man.He looked at his side and saw his mum weeping so hard that her eyes were soggy.He hated seeing his mother like this.He didn't want to see her crying in front of everyone.She was being consoled by friends and family.He expected his mother to cry,but not as much as this,not after what his father did to her.She still loves him,he felt it in her silent sobs.He also felt it-his fathers absence but he had cried his eyes out overnight.After some minutes,the burial was over and the crowd dispersed very quickly and for a while;Maliq and his mother were the only one left standing at the graveyard just staring blankly at the grave.Maliq was certain that he and his mother were both thinking the same thing.

"What are we going to do after this?" "Where are we going to start from?" 

Karen,Maliq's mother was filled with thoughts.All she wanted to do was start a new life with her son,away from Quisville,their current town.

The ride back home was silent.It was a wet thursday afternoon.Maliq was not ready to start a conversation with his mum.He wind down the car window to feel the breeze.It was the end of summer and so a lot of trees and flowers were in full bloom and the air was fresh and undiluted.He loved this time of the year.He wanted to leave Quisville as soon as possible.Even if he was to stay at his Uncle's in New Jersey and start a new life there,he could not leave his mother in this situation;this was the time she needed him the most.He would not leave her by herself because he knows how much of an over-thinker she is when alone.She needed him by her side so she could share her burden with him.He felt the air blow through his afro-locked hair.

"How about we move outta town?"

Maliq was already drifting off to sleep when his Karen broke the silence and started a conversation.

"Huh"

"I said how about we move out of town,go somewhere private,somewhere we can heal from the past and live a new life,be in a new environment and am gonna enroll you in a good school.Maybe you will stop smoking weed cuz you ain't gonna be seeing your bad friends no more.How bout that?"

Maliq stared at her now,he was also thinking about the same matter but why does she have to bring the weed issue into every conversation they had.Her face were no longer soggy and sober as earlier,she looked rather determined.He sighed.Whenever she looks like that,she already had her mind made on it.He knew she had been thinking about it in the car for a while.

"Sounds great"

He said and looked out the car.

"Good,we are moving out by Monday morning"

"No problem mum"

He actually wanted to leave the town,the town has only brought him pain and boredom.He wants a change of environment;he needs it.He had no friends in the town,just a bunch of random dudes he meets at night to smoke a stick or two and they dispersed after that without muttering a word to each other.He was home-schooled for two years after his father beated him into a coma and he did not go to school for a long time.He hates thinking about it.

The grey Toyota jeep parked in front of the garage.Maliq came out of the jeep.There already were a group of neighbours waiting for them to offer their condolences;Maliq didn't like situations like this so he ignored them and left Karen to attend to them.

Inside the house,Maliq was famished and exhausted,he needed a shower,on the way to his room,he overheard a conversation between Karen and Felicia,the neighbour living next door.

"Do you think it's a nice idea?" Felicia asked.

"I don't know but I think he is okay with it or else he would have complained about it immediately and i think he also has the same thought in his head" Karen said.

"If your mind is made then;who am I to stop you.What can I do to help?

" Nothing really,thanks for your support Felicia"

"What about haulage?"

I already hired Big Ben's services and he said it's cool"

"Okay,I would really miss you Karen,I hope you do just fine at Labrados,it's a very good town you know"

"Yes,I do,but I still have to talk to Maliq about it" Karen said.

Maliq had heard enough,he made toast and eggs and went to bed.

It was 11:45pm in the night.Maliq sneakily went to check on his mother in her room.She was not in her room so he checked the living room and there she was;sleeping on the couch.He knew the reason why she was not sleeping in her room.He took a blanket and wrapped it over her to make her warm then he went to his room and locked the door.He dug his hand under the bed and brought out a wooden box.He opened it and wrapped a stick of marijuana,took a lighter by his bedside and lighted it.In a few minutes,the room was filled with the marijuana smoke.This was just what he needs to calm his nerves and mind.He had to process everything that happened throughout the day.He also had to be prepared for the coming week.It is going to be tedious.He took another puff and was soon in highland.

Kindly note:I will be updating a chapter every two days.You can reach me on Instagram @author_orb.Hope you enjoy the first chapter.