Mangled Shoes

CHAPTER 5

The lead vocalist was Jasmine.

"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round."

"The wheels on the bus go round and round." Her sister, Nasim, joined in on the chorus.

"All day long."

As the conductor, their father took charge.

"Take it from the top."

Once more, the twins sang. Their mutual delight and fondness impressed Deborah.

How was it to be a parent of two children? not to mention a parent at all. Could there be a loving reason behind his crazy concern? She watched as he tended to them and fostered them.

She pulled the back window closed slowly. It brought up memories of her deadbeat father and her inability to care for her own seed.

Could he really love them this much? Could she really love, nurture, and take care of herself in this way? Their father must have loved them, but was his love strong enough to keep him from leaving?

She lowered her head to rest about an inch from the corpse. The sickeningly metallic and dry smell of blood was hard to ignore.

The blood from the carcass took on a nasty pungance that numbed her senses and choked her breath as it dried up on the car's floor. She dozed off for the night.

The family stayed in their rustic automobile and sang nursery rhymes.

"Papa, could you please buy me a Capri Sun when we arrive in Windhoek? It's becoming extremely hot now. It's becoming extremely hot now," Jasmine said.

"Me too, Papa. I want three Capri Suns. One for me, one for Papa, and one for Jasmine."

"Nasim, but I asked Papa first."

"Jasmine, that's not how you speak to your sister. Now both of you take a nap."

"But, papa, there are no beds here."

"But papa, nothing; Jas, even the hitchhiker girl is asleep."

The twins turned around. With their legs folded in a womb-like position. Then Jasmine placed her thumb in her mouth and sucked on it. The suckling sound made Nasim fall asleep.

Eventually, they were both asleep. Now that it was just Wilhem and his steering wheel, his thoughts began catching up with him.

"What am I doing taking this young girl to Windhoek?"

"If she just so happens to be missing, I could face charges."

"Damn you, Wilhem. Why are you risking your daughter's livelihood? They could send you to a prison cell."

"Maybe I should just wake her up and drop her off here. There are only 160 kilometers left, and she seems a bit mature."

He turned his head toward his daughters. I glanced at his sleeping beauties. Then he accelerated his speed. Just enough not to run them off the tarred road. The faster they went, the faster they would get there, and the earlier they would arrive.

After all, who was he kidding? They needed the money. It would make a huge difference and add carbohydrates to their diet. His twins needed to have more than just meat on their plate.