She wiped the sweat from the back of her neck with a ragged bandana.

How many blocks was it from the ship?

How had she piloted a boat she knew nothing about?

Agirita dropped into a cross-legged position in the desert-red pea gravel at the side of the packed dirt road.

How was she going to get her cargo to market?

She looked at the trails of mud that traced patterns through the dust on her arms, the beads of sweat from her forehead swiped onto her forearms like military chevrons.

I only wanted a decent wage for a merchant marine job, she thought.  I did not sign on for this.

She watched an old man wearing a sombrero drive his old donkey cart toward town.

He nodded at her and made a tch-tch sound to encourage the donkey to walk past the trough of water leaning against a dripping faucet tie-wrapped to a rotting fencepost across the road from her.

“Buenos dios,” she yelled when he was out of earshot.  “You bastard!”

She was not thinking about the old man.  She was thinking about the boat captain who had promised a quick day of easy fishing for his small crew and a nice bonus to everyone if they exceeded their fishing quota but were not caught before they hauled their load to the market, including Agirita, who was brought along for protection.

If only her father had not died from a random bullet flying across the bar where two gangs were arguing over protection rights with the bartender.

If only her mother had broken her of her tomboy habits when Agirita was a little girl fighting with her brothers and cousins while playing futbol in the backyard.

Instead, she became the neighbourhood bully, threatening boys who tried to kiss her and busting the balls of old sailors who came into town looking for some quick, easy and forgotten action.

Her reputation of the tough girl on the block grew.

She did not deny she liked fighting.

It was the only way she could make up for the loss of her father and the weakness of her mother.

People have died with lesser inspirations carrying them to the heights of magnificent careers.

All Agirita wanted was enough money to escape this town, this country, and start a new life elsewhere.  Anywhere would do, she told her friends she trusted with her dreams.

She stood up, dusted off her faded jeans and walked after the man with the donkey cart.  Perhaps he would be more useful than he looked and might be willing to help Agirita make a profit with the cargo of sea creatures she had to get rid of.