𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄

23rd January 2016
11:00pm

As Janae and Kiyanna sit in the hospital bed together, Janae consoles her daughter.

"Kiyanna. Listen to me okay?" Janae's soft words leave her mouth as she smiles, lovingly, at her 13 year old daughter.

"I'm not gonna be here in a few days and I need you to listen to me very carefully" Janae says as a tear slips down Young Kiyanna's face.

"One, do not ever settle for less with a man. If a man won't kill for you then he ain't the one" Janae starts, putting emphasis on the word kill.

"Can you repeat that for me?" she asks and Kiyanna nods, attempting to stop sobbing as she catches her breath.

"I-If he w-won't k-i'll for m-me then he ain't t-the one" Kiyanna repeats, holding her mom's hands tightly.

"Two. If a man EVER puts his hands on you, leave and don't turn back. He won't stop doing it no matter what he tells you" Janae says, looking up at her husband whose eyes are red and puffy from crying.

"Three. If anything bad ever happens you gotta pray to me okay? You gotta put your hands together and speak to me and i'll be right there to fix your problem" Janae finishes, feeling a lump forming in her throat as her daughter sobs.

Kiyanna lays her head on Janae's chest and Janae strokes her hair. "You shouldn't cry like this, Amour, i'm not leaving your side ever. I'm always gonna be right here with you even if you can't see me".

Kiyanna and Janae's relationship was something out of a movie. It was that mother daughter relationship where the daughter would gossip with her Mom and always spill tea about Dad.

To Kiyanna, her mom dying meant that she would never be able to have a good friendship with anyone since it was always just her and Janae.

"M-mom?" Kiyanna forces the words out her mouth, attempting not to stutter but failing.

"Yes, Yaya?" her mom responds, still stroking her soft hair.

"Can you braid my hair?" Kiyanna asks, looking up at her mom whose skin is pale from her sickness.

She was diagnosed with cancer and they hadn't caught it early enough to be able to go through chemo. So the only way to pass time was for Janae to count her days, making the most out of each one.

A month ago they gave her three weeks to live and so she was lucky to be living through that extra week.

"Of course, Amour" Janae replies, sliding the ponytail out of Yaya's hair.

As Kiyanna slowly falls asleep Janae braids her hair into the perfect french braids. She looks up at her husband who has also fallen asleep and smiles.

Although she was about to die, she couldn't help but smile at the fact her daughter has a loving father and that she wouldn't have to worry about Kiyanna at all.

—

"You gon talk to me like that again!?" Kiyanna's dad shouts, throwing his fist towards her to hit her straight in the nose.

Her head flies backwards into the wall and she blacks out from the collision. As sixteen year old Kiyanna lays on the floor thinking she was going to die, she starts praying to her Mom hoping for the nightmare to end.

Kiyanna lost her Mom to cancer three years ago and her Dad just hasn't been the same since. All he does is drink, get angry and beat her.

Sometimes he would just completely ignore her and she could go about her day but sometimes he would make it a point to put his hands on her.