Category : Stories

Sub Category : Drama

Prologue 


As she looked frail laying in the hospital bed she looked at her young teenage daughter full term in 
pregnancy.  She looked at the man standing next to her daughter as she instructed him to look after her 
daughter, six years her senior. She placed her right hand on her daughters stomach and whispered softly 
to her unborn granddaughter, “Dios Bendiga, Mi Nieta.”   She  closed her eyes and took her last breath 
as her cancer took over her frail body. 

The couple stared solemnly as he embraced the young girl he loved so dearly. Her expressionless face
stared out the window as he offered her the comfort of his embrace. Her thoughts entering a world of
only voices she could hear. Unbeknownst to him, his wife, the daughter of the deceased woman
entered a catatonic state of psychosis, a battle she would endure for the rest of her life. 

They traveled through train from the hospital to their home in the crime riddled streets of Brooklyn, New
 York.   Heavily pregnant he sets her in the bathtub and begins giving her a bath as she barely utters a
 word, and becomes solemn in her world of darkness.  He dries her off and puts a gown on her and lays
 her in bed. He kisses her forehead and bids her goodbye as the night falls and the streets call his name. 

Chapter One. 

"A little girl can be born fragile physically but the strength as a lion's roar. A Little warrior battling countless tragedies.  Never putting her head down asking God why."

    Her Father put braces on her penguin feet until her bones gained strength. He forced her to walk with her abnormalities. He treated her with remedies from his native island throughout countless illnesses. He was told by doctors she was destined to pass away she was sickly. He took her home and with God's help healed her. Days she went into a deep sleep days on end due to her blood disorder he sat vigil by her side. He prayed, he spoke to her about his island. About his childhood. About Jesus.  He was her protector, her healer. In the crime ridden streets of Brooklyn, New York he created a haven of safety for her. 

Her Father. A gang member. A drug addict. A fallen preacher of Jesus. He fought a battle within to be her saving grace. To keep her safe. Safe from her Mother, safe from the retaliation  that awaited him in the streets, safe from pedators, safe from what he echoed was the devil. She was unaware of all things except her Father and his preaching he bestowed upon her. As she healed that became her world. Stories, solitary confinement inside their home. As she got better her Father would hit the streets at night. Leaving her to play with her siblings contently or sleeping. 

    She became curious climbing the windows. Sitting on the windowsills. Hearing the noises in a big city. She wondered where did her papa go. In the night hours she grew determined night after night to find him. She became a daredevil, opening doors planning an escape to the yard. Climbing the forbidden fences. She grew anxious. Her mind echoing "Where is Papa?". 

One night in the wee hours she heard his voice up the street and she ran barefoot. Her ankles stronger than ever. She remained quiet with big eyes as she saw silver blades in her Father's hands. He was yelling at people. Fighting. Her heart felt pain.
In her mind, it screamed, "Papa, i have to save him?". He was screaming words at the other men, raised the blade in the air and cut his arms in rage. She ran to him still silently crying profusely. He dropped the knife, picked her up and ran back home. Blood spilling from his arms. He set her down and cleaned his wounds. She watched with a frown but uttered no words. He took her to her room, fed her Farina and read the Bible to her. She fell asleep. She dreamed of Jesus. 

(Con't)..... 
Copyright Alejandrina Santiago. 
Rough Draft. Sample. 🌻