Array Ashley - Tale of the Murda Mamas

“Water!” she whispered desperately as Ma’tee jumped at her every beck and call. The tender way in which he touched her revealed his growing obsession. He was crazy over her. In his mind, no one loved her more than him. He would die before he gave her back. Breeze was the only thing he had left in this world, and he imprisoned her so that she would only be his. She was too beautiful for anyone else to see, too delicate for anyone else to touch. She belonged to him.

He could not see it, but his possession over her was slowly causing her sanity to abandon her. She did not have the strong Diamond will that the rest of her family possessed. Her eyes were empty as if her soul was now gone. She had lost all hope, and as she looked up at the man who had taken her away from everyone she loved, she cried. She didn’t have the strength to fight anymore. She was his slave in every sense of the word. He had taken her body, her mind, and her spirit, and trapped them in Haiti. Even if she did ever make it out alive, she would never be the same. Things could never go back to the way they used to be. She had endured too much. Psychologically, she was ruined. Emotionally, she was drained. Physically, she was raped. The lovely young woman that Breeze used to be did not exist anymore. Only Ma’tee had the key to set her free, and she knew that would never happen.

Breeze began to cough violently and bile flew from her mouth, her body desperately trying to get rid of some of the venom that was slowly killing her.

Ma’tee sat near her bedside and applied ice to her wound and a cold wet towel to her forehead to try and lower her fever. Her temperature was dangerously high, yet she felt so cold that she shivered. He desperately tried to bring Breeze’s health back up to par, but the more days that passed, the worse she became. He wasn’t ready to let her go. He refused to lose her, even to death, so his only alternative was to take her to the only doctor in town. Ma’tee knew that he was taking a big risk by taking Breeze to town, but if he wanted her to live, then he had to.

He stood to his feet and looked around at all of the Polaroid pictures he had taken of Breeze. They covered the walls, almost entirely constructing his very own wallpaper of lunacy. They were his masterpiece. “So beautiful!” he whispered. The photos chronicled her time in Haiti. Her smileless face and hateful expressions went unnoticed by him. He was delirious to think that he loved her. The misery and fear that he was causing her was evident on her face in every photograph. He went upstairs to retrieve his gun, rummaging through his kitchen drawers until he found bullets to load it with. He was unsure about taking her to town, but his hand was forced. He did not have a choice.

Ma’tee returned to her side. “Me princess,” he said as he stroked her face with the nose of his gun.

Breeze turned her head in disgust, causing her to vomit even more.

“Me am going to take you to town to see de medical doctor, but chu have to promise not to run. Me run de entire city. If chu say one word to anybody, me will kill chu, young Breeze. Chu understand?”

Breeze did not respond. Hot tears had dried on her ashen face.

“Do chu understand?” Ma’tee asked again.

Breeze nodded her head and felt Ma’tee lift her from the bed. The feel of his hands on her body made her cringe as he carried her to the back of his mansion and into the thick of the jungle. The average person would become lost in the jungle-filled mountain terrain, but Ma’tee had grown up here. He navigated the area well, and knew the dangers that lay underneath the deceiving appearance of the land. Even the most beautiful flower could be deadly.

Breeze tried her hardest to remember the path that Ma’tee took, so that she would know the way to town, but she was so weak and everything looked the same.

“Chu will never remember de way,” he said as if he was reading her mind. “So stop trying.”

They came to a clearing where a green Hummer sat covered in a tarp that was disguised by brush and leaves. Ma’tee sat Breeze down on the ground and removed the large tarp, then placed her in the passenger seat.

There’s a car here, she thought. I have to remember how to get back to this spot, she told herself.

Ma’tee started the Hummer and rode the rough terrain the rest of the way down the mountain, navigating the deadly path like an expert, until he reached the town below.

For the first time in months, Breeze saw other faces besides Ma’tee’s as they passed some of the townspeople, but her health was fading. Everything appeared blurry, and the pain radiating through her body was becoming unbearable.

Ma’tee drove with one hand on his gun and the other on his steering wheel. “Remember what me told chu,” he instructed as the car finally stopped moving.

He attempted to carry her out of the car, but she fought him, pushing him off of her. “Don’t touch me! I’ll walk!” she screamed in frustration. She shook like a leaf in a strong wind as she stepped out of the car, but she was determined to not have his hands on her in public. However, when she put weight onto her poisoned foot, her body came crashing down like a house of cards.

“Stop fighting me and let me help chu,” Ma’tee whispered the words, but it sounded more like a demand as he bent down and scooped her up in his arms.

She had lost a considerable amount of weight and was light as a feather. Against her will, her head fell onto his chest and she looked up at her captor. It was the first time she had ever looked directly at Ma’tee, and his heart melted into her grey eyes. “Please, let me go!” she pleaded.

“I can never do that, my princess. Once you learn to love me, your life will be filled with riches,” he promised. He carried her into the doctor’s office and rushed over to the receptionist’s desk. “Please, help me! Me daughter was bitten by a black widow and is extremely sick!”

The receptionist took one look at Breeze and stood to her feet in a panic. “Doctor!”

The most beautiful woman Breeze had ever seen came rushing out of the back. “Oh my!” she exclaimed at Breeze’s condition. “Please, put her over here… hurry!” Ma’tee rushed and placed Breeze on a stretcher. The doctor began to wheel her to the back of the office while Ma’tee followed closely behind.

“No, please sir, chu need to wait up front and let me do me job. Me will take care of she,” the doctor reassured. “Me receptionist has paperwork for chu to fill out. Me will keep chu updated.”

Ma’tee’s eyes shifted from the doctor to Breeze as he became nervous. He had not planned on leaving Breeze’s side. He nodded and said, “Can I just speak to me daughter for one moment?”

The doctor nodded and Ma’tee walked over to Breeze. “Me will kill chu!” he said as he wrapped his hands around her tiny neck. He applied pressure and leaned over her so that the doctor could not see what he was doing. He had killed many men in his lifetime, and he knew that there was a delicate balance between death and unconsciousness.

Breeze felt her oxygen being cut off, and she wanted to struggle, but her body felt so heavy. The poison was rendering her helpless.

“If chu say a word, me will kill chu.”

Those were the last words she heard before she went un conscious.

Ma’tee had cut off her air supply long enough to knock her out without killing her. He hoped she would stay that way until the doctor would allow him to be by her side again. He turned to the doctor in panic. “She’s passed out! Please help she!” he whispered as he wiped tears from his eyes.

“It’s de poison. It’s shutting down her nervous system. Why didn’t chu get help sooner?” the doctor asked.