Someone deadly beneath (Part 3)(part 1a)

Barren

Billy cried his heart out for his mum. She had just departed. Tears streamed down his face profusely. As deafening as the Borough market din was, it failed miserably in rivalling his wail. Everyone seemed surprised that a 4 year old could possess that enormous strength and power.

He could not recall what he had done the previous day that upsetted her. So much that she smacked him hard, hoisted him of the ground by an arm and headed for a ditch alongside the road.

He was terrified for his life. It seemed nothing could hold her back. Luckily, she did not throw him in. However, she did threaten to give him to his grandmother.

"I want my mum", he yelled.
"She will be back soon", said Bibby, his dad's mum.
"Yes," agreed his aunt, Rey, "she just went to get you some sweets."

Neighboring vendors offered him delicacies from their stalls but he refused, crying louder and harder. Even customers and passers-by tried to console him, but to no avail.

As far as he was concerned, they were all a bunch of strangers trying to take his mum's place. It mattered not that she had just turned her back on him. He wanted her back.

He cared little, if at all about the 'sweets', he just wanted to see her. Then he would stop crying. His tears would disappear, everything would be ok and he would be happy again. And he would never do anything wrong again.

However, three days passed without a glimpse of her. By the fourth day, he had given up any hope he had left. So he stopped crying and started eating. He had conversations with his nan and her vendor friend who had a grand-son named Billy also.

Next thing he knew, he was on a truck, sandwiched between his nan Bibby and loads of other vendors. Aunty lived elsewhere, so she took a different truck. She promised Billy that she would come and visit him soon.

The truck stopped briefly on Brick Lane so that the vendors could pick up a few bits and pieces. Billy felt the need to use the loo, but he said nothing.
As they approached a river 30 minutes or so later, he lightly tapped nan on her arm. 'What is it Billu?'
'I would like to use the toliet.'
'Oh lord' she said, 'we are in the middle of nowhere.'
'Why did'nt he open his mouth and say something when stopped at moments ago?', moaned a woman at the back.

'I'll have to ask the driver to stop', nan said to no-one in particular, after she noticed the urgency in his contorted face and twisted torso.

Nan led him towards some bushes, handed him some tissues and instructed him to 'do it there.'
'No No, he can't, shouted a lady hastening towards them.
"Why not?" asked Nan.
'It's our property.'

Nan did'nt get the chance to say another word. She got a liitle help from her friends.
'So?'
'You gonna let the child poo on himself?'
'Leave the little boy alone?'
'If your child was in the same situation, would you like him to be treated like that.'
'Bug off.'

Billy settled with Bibby and her family in Birmingham. Some of his cousins and uncles thought he was different. That was where the name-calling began. Worst, he was dead scared of Doctor, an older boy and friend of the family. Doctor had threatened to castrate Billy when he catches him.