The Little Orphan

With a coffee complexion mended by a small scar on her right cheek that gave a luminous brightness to her pretty face, Florencia was a young woman of twenty-three. She came from a once wealthy family. A few years ago, Florencia and her family were living happily. Her father was a civil servant and her mother a successful businesswoman. Florencia was not her parents' only child. She is, of course, one of five siblings. Of course, she was the eldest and had great respect for both her father and mother. She was a very determined young woman. After she was born, her mother gave birth to two twins, Fidélia and Fidéliana. They were succeeded by two boys. The two boys were not born at the same time, which means that Syrus and Joslius were not twins. Syrus was the youngest of the Titi family.

In fact, the Titi family lived happily until one day a great misfortune knocked on their door. The old Titi, who had once been a great civil servant and had given his family everything they wanted, had ended up staying in bed for several years because his health was failing. He had spent all his fortunes there. And, still not recovering his health, his wife also spent all her savings to save his life. At the time, Florencia was in an exam class and, not having her records up to date before the misfortune struck, was having difficulty meeting the requirements of a candidate for the exam she was sitting.

Desperate, she ended up abandoning her studies for lack of funds. She dropped out of school to start a small business in her twenties. Florencia was a very beautiful woman. She was the kind of woman who makes priests and bishops want to marry.

After a thousand and one reflections, she opted for the idea of selling sugar cane. And to achieve her goals, she would leave her small village, a long way from the city of Porto-Novo, to go to a neighbouring village to stock up on sugar cane plants. She would leave her parents very early in the morning to go to this small village.

In this small village, during the rainy season, sugar cane was cheaper. From this trade, Florencia managed to feed her mother and father and, without exception, her two brothers and two sisters. And since the hard times continued under the family roof, Joslius and Syrus, the two boys in the family, decided one day to go and live with their Uncle Randolph in Cotonou, perhaps life would be cheaper there.

It was six o'clock that evening and dusk had covered the landscape for a few minutes. The sun had disappeared from the sky. Above, still in the sky, bats and a few turtle-doves wandered about. The Fulani, returning from the pastures with their oxen, carried on their shoulders antlers that served as orientation guides for their animals.

Returning from her sugar cane business that evening with the few she had left, Florencia was surprised by the enticing voice of a man who had stopped because of her. The young saleswoman had the idea that the man must have wanted to buy some of the sugar canes that were lined up in her steel tub. She made her way towards the customer in a casual but respectful manner. Reverently as usual, she greeted him politely and offered him her teeth adorned with beautiful gums.

- Good evening uncle, how are you? Would you like to buy some of my canes? They're so sweet and soft!

The man smiled quietly and replied:

- Good evening, Miss; considering your beautiful face and your lovely smile, there's no doubt about the sweetness of your fruit!

- Thank you, sir!" she replied, all smiles.

- You're very welcome! That's more like it! Tell me, beautiful creature, have they ever told you that you're pleasantly beautiful?

Florencia laughed so hard at the expressions of the man in the car that she couldn't stop laughing.

- Thank you, sir! Mum's always told me; she's always told me I'm a beautiful woman, but I never believed her, and now you've confirmed it!

- Wow! So apart from Mum, no-one else told you?

- Oh yes, I forgot! Dad tells me too!

- Brilliant! Er...allow me to be on first-name terms with you, please! So, where do you live?

- Actually, I was on my way home when you called. Otherwise, I'm already a few steps from home.

- Oh, right, I see. So you live nearby!

- Yes, I do!

- Brilliant! Could you give me a few minutes of your time, please, as you're not far from the house?

At this sentence, the young woman, not knowing what to say, began by looking up. It was clear from her manner how unwelcome her interlocutor's request was.

- Please, don't reject my complaint," said the man as he turned off his car engine.

She wanted to leave but what was the point? She wanted to say something, but what could she say? She was somewhere between exasperated and puzzled. Immediately, deep inside her, she began to hear her mother's voice saying: "My daughter, wherever you go, never dare to show disrespect to any man, because you are beautiful and, being beautiful, men have the right to want you; and to want you is to ask for your hand in marriage. So don't think that they lost their sight when they approached you, or that they made a mistake. It's up to you to decide who to choose from among the thousands of men who come your way. Above all, be careful, because not all the men who come courting you will want to marry you. Among them will be those who just want to fuck you and drop you like a banana peel. On the other hand, there will be some who will want to make you their real wife; their legitimate wife. But be very careful. My daughter, I repeat, be very careful. Make the choice that your heart dictates. It shouldn't be one of your friends who makes the choice for you; instead of a friend, let it be your heart, because when you fall for the wrong man, it will never be that friend who comes to live the worst in your place, never. I know what I'm talking about, my little darling. You have to follow the voice of your intuition and know what to do and how to do it to be happy...".

Suddenly, the dreamer was startled out of her reverie by a phrase addressed to her by her interlocutor who, having parked his car comfortably, got out and came to stand close to her.

- Please, young lady, I have no intention of hurting you; you can count on my goodwill. I would like you to tell me, with sincerity, what they call you.

With her gaze buried in his, the young shopkeeper replied:

- Florencia...Florencia they call me.

- What a lovely name! Your beautiful name makes me want to meet your parents! If you could give me this precious opportunity, I would bless the angels of God who have crossed our paths on this precious day. And please believe me, you will never be disappointed to have met me.

At these words, the young girl expressed her astonishment with a small, jerky look mixed with a great silence.

- What?" she exclaimed, "to meet my parents at the same time just because of my first name, which you think is beautiful? And what's worse, I don't know you from Adam or Eve? I'm really sorry, sir!

- Don't be sorry, please. Miss Florencia, I'm not here to tell you anything and you can take my word for it!

- I know that and I didn't say that you'd tell me anything either! You know, I'm not old enough yet to present a suitor to my parents. I'm still very small and very young to introduce them to...

- That's OK! You know, I really like you. The only thing that could make me happy right now is the desire to smell you for the rest of my life. I'd like you to be my other half and, at the same time, the mother of my future children. Believe me, you won't be disappointed that you've accepted me into your life.

- Sir, I'm terribly sorry, believe me! I'm sure you'll agree that this is only the first time we've met. But still! You can't fall in love with a woman you've just met for the first time. You don't know what I'm capable of and you're already singing the melodies of love to me? I feel sorry for you! Sir, I don't want the darkness to catch me outside my parents' house. Please let me go home, goodbye.

At this, Florencia turned in one direction and began to hurry off, paying no more attention to her interlocutor, who was looking at her with a look of sadness in his eyes.

The unknown man, his arms folded and his mouth gaping, stood watching the young girl sway in her dress, which had come down to her feet, and began shaking his head incessantly in desolation.

- My God, what can I do to be master of the love of this beautiful creature whom you created without a single blemish?