1 Corinthians 9:10 KJV
Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.

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I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand, making the traces of sweat on it to vanish. I dusted my hand with a piece of rag and continued grinding some grains of corn contained in a bowl with a grindstone. I transferred the fine corn powder to a bag positioned beside my folded knees.

The door opposite me flies open and Mrs Sandra walked in with a bowl in her hand.

Mrs Sarah's my boss, she's a black like me and also a single parent of three children. She lost her husband to the war which claimed a lot of lives and left Ilisa in chaos. Devastated, she set up a granary and a Flour Mill to replace the ones the war destroyed.

She met me a few weeks after the war on the streets where i was begging. Yes! You saw it aright, begging!

My entire family was consumed in the war that spanned for three years, spanning from 2046 to 2049, My mom, Dad, Little Betty and Sam, all of them gone forever. I've been fending for myself till Mrs Sarah found me. I've lived with her and her family which consisted of her son, Gabriel and her daughters Pilly and Polly, The Twins as they were fondly called.

Mrs Sarah  can be cranky, that's when you get in her 'Black Book', other than that, she's a good-natured woman.

"When you're done grinding, head to the market and get some foodstuffs, we're running low on supplies."

She places the bowl on the table close to the door and disappears through the already open door.

I hasten up with grinding, taking glances at the sky through the window, if I want to make it back home early, I better get to the market in no time at all. The streets of Illisa are unsafe after sunset, and there's no telling what lurks in the streets after dark. Pure evil.

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I clutch my shopping basket firmly in order to protect it from the petty thieves roaming around the market. Weaving my way through the numerous people clustered around different stores, I walk into Anna's shop and close the door behind me. I come face to face with Anna who places a flower vase on the shelf behind her, wearing a smile on her ever young face.

Anna, though much older than me has been my closest friend, since Mrs Sarah found me. I occasionally come to her shop to purchase items that my boss incessantly demands.

Are you wondering why I call Mrs Sarah my boss?

Wonder no more.

Although, I'm a part of her household, she treats me no less than a maid, sending me on numerous errands, strenuous tasks.
I haven't forgotten about the part where I stated that she's a good natured lady, yes, she is, but her liberality is one-sided, if you know what I mean.

Anna's white, unlike me but she never failed to show me motherly love, something that I think the War destroyed.

"Hey Amity how are you doing today?"

She wipes her wet hands on her apron and pulls out a chair from underneath the table.

"Never been better." I place my basket on the floor and reach out to grasp her outstretched hand. Her hands are warm like they always have been.

Letting go of her hand,I let my eyes wander around the shelves, well stacked with different commodities. On the shelves directly behind her, different vases of colorful flowers are seated. A little to the left, some empty flower pots are looking at me.

"Did you just come here to stare at the flowers?" Anna demands, with a smile.

"I can't help it Anna, you know I love them, they're so adorable."
I place a hand on my chest for emphasis and she shakes her head.

"What do you need, you know Sarah will be displeased if you don't get home on time." She admonishes. I pick up a loaf of bread wrapped hygienically and i carefully examine it. After picking the necessary items, I hand over Mrs Sarah's  Payment Card to her and she swipes it across an opening in the Payment machine.

In Ilisa, and all around the world, currency of any kind is no longer in vogue, we use Payment Cards, but only the extremely rich have these Cards. What about the poor then?

The poor people like me still make use of paper money, they hand it over to the traders in exchange for commodities.

These traders who are mostly rich, take these currencies to our Central Bank located in the capital of Ilisa, Asila. At the Central Bank, the money is converted to electronic money as they call it, and this 'electronic money' is transferred to their Payment Cards which can be used to purchase anything, provided a Payment Machine is available. The electronic money is transferred to the recipient's payment card and that's how the cycle continues;

Paper currency⏩➡Electronic money ⏩➡ Payment machine

Payment Cards⏩➡Payment Machine⏩➡Payment Cards again.

I hope you understand it perfectly?

"Goodbye Anna, I'll see you again by God's grace." I stuff the purchased items into my basket and leave Anna's shop with a newly acquired smile. There's never a time I've been sad or depressed, well, except the time when I lost my family, of course, no reasonable person won't be sad at discovering the shudder-worthy fact that their family has been wiped out.

I look ahead of me, at the numerous people pressing onto each other as they make their way through the narrow market streets.

Turning left, I enter an alley way, separating Anna's shop from the other shop from which i could see a man arranging his wares, I occasionally glanced at the few people loitering in the alleyway, they have scowls plastered on their faces like I stole their evening meals or something.

Ignoring them, I swing my basket from side to side and march steadily home.

I could hardly make out the outline of the wooden house as I approached it. The sky was sufficiently dark to obstruct my clear vision.

Rubbing the front of my dress, I push open the front door and walk in. Sarah is standing right in front of me with her hands folded under her breasts.

"Go put the items away and join us for dinner."

By us, she meant her family. Nodding, i turn left and open the first door I see, it leads to the store where different food items were kept. I place the basket in its position atop the shelf glued to the blackened wall.

I drag out a chair and sat in it, Gabriel sat to my left and Pilly and Polly sat across us. Mrs. Sarah sat at the head of the table, leaving the other end unoccupied.

Knifes and forks begin their duty as we raise different amounts of food to our lips.

Pilly and Polly let out tiny giggles and their mom orders them to behave themselves properly.

After dinner when everyone retired to their rooms, I cleared the table and took the plates to the kitchen for washing.

Putting on the water tap, I allowed the clear liquid cover the pile of ceramic plates in the sink. Turning the tap head in a clockwise direction, the water supply is cut off. My hands found the grey sponge idly seated at the edge of the sink, I utilized the sponge in washing  the greasy plates.

A couple of approaching footsteps made me carefully drop the plate in the sink. I turned to see Gabriel smiling brilliantly at me.

"I just thought to stop by your office to say hi." He teased with amusement occupying his eyes.

"Now, what do you mean by that?" I pretend to be angry and dump the sponge in the bubble-filled sink.

Gabriel took the place of a brother and friend in my life ever since I stepped into his household. He helped me with my numerous chores when he wasn't busy with the tasks his mom assigned to him.

"Never mind that. How are you doing?" He stares deeply into my eyes and inches closer to me, not too close to make me uncomfortable.

"I'm as new as ever." I smile widely at him and return my gaze to the plates I was occupied with.

I pick up the cleaned plates and rinse them with sufficient water. I temporarily forget about Gabriel as I watched the water flow from the tap.

"Amity." Gabriel muttered tenderly and I turned my face to him with my hands still wiping the plates.

He had a sad look on his eyes and it made me abandon the plates again.

I could never see a person in despair and ignore the tender feelings it stirred up in my body.

With his eyes still on my face, he slowly extended his hand and grabbed mine. I froze as his warm fingers grazed the back of my hand. With gentle movements, he exposed my palm and gazed into it like he was figuring out why there were lines in it. With his other hand, he placed something that had a metallic feel into my palm and closed my fingers over it.

He abruptly dropped my hand and walked out of the kitchen.

I opened my palm and observed the object in it, it was a circular pendant that had a chain attached to it and some writings on it. They were only letters but they were enough to make my heart stop for a few seconds:

            G ❤ A

How do you see the first chapter?