As Shirley sat at the periphery of the courtroom, she couldn't help but wonder how her life had come to this. She quickly took a glance up to notice if the two armed security guards who flanked her on both sides, were staring in her direction. It had gotten to a stage that the Department of Corrections and the Police had given instructions that her cell be completely isolated, and guarded every minute of the day, by armed men who were given a license to shoot on sight.
Although, she had not yet been convicted, she however knew deep inside of her that her chances of escaping without a sentence were inexistent. Not as if it was her prayers though, because the only thing she could plead for was a lighter sentence; afterall, she was on trial on a 21-count charge, which included terrorism, robbery, assassination attempts, etc.
"Who escapes this totally free?" She asked herself.
The answer to that came as quickly as the question did.
"Nobody!" She replied herself, as she adjusted into a more comfortable sitting position.
It was the dee-day for judgement to be passed on her, and everyone who had followed the case keenly were present that morning. Family members of victims, the plaintiff, the jury, her lawyers, police personnels; even the media was heavily represented too. None of her family members were present, as they had all given up on her; well, just her 2 brothers, and truth be told, she knew they had a right to.
The case had lingered for 14 months, and her lawyers had put up a valiant fight. Despite the fact that they were being paid by the Government to defend her on the case, since she couldn't afford one as all her accounts were frozen; to make matters more complicated, the Government was one of the complainants, however, her lawyers had not at any stage relented.
The litigants had provided evidence upon evidence, witnesses had testified and since moved on with their lives, two Judges had come and gone, seasons had passed, Nigeria had won the FIFA World Cup, but still judgement had not been passed.
As she and everyone waited for the Judge to arrive, her mind wandered off as to how it all started.
Shirley was born into a family of four children; she was the 3rd child and only girl. Like every other normal kid in Southern California, she grew up quite fast. She had learned the very basics of life right under the watchful eyes of her loving parents, and before long, she had enrolled in the local elementary school close-by; not that she had any choice, as that was the only one in the neighborhood.
The people of Southern California were a loving and accommodating bunch. Most of the men were crop farmers, and a handful ventured into small-scale pig farming, with an effort to improve their earnings. Their wives usually helped them, and majorly assisted with selling the produce obtained at an open market not too far from the neighborhood. With the income, you could say that these families were not poor; as a matter of fact, they all could provide for their basic needs, and have to spare.
She remembered one time it was a norm for one family to host the rest of the community, and it happened once in 6 months. How much fun they usually had, and how each family would choose a type of raw food to bring. There was usually plenty to eat and drink, and the kids always looked forward to that day. They would be so filled and would all lay under the moon, until they either slept off, or the party ended.
Safe to say, she had a good upbringing. Her parents were very hardworking, and made sure she and her siblings enjoyed the comfort they could offer. Shirley always got pampered, as the last child; well, that was until Nathan, her kid brother came along. He was 3 years younger than she was, and how jealousy had crept into her almost immediately. Not as if the care ended, but she had to split it with the new baby of the house.
This made her love Nathan so much, and the pair were almost inseparable. When he was 3 and had to enrol into her school, she was so happy that she had bragged to her classmates about how she'll hold his hands to school daily. Despite the fact that she was only 6 years old, she was a smart-ass. She topped her class every single year, and was the pride of her parents.
She always dreamt about how she'll become a lawyer in future, and she dedicated her time to study, in order for that dream to come to pass. Everything was going to script for her, the boys and their parents, until one not too fine day, when disaster struck.
It was the summer of that year, and as usual, time for Nathan to attend Boy scouts camp; something he had grown to look forward to. At that time, Shirley was 12, while he was 9, and it was going to be his 2nd Boy scouts camp. He bragged about it all day long, and she couldn't wait for him to leave.
Deep inside her, Shirley knew it was going to be a boring summer. The only person she found company with would be gone, and she would have to do everything on her own. Her older brothers, John and Adams were a pain in the butt, and she didn't ever contemplate spending time with them. She had mapped out a plan to study often, and join other kids her age at the local playground for fun.
It was the morning of departure, and as was the ritual, Dad was going to drop Nathan off at the camp, and this year, Mom was going with them. Shirley had helped him pack his bag and supplies into the booth of their father's Kia Sedona utility van, and she shyly hugged Nathan tight, almost in the middle of tears. While their parents got dressed, both Nathan and Shirley sat on the front porch, as the little boy mentioned the things he would bring back for her.
The trio settled into the SUV, it was going to be a 6-hour trip to Magdalena town, where the camp was situated. Her parents would spend the night there, and return the following day. In no time, they zoomed off into the dusty streets of Southern California, as Shirley watched the tail lights of the van until it disappeared into space; however, little did she know that was the last time she'll see or hear from them.
She had proceeded to the study room, just at the basement of their 5 bedroom semi-detached house immediately, to study. That was her holiday routine, and she grabbed a mug of coffee, some wheat bread and scrambled eggs with her. She was gonna be on her books till late afternoon, before she'd head to the playground. And as quick as lightening, she buried her heads in her book, and got down to business.
She had eventually slept off, and was woken up by a loud and panicky bang on the front door.
"Who could that be?" she pondered.
Her older brothers usually don't come home till night, she mused, as she looked up to the clock which read 3.15pm. She hurriedly moved to answer the door, and the next few words she heard had shattered her world.
News had gotten into the neighborhood that her parents had been involved in a fatal accident and all three of them had died on the spot. As the news was relayed to her by the neighbor who came knocking, Shirley felt life evaporate from her. She was weak to her knees and stood staring into space, dazed beyond words.
She had eventually moved on, but it changed a lot about her. She suddenly became angry at life, smiled at no one, and her conscience went on holidays. It was the beginning of a new lease of life for her, one that would either make or mar the future.
Gradually, days became weeks, and weeks became months; however, Shirley was still hoping it would all turn out to be a dream. John and Adam has contacted their aunt in Alaska, and in a not too distant time, Shirley would be off to the city. The boys had come of age, and were going to be responsible for their upkeep; however, they were too young to be given control over their sister, at least, so the law stated.
Shirley had moved to the city, and continued her life, however, she had long metamorphosed into an uncontrollable beast. She became a bully at her new school, made new and uncultured friends, and was seen on occasions, on the school camera, smoking cigarettes. At some point she was almost expelled from the school for poor academic performance; however, her aunt had pleaded that she be given a last chance. The school authority had agreed grudgingly, however Shirley neither improved, nor turned a new leaf.
On her 18th birthday, she was caught smoking pot just behind the house, and she remembered her aunts words clearly,
I know how things have changed ever since you lost your parents, however, that isn't enough reason to live recklessly. I'm sorry that life has treated you badly, but in whatsoever choices you make, always consider if your parents are happy with you or not.
She had turned eventually changed, albeit for only 3 days; and she returned to her old lifestyle. Her eldest brother John, had threatened to stop sending her money, and she didn't care either. She remembered talking him down over the phone, and cursing the living daylight out of him. She left her aunts house some months after she met Cosmas, her boyfriend, and that opened her up to a world of adventure, laden with crime.
Now she was 26 and that life of crime had brought her to her doomsday; in all, she was willing to accept fate. Just as she thought about the love she had for Cosmas, and their life of crime together; how he was killed on a mission that was snitched and how she was lucky to escape, someone tapped her shoulder.
The Judge had arrived, and Shirley was moved to the dock. The well dressed man ran through the evidence as presented by both parties, and affirmatively made his judgement;
This court hereby finds the accused not guilty on a 4-count charge of armed robbery; not guilty on a 9-count charge of attempted assassination of 6 persons; and not guilty on an 6-count charge of World terrorism; however, this honorable court finds Miss Shirley Woods guilty on a 2-count charge of social misdemeanor, and is hereby sentenced to 2 years in prison, and 6 months community service afterwards, to be decided by the Department of Corrections. This court also orders, that at the expiration of the prison term, all properties and accounts belonging to the convicted be released under Section 9, sub-section 3a, of the International Crimes law. This court is hereby dismissed!
Shirley couldn't believe her ears; she had gotten only 2 years prison term. There and then, she turned a new leaf, and swore to reconcile with her family afterwards. As the guards took her away, she thought of her parents and chuckled.
THE END!
If you all or some part of this, please show some love to encourage the writer.
Like, please upvote, even better, comment, and even best, resteem!!
Thank you for reading. Cheers!!