A LETTER TO YOU: Chapter 1 – 10
A LETTER TO YOU
CHAPTER ONE
Author: Okegbemi Ebenezer
The room was disorganized with the floor filled with papers, inks, clothes, bedsheets, hangers, shattered glasses. Everywhere seems to be silent but at the corner of the house was a sob being heard and a nose that can smell would perceive the odor of fresh bl.ood coming out of the room.
A young lady in her twenties was sobbing with a knlfe in her hand dripping with bl.ood. Beside her was a man lying in his own bl.ood, she had driven the knlfe into his chest which has caused his death. She could be seen muttering something to herself which she later made audible as she was communicating with the dead man as if he could hear what she was saying.
You see your life, see how it ended, I have killed you, now tell me if I am wrong. I am weird right; you caused your death. I know you will criticize me of killing him, yes, I did it and now I feel no pain. Are you curious to know what he has done, what was his offence, I don’t even seem to remember (Laughs), All I know is I just killed a man.(Laughs again)
The society has failed me, should I say my parents failed me, school failed me. Oh, you reading my story will claim I failed myself. But, is it my fault, I should not have killed him, right? Don’t judge me, hear my story first but I will make it in form of a letter because I will be writing to YOU. Yes, I mean YOU the reader.
She picks her phone and dialed the police number 911. “Lake street Avenue, I just killed a man, am waiting for your arrest, Thanks”. You can see how heartless I have become (Laughs), it was not a day doing. But before they arrive to pick me and that is if I am found alive, I will drop my letter which would detail my life story. After you are through reading, then you can be the judge. My name is Alisa Brenda.
A LETTER TO YOU: Chapter 1 – 10
STORY START IN FORM OF A LETTER.
DEAR YOU,
Hmm, life is full of ups and downs they say, it is not balance, some are born with silver spoon while some with the spoon made of sand, whichever spoon you have, I don’t care. I was born with neither a sliver spoon nor a clay spoon. I should be at the middle I think because I have at least two square meal a day.
I was born into a religious family so that would prove that I was not a child without a home training. My parents are also academician which shows they are learned but does all these counts. Mtcheew (She spat out a thick saliva as a result of the inner weeping she had and had not taken any water since the incident). My father was so religious that he was know in the parish and due to his contributions was made the parish elder together with my mum although she was able to blend in some fashion.
To show how religious my parents were, if you have read the “purple hibiscus” you should know better. My father was strict more than Eugene in the novel. My father was a viper at home but a loving sheep outside and that is to other people’s children. I will not say he had failed in training me, I leave that one for you to decide, because I felt in most African home that is the mentality in training a child. Let me say their own very way of training.
We have the morning devotion at exactly 5:00 am as the big alarm in the centre of the sitting room would ring which would wake everyone up, you dare not move to the sitting as the last person, it is just as if you have invoked the wrath of the god of thunder. My father Lawrence Brenda would scream like the woman with the lion roar in Shaolin soccer. (Forced herself to smile but she coughed as she felt a sharp pain beneath her abdomen). While my mother would follow suit but in a petting manner.
“Biko, stop this your screaming we are not the only one in this compound” She will try and caution my father who will not even hear her out.
“I have told you, if you want to rebel, that is when you are out of my house but so far you are still here and I am still paying your school fee, you are under my authority except if you have another father elsewhere” He would say to me as he pulls my ear which cause a lot of pain then.
It has become a normal routine for us as we recite the holy book, they were not concern whether I understood what was written there but it is a must to recite or else, (She hissed again and looked at the dead man beside her and spat on him).
I have just describe to you what my family looks like, there is no freedom, other children might have but not me, oh probably because I was a lady unlike my two elder brothers who could move from one place to another without any trouble but they had the fear of my father in them. My mother Mrs. Janet Brenda was both religious and a socialite, she was religious as a result of compliance with the pastor’s preaching that the wife must support her husband in whatever he does. That’s nice but it was one of the things that made me to be in this present situation, I was young lady with a brighter future now a murderer. (She laughs out loud to mock herself).
I have described my family, now back to myself, I attended one of the best schools in town as my parent wanted me to become an academician like themselves, they force everything on me even to my choice of class, they selected it. I am not annoyed with that but it was just a huge problem.
I resisted but they claim that if am not reading medicine then I should learn a trade. Wow, may be, it was the medicine skills that had made me kill a man and slice him perfectly with the hand of a surgeon. (laughs)
My problem began when I was made to have a private lesson tutor who was more matured than I do and a close member of our family. My parents respect him a lot, that they always believe whatever he says, you know all these religious loves they show to people based on just one act of kindness. Yes, Banji really proved to be a good Christian in the presence of my parents but with me he was a dem©n.
“Alisa, this is your tutor as from today, he will guide you in understanding your course better” My mother told me.
“But mum, I can take care of myself” I replied her as I was not always comfortable around guys most especially people like Banji.
“Alisa, respect yourself or else” My father added, immediately, I shut up because I knew that the next word will be followed with a slap.
“Don’t mind her, that is how girls of nowadays in their teens behave” My mother said to Banji my new tutor.
A LETTER TO YOU: Chapter 1 – 10
The following day, Banji started teaching me, first we started with Biology, to me that subject is kinda boring not until we reached a topic title “Reproductive System” it was then I knew that there is much to life.
At first, I have trusted Banji with all my heart, same goes to my parent who would not bother to check on us whenever we are together in the studying room with the door closed. Anyways, let me say they are free with him based on the fact that he was also a Sunday school teacher in the church, so I think that is one of the reasons they neglected that area.
“Alisa, do you know what reproductive organ means” He asked me staring at my eye as if the answers were written there.
“Ah, why not, am not a baby, apart from that I heard it from my friends at school” I answered in my innocence not knowing the wrong motive he had.
“Your friends, you are in SS1 right” He asked.
“Yes, my teacher is yet to teach us on that topic, it is because you are teaching me that is why I am ahead of the class” I explained to him the best way I could.
“Oh, that’s nice, I will make sure I teach you properly so that you can understand better” He said to me.
He started to explain to me what reproductive system means and the organs involve, it was an interesting class but sometimes the way he mentions the organs without shyness baffles me because my parents would shut me down if I ever say things like that.
“You are still a little girl what do you mean by that, oh, you are already having bad friends who are influencing you, I will call your teacher and ask him to keep a watch on you. Those words about organs are dirty, it corrupts your mouth and heart, you don’t need to know about s3x now, you are young, are you getting me, next time I hear you say that again, you will be in trouble and I will report to your dad” My mother will say to me, a lady of fifteen years with a developing brea$t (She laughs and shakes her head).
“Bro. Banji, why are you not shy in mentioning those organs especially that of the male gender, mummy said it will corrupt you and you are a Sunday school teacher in church” I asked him.
“You are still behaving like a baby; it does not mean” He said to me and I smiled at him.
Days passed, we were only focusing on that aspect anytime he teaches me and I began to develop great interest that when my mother asked if they should change Banji I cried. They thought I had begun to like him unknown to them that I have started to learn some crazy things they were not ready to teach me.
Banji bought some magazines that had expllcit contents and under the guise of using it as explanation was exposing me to things, I should not have seen but it was too late. We graduated from magazine to expllcit videos and that was the height of it all. I was becoming addicted that I now started to imagine thing with my eyes, I already had an x-ray eye for expllcit content until one day, Banji did the unusual. Hmmmm (Sighs)
A LETTER TO YOU: Chapter 1 – 10
To be continued…..
Note – This storyline is not to castigate anyone as most of the experience shared here are not to mock but to prove some points.
I remain my humble self
Okegbemi Ebenezer.
A LETTER TO YOU: Chapter 1 – 10
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