Bella got to the bus station and boarded a bus, she would go very far away, as far away as possible. She had stopped at the salon and dyed her hair black, she wanted to start life afresh and did not want to recognize her nor link her to the past. This was the second time she was running away from her city because of scandal and hopefully, this would be the last time.
It was getting dark already as she settled herself in her seat, she touched her stomach, "I will protect you with everything that I have" she whispered fiercely as the bus slowly began to move
She stared at the city one last time, part of her knew that she was leaving the love of her life behind and part of her would always be with him, that part died with him.
She thought about her friend Brittany, she was getting closer to the day she would put to birth and Bella was supposed to be the godmother but alas! She would not be available to see her friend's child when she put to birth and she would never see her friend again because she had no intention of returning back to this city, she would raise her baby up all on her own.
Bella fell asleep on the bus and opened her eyes when someone tapped her, "this is the last bustop ma'am" the driver told her and she looked around to see that the other passengers had all gone down.
"Where are we?"
"We are in Niaga's village" the driver replied and Bella blinked as she came down from the bus, wherever Niaga's village was, she did not care as long as she was far from Daniel.
It was just the break of dawn and the village was still asleep, Bella had no idea where next to go, so she sat at the bus terminal and waited until it was fully morning.
She brought out a can of mackerel from her bag and ate, that should carry her for the morning and she decided to take a walk.
The villagers of Niaga's village has started coming out and soon, it was bustling with everyone going about their business, she felt a push behind her and she was jolted forward, her bag came off and Bella turned in time to see someone going away with her bag
"Thief, he has stolen my bag" she cried but before anyone could pay attention to what she was saying, he was gone with her bag.
Bella stood there for a moment, confused at what next to do, her canned food and money were all in that stolen bag, and now, she was left with neither food nor money in a strange land and she was pregnant.
At noon, Bella was famished, she hadn't had anything to eat except the mackerel she had eaten in the morning, and she had no money with her. She arrived at a place that seemed like a market and started begging for alms, never in her wildest dream had she dreamt that she would become a beggar one day, life has indeed dealt with her in the harshest and cruelest way that was possible.
She got a few coins from some good-hearted fellow and she used some of it to buy bread which she ate that afternoon.
It was evening and Bella was thinking of where to spend the night, she was tired and thirsty and needed to rest but she just kept walking until she arrived at a very remote side of the village.
Bella heard voices and she walked further until she arrived on a seashore, there were fishermen on the sea busy with their fish, and instinctively, Bella walked towards them
"Hey lady, are you here for counting?" One of the fishermen asked
Although Bella had no idea what he meant, she nodded anyway
The man glanced up at the sky, "it seems like it will rain soon, you better get on with it if you don't want the rain to catch you here"
Bella stood there in confusion, she glanced up to see some ladies counting the fish in the basket and some men would lift the basket into a van. The fish were being taken and sold at the Niaga's market.
Was this what they wanted her to do? To count the fish and arrange them in the basket?
More fishes were brought in a net and placed in a basket, "you can count these" the man said and stared at Bella
"You seem pretty new here, I haven't seen you before"
nodded, "I...I..just got here and low on cash, my money got stolen as soon as I arrived"
"Niaga is pretty rough, one has to be careful when walking around. You can make a few bucks by counting these fishes in the basket"
"Thank you. By the way, my name is B... Isa. My name is Isa" Bella didn't want to be known as Bella in this place, she was starting a new life and she wanted a new identity. Her name is Isabella but most people address her as Bella but she does not want that anymore, she wants to be addressed as Isa, that way, she won't be called on by anyone and she would not answer because she was not used to the name.
Isa is also her name, Ollie had always addressed her by that name, hence, she was a little bit used to being called Isa.
"You can call me Mr Fedor" the man replied.
Bella started counting the fish and placing them in the basket, she was pretty new in the business hence she was slow, she just finished counting the fish when the threatening rain suddenly gave in.
Mr Fedor quickly asked the boys to put the fish in the Van and gave Bella a few bucks for her job.
The driver quickly drove off with the fish and Bella stood there, not having a place to go
"Where do you live?" Mr Fedor asked as he turned and started walking towards the Island
"Come with me, the rain is coming down hard," he said before Bella could answer.
Bella had nowhere to go anyway, so she quietly followed him.
They got to a house that was built with bamboo and a lady that looked to be about Bella's age came out, "Father"
She paused when she saw Bella
"Isa, this is my daughter Vivian" Mr. Fedor introduced her to his only child Vivian
That was how Bella got a Job and a place to stay.
Mr. Fedor was in his fifties he was widowed, his wife had died when giving birth to their only child and he chose not to remarry and raised Vivian alone.
Bella and Vivian soon grew a strong bond and Bella vowed to be hard working. At the break of dawn, she would be by the seashore counting as many fishes as she could and get paid for it, she was expecting a baby and had to start saving for it.