Ten Toes Down For My Baby

by Karma Monae

curfew. Just my fuckin luck. “Your ass better get going, you know how them buses are in the rain” Al said with a smirk, right before heading inside the house. Wrapping my arms around myself, I started away from the house so I could head to the bus stop. The rain was coming down hard as hell and it was looking like it was going to storm and flood tonight. Normally, I didn’t let shit get me down, but right here right now I was tired. I was tired of struggling by myself. I was tired of starting my life from scratch. My whole life I walked a straight and narrow line, and strived to be a good person but it was hard when you had mothafuckas like Al around making sure you relive your pain every day. Why did the good have to struggle while people like Al had everything handed to them? Why did G leave me out here fucked up like this when I had always been good to him? How deep was his bond if that was all it took for him to be gone? Letting the water splash up on my ankles and inside my flip flops, I continued walking away from Al’s house pondering my next move. As the raindrops fell on top of my head I could feel the strands of my hair curling up into its natural curl coils. It took me two hours to straighten my hair this morning, just for it to be drenched in the rain. I crossed the street, glancing back towards Al’s house. I instantly locked eyes with the guy I bumped into. He was still standing on the porch looking at me, probably wondering how Al knew such a pitiful person lik...

them too, until I went legit and invested most of my money in some small businesses after my wife being