Discreetly the General's son

Chapter 5 - Orison Ward of Shanty Town

Sawyer sat in solitary confinement while awaiting his sentence to be meted out. 

He ran his hand through his hair, reliving the moment that he was sentenced without being able to say a word in defense.

Ola had played in his face, not only was she two-timing him, she was taking his hard-earned money when she was with a man that was even richer than him.

She sealed it up by sending him to death’s door with a false accusation.

His dreams and aspirations were all gone, he was never going to become a military man, nor find his origins and speak about them to Jill

His aunty crossed his mind, she would be asleep by now. She loved to sleep early at night and wake up before the crack of the dawn.

She called that the secret to her unaging beauty. The news of what had happened would most likely reach her when the day broke.

Sawyer hated that she would hear about this and he hoped she believed that he didn’t do what he was accused of, unlike everyone else.

She had raised him since she was a young girl and he was a little boy. Making her the only parent he had ever known. 

He had never gotten the courage to ask about his mom and dad because he didn’t want to feel like an ingrate towards her. She had given her all to raise him till he attained the age where he was able to fend for himself.

5 hours later.

A warden dropped in front of Sawyer’s cell. 

“A letter for you!” Then he handed it over to him.

He grabbed it hungrily. He had been waiting to get a word from outside, staying awake in such a tiny and enclosed space with no ventilation made him feel like he was going crazy.

From the calligraphy on the envelope, he could tell that it was from his aunty, he tore it open and quickly read.

‘My sweet boy, Sawyer, I have not been so honest with you. Our situation did not permit me to, I still can’t say much to you but you are not going to die.’

‘I found a way around it. This plight has made me realize that I can no longer protect you from the harm that comes your way. Please do not resent me.

‘There is a necklace in the envelope, wear it and never take it off. If you ever get out of the situation, don’t come and look for me. More importantly. You must stay ALIVE.’

‘I love you, always and forever’

His heart sank, even his aunty did not want to have anything to do with him anymore, the only person that he had supposed would trust him. She was just like everyone else. 

She didn’t want to see him anymore because of this situation.

What was the joke about loving him always and forever

He scoffed.

His aunty was like everyone else, nobody truly cared about him, if only he had real parents.

But his real parents did not even care enough about his life to raise him by themselves. 

The warden came back. 

“You are in luck. Your sentence got changed. You are going to the Orsion Ward!”

“Get out and keep it moving.” The warden yelled as he opened the door. 

The news of not getting killed did not help Sawyer better at all, in fact, he wished he had died instead because his only family even doubted him.

Aunty Jill had believed the venomous lie Ola and her best friend, Ann had made up about him.

He threw the letter and the necklace on the cell floor and came out. He followed the warden to the front desk for the remaining paper work. 

The second warden who was in charge of clearing him sneered, “I can’t believe the Shantytown Fairy became the Minister’s whore because of him.”

His aunty was also known as the Shantytown Fairy because of her unmistakable beauty and how she never looked like she was past twenty years old.

“She kept up all her chastity gimmick only for her to end up with an old man with multiple wives and concubines.”

“What!” Sawyer asked in shock. 

“Ah, the news hasn’t reached you? I see. Congratulations on being related to the Minster.” The warden, mocked. “Now you get to spend five years in Orison instead of dying,”

His aunty did not include that in the letter. 

The way she managed to help and the reason why he should not come see her. 

She wanted to protect him from the truth even when she was at loss. Even a mere Warden that dared not speak to her in person had the gut to call his aunty’s chastity journey a gimmick.

He could not even bring himself to hit the warden, afterall he was the reason why his aunty was going through this reproach.

“Please can I go back to my cell, I left something important there."Sawyer scrambled anonymously as he begged the warden.

“Sorry, it’s gone. You are going away now.” The warden continued scribbling away on the report file and muttered beneath his breath, “He must think the world would treat him better because he is related to the Minister.”

“Meanwhile no one can call him the Minister’s in-law because the minister did not male the fairy his wife.”

Sawyer scratched his head in regret, he should not have thrown the necklace away in anger. He had been too emotional and even doubted his aunty.

The other warden looked at him with pity, he was at the magistrate court and he witnessed the whole thing.  No one had given Sawyer the chance to speak.

And now he was going to Orison Ward where his survival rate was less than forty percent and the chances of getting relapsed without being convicted and re-locked for committing another crime there was 0.01 percent.

He decided to grant Sawyer this one last request.

“You have a minute.”  He took him back to the cell where Sawyer was able to retrieve the necklace and the letter.