“Ghetto Child Interrupted”

I had just gotten back from my twin brother’s funeral when my best friend Sherry called my phone. “Janeshe, how are you feeling? I know you probably just getting in.” Sherry and I have been best friends since middle school when I first moved with my folks and my brother to Miami from my native place of Haiti. She had just left for the weekend to see her dad in New Orleans and had to miss my brother’s funeral. “Girl, I can’t wait to see you, we have to talk about all the ratchet shyt that I just had to go through just to say goodbye to my twin! You know I’m going through it.” She knew my twin brother JaShae had just recently been gunned down outside his babymama Janice house last week. He was a known member of the street gang the 2000 boys and because of that the funeral was full of drama! I know that the police suspected that the murder was in retaliation to the murder of lil JC’s kid brother, with JC being from the Overtown Outlawz, but I personally know that the murder was just over some bullshyt that was posted on Facebook about his best friend and some hood rat that JC used to smash. I personally don’t know how that made MY brother a target but hell, I’m not that petty. Living in Overtown, Miami was a day to day struggle and that was for man, woman, and child! Hell in between being hustled at almost every corner you have to worry about the daily spray of bullets that may hail down at any given time. I hung up the phone with my best friend after she assured me that she would be back home the next afternoon so that I can tell her all about what happened. I heard my stomach growling and hoped that my mom had some leftovers in the fridge that I could grab right quick before I took a shower and caught a quick nap. My mother was in the kitchen sitting down at the table looking at my brother’s pictures that they had included in his obituary. She had tears welling up in her light brown eyes and it instantly made me sad inside because she being the tough Haitian woman she was, she RARELY ever cried! My brother was dressed in most of the pictures in the gang’s signature red and I have to admit he was very handsome. “Man man kouman ou ye?”, I asked taking a seat next to my mother at the table. She looked over at me and looked distant for a minute before she answered “Mwen pa two ben”, she confessed. “Yes I know mama, I don’t feel well myself, I keep thinking that if I would have rode with JaShae he would still be here.” I keep thinking about him everytime I close my eyes. I really would have never thought that my brother wouldn’t be there to see me graduate. I been trying not to even think about it. I know my mom was probably thinking about us graduating too. My dad had recently passed away and that was one of the things that he said that he wanted was for me and my brother to graduate and make something out of ourselves. I had dreams of moving out of Miami, using my talents for either fashion or singing, my dad could definitely count on me. I wish my brother was here more and more and I wondered how long before his boys retaliated and bust back at those weak ass Overtown clowns. “Ma, why don’t you go lie down while I make us something to eat before the gathering at Aunty’s tonight.” My mother looked like she was getting weak just looking at the pictures and I sure didn’t want her to have to go to the hospital. “Mwen pa ka manje Janeshe. I will lie down though. I definitely need some rest before dealing with our family members. Manman bourik mwen an. Tsssk.” I laughed softly to myself. “Okay mama. I love you and I will come wake you up later.” I gave my mother a hug and kissed her on her forehead before she retired to her bedroom. I looked in the refrigerator to try and see what I could pull together for us to eat real quick. I just wanted to find something that I could sit in the oven and go jump in the shower before I laid down myself. All I could see was some leftover red snapper and riz colle aux pois which is rice and red beans to ya’ll. I put the fish in a container with the rice and beans and sat it all in the oven to warm up while I went and distress in the shower. I pulled my blonde and brown dreads up into a high ponytail and went and took a shower in the bathroom that was attached to my bedroom.