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Charity Jenkins, also known as CJ was popular and high in demand when she was in those really tall heels and short dresses. Her skin was black but shiny. Her hair hidden inside an itchy wig. Whenever she was on that stage, everyone was awe-struck by the wonders she could do with her lithe body.


At the age of 26, she was still working at a small but popular Club in the Town. Her Boss, Madam Debbie was an old woman, old enough to lure young girls into this kind of business.


Charity was the oldest amongst the rest and she was the most valuable treasure in the eyes of Madam Debbie.


Charity was still fixing her itchy wig and her showy makeup when Madam Debbie dashed into the small powder room.


"Time is up! Show time is now, Charm!" Madam Debbie quipped, her gnarled and black hands grabbing Charity's small figure.


Charm was also Charity's name but it was just like a Pen name or a Stage name. She was the Queen of the Midnight Cruise Lounge and she loved what she could do, making both young and old men drool just for a mere touch of her skin. She was powerful.


Charity (Charm) got on that Stage, with many shiny lights making a few faces bright and the others unknown in the Crowd.


There was a cage and Charity was dancing seductively inside it. A few young men sitting and drinking threw a substantial sum of money into the Cage, making Charity roar and bark like a dog, begging for bone.


She liked how much nickels and cash she could make by doing this. She was more than powerful with all of the moves she was giving to the audience.


"Work it, Charm. You go, girl!" Lilian screamed. She was also an exotic dancer in the Club but she was nothing like Charity.


She had less of the magic and spice, oozed out of Charity's skin. She was pale, awkward and not beautiful, making her envy Charity all the more.


Lilian doesn't only know how powerful Charity can be on that Stage. She also knows the real story of Charity Jenkins, the Charity without all of the attention and fame. The hidden story of Charity can only be told by Lilian.


Charity, CJ was the only known daughter of her Father, Mr Jenkins, an accountant in a small Town bank.


Her Father was both the Mother and Father figure in her life. Charity would wait all day after school to tell her Father about her day. But sometimes, it would be too late, making her sad and mad for the sudden disappearance of her Mother and two siblings, Cynthia and Cider.


On Sundays, CJ would go to Church with her Father in his battered Vehicle. They didn't have much but they were happy. Her Father would manage to get her new shoes, clothes and toys, even when she didn't ask for any of these. It was a happy life for little Charity.


When Mr Jenkins became too bored and old to live with his only surviving daughter in his life, without another woman, fit to be called a wife, that was when he met Brittany Stone.


Brittany Stone and Mr Jenkins met at a Car Park after working hours. Their love for each other suddenly sparked, making them inseparable. They claimed to have so much in common, even when Brittany met 16 year old Charity, they instantly looked like Mother and Daughter.


It didn't take so long before Mr Jenkins married Brittany Stone.


After many Moons later, Brittany and Jenkins were expecting their first child as Man and Wife. Mr Jenkins was excited and exuberant to be a Father but due to a few bodily complications, Brittany lost the child.


It was a grave moment for Mr Jenkins. He lost another Child and he felt it was all his fault. He took up drinking and smoking and when Brittany couldn't tame his incorrigible behaviours, she fled and never came back.


Mr Jenkins became an horrible soul, as if an evil spirit had devoured him. Charity tried to understand her Father but he wouldn't understand her in return. The silence became echoes of silence and they became strangers quickly.


Before Mr Jenkins drank his last bottle of Gin, he could hear Charity packing her belongings into a bag, ready to move out and never come back, just like the others. Charity got out of the old and gaunt house, like smoke and that was how she forgot about her history and became known as Charm, cherished and adored by all.