The story is about a 19-year-old girl, who suffered throughout her life. To her parents she was nothing but a drunk mistake, a mistake they wouldn’t repeat even if the world would stop. She raised herself with no one’s help. Her parents were there physically, but they never played their roles of parents, they just couldn’t stand her. All they did was get drunk, come back home and demand food. They took away so much from her, she never had the opportunities such as going to school, having friends, run around play. No parent wanted their kids to play with the kid who doesn’t go to school “She’ll be a bad influence for you” that’s what they used to say.

One night, the girl was already tucked in her tiny mattress next to her parents single bed, they lived in a one room shack -her parents weren’t around as always alcohol came first to them, she was the last thing to on their minds at times. They even forgot they had a child named Layla. As she was fast asleep a grown man silently pushed the door open, knowing very well they didn’t lock their door -not because they didn’t want to, but because they didn’t have a locker. He forced himself onto her taking away the only thing she was left with, her dignity, something she was proud of, leaving her vulnerable with no hope.

The man gave her a piece of him he left her with something she’ll never forget, he impregnated her and gave her HIV. Her parents never believed her, when she told them they called her a lair but the minute she told them she was pregnant, they beat her up to an extent that she lost her 1st and last child. She developed hatred towards men, she wanted to get back at them -hurt them all. The only way for her to do that was to sell her body and spread the disease. A woman she met in town while begging for money on the streets, introduced her to that life fulfilling her goal. Layla was happy that she was going to complete her mission, and make money out of it.

At first the job was hard for her as she kept seeing the “monster”, that’s what she called him, but she kept reminding herself why she was doing what she was doing “stay focus baby girl” those words replayed themselves every time she thought of quitting. The money was good, she was now her parents’ child they somehow now loved her, but deep down they knew they loved the money and not her. Her mom quit her job, she was a domestic worker and her dad was a garden boy they both left their jobs because Layla was now bringing money home.

People in her community judged her not knowing why she was doing all of that dirty work, she was hurt, vulnerable and out for revenge, but they never cared.

One of her clients fell hard for her, not knowing how damaged she was. He gambled and went for her, he felt the need to protect her. This man, didn’t care how many guys she had slept with, that meant nothing to him. All he wanted was to wake up next to her every single morning for the rest of his life.

2 years later they got married and worked for themselves. Layla stopped selling herself and she forgave her parents, who never stopped drinking. Her marriage was great her ex-client now husband loved her regardless of the fact that she couldn’t bear him children.

Sex sellers are often judge criticized left right and centre, but nobody knows why they’re doing what they’re doing, why they choose that kind of work. Never judge a book by its cover