Orphans

1

Warning:- This book is meant for a mature and open minded audience. It contains mature, triggering and tense themes. I don't appreciate bashing of my characters or leaving me mean and offensive comments-I will block you. While I understand that the book may break your heart maybe... But be careful with how you leave comments expressing your hurt or heartbreak if you value reading the book, otherwise I will block you.

Three things make the world go round- money, power and sex.

"Honourable De melo, would you like to add your input to the mandate?" the governor asks briefly running his eyes over her before continuing with reading the notes infront of him.

She merely shakes her head.

"As if she ever has something to say," honorable Ramos snidely comments in a low tone, but enough to have the members around him chuckling and enough for her ears to pick up on what he has just said.

She lifts up her eyes and stares straight at honourable Ramos. Her stare on him has the chuckles diminishing instantly and honorable Ramos fakes a cough, uncomfortable with her eyes on him.

"What would you rather I say honorable Ramos?" She asks, her eyebrows raised at the 56 year old man.

He does not dare to answer, perceiving that it's a rhetorical question she's asking him.

The silence in the large boardroom gets uncomfortable. The members of the national assembly shocked at hearing her respond to honorable Ramos. Shocked at hearing her raspy voice. She almost never talked during these meetings. Nearly all the members could swear they had never heard her voice before.

"What does article 16 of the constitution state?" She asks again, this time looking at her fingers and twisting the silver rings around her middle finger, ring finger and index finger on her left hand.

"The government is to prioritize the needs and welfare of it's people. Choosing their safety before harm. Their wellbeing being considered in all decisions taken which largely affect The Republic of Cabo Verde." The governor responds reciting the article by heart, refreshing the minds of over half the members who had forgotten what the article says.

She raises her eyes, the corner of her lips briefly  twitching into somewhat a smile, but not quite.

"How is the mandate about to be passed in line with what article 16 states? How will it help improve the situation faced by the people? How will it help alleviate the large numbers of unemployment, uneducated and starving citizens? 30% of the citizens are below the poverty line, 14% living in extreme poverty." She speaks, hardly fazed by the eyes of all 70 members of the national assembly on her.

The governor's secretary is unaware, but she has stopped writing down the notes of the meeting, honorable De melo having captured all of her attention. Her pushed back slick hair and the black shirt buttoned up to her neck with the navy blue blazer she has on enough to confuse the straight women and piss off the straight men in this room.

"We are supposed to be for the people. We are the people. But really what are we doing to help the people? The people out there don't want you to tell them big words, "the legislative" "mandates" and what nots. They hardly understand that.  They want solutions to their problems. They want to feed their starving families and they want to wake up every morning and go out to their jobs along with their children going to school."

"What happened to the youth programme that was supposed to be up and running at the beginning of the year?" She runs her eyes over all of the members. They fidget in their seats and some members internally smile enjoying this, there is hardly anything exciting that happens during these meetings, this is a rare instance.