DEAR MOTHER
Written by
Rejoice Igbinovia Aluyi
Chapter 1
………..I grew up to know I had just my mom as both my father and mother,she was my everything,my super Woman and pillar of support.i sometimes ask my mom about my father,but she always said she didn’t want to talk about him,but he wasn’t dead.I didn’t have all I wanted,but I had all I needed.though my mother wasn’t educated,she made sure I studied hard,and to make her proud,I did,and always come out in flying colours.
Mother works in a big school as a cleaner,I attended another school which was cheaper,after school,mother sells some fruits at the junction of our street to make ends meet.Mother wasn’t in good terms with her parent,they were angry at her for getting pregnant out of wedlock. After I was born and things didn’t go well with her and my father,her parent had asked her to travel abroad,so she could be useful to them,but she had refused,as i was always falling sick,mother was scared to leave me.her refusal made my grandparents angry at her and called her a useless good for nothing daughter.
I remember one Christmas we had gone to visit my grandparents,we weren’t welcomed and they didn’t even try to hide it,to think they didn’t even care about me being their grandchild baffled me.how can they transfer what ever thing they had with my mom to me,I mean a sin committed even before I was born.After we had stayed for some hours,we went home,that was when I asked mother what her issue was with her parents,and she told me.thats why I want you to be the best,study hard and make me proud.i had failed them, please,do not fail me.she had said.i looked her ,smiled and told her I’d make her proud..
We were each other best friend,we discussed like two adults,even though I was just a little girl ,I was 8,and in primary 3 but my mum could have valid conversation with me.i told her everything about my day too.the more I grew,the bigger the responsibility,so mother had to look for money to do something that could bring more money, wanting till 30 days to have money was just so difficult,and the fruit business wasn’t doing well as before since two other women also started selling the same thing.
we had to manage for some months so mother could save, after about three months,she had a little cash,and was able to start food business.did I tell you my mother is a wonder cook?.Oh she is,you can’t eat my mother’s food and regret you did,her customers always came back asking for more.her business was doing well,and I was happy my mother was happy.
People around admired our closeness,some even teased that my mum had refused to remarry because she had me as both her child and her husband.i soon found out my dad was in another state,and had remarried with children.his parent didn’t like my mother because she wasn’t of same tribe,so after my birth,they convised my dad to send my mother away when I was only a year,after which he relocated to another state ,married someone his tribe and they had three children together,my mother wasn’t thinking of marriage for my sake,she said she wanted someone that would love her and love me too.
Mother’s friend Stella always adviced her to settle down with a man, that she should have a complete family.Stella,I haven’t seen anyone my spirit accepts yet,mother would always tell her.
I envied my friends when their fathers brought them to school,I couldn’t help but wished I had one,of course wishes weren’t horses….
We went on with our lives happily,after mother’s friend had continuously talked to her, she was considering remarrying,at least so I have a father figure in life.i was really happy mother was considering another marriage,at last I’d have someone who will come pick me from school,and attend school’s occasion as my own father,so my Friends will know I have a father like them.
There were two men who were coming to visit mom,uncle Nosa and uncle Clement.uncle Nosa was a widower with two children, having a little business that was taking care of him,while uncle clement owned a car,a man in his early fourties,he was always smiling,and loving whenever he came visiting…..
I soon discovered uncle Nosa wasn’t coming to visit anymore,neither was he coming to Mama’s shop to eat.i wondered why , because I really liked uncle Nosa for mother.i found out her friend aunty Stella,was advicing her to marry uncle clement since he hadn’t marry before,young and doing fine,rather than going for a widower,who has two kids.
Since uncle Nosa wasn’t frequenting our home as before,it was obvious mother had listened to aunty Stella and had chosen uncle Clement….
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