Engage your spirit, soul n body
"Shameless man, idiot, stupid woman,irresponsible goat, useless thing'' these were the insults mama and papa hauled at eachother that night as i cried myself to sleep, they are at it again always fighting n quarrelling. Papa had lost his job three years ago owing to allegation from a fellow worker, he has been jobless since then and mama automatically becomes the bread winner of the family.
She trades on foodstuffs in a nearby street. That night as i layed on the mat with my siblings i remembered all the times we spent together as one happy family before the tragedy struck, papa became frustrated that he resented to drinking with the little money his brothers gives him.
This attitude angered mama that she changed from the loving mother and wife i had known but sometimes i couldn't help than to feel pity for mama, she was saddled with the responsibilty of basically providing for all our needs, paying every bills. The worst part of it is papa doesn't appreciate any of these,,always looking for an opportunity to insult mama calling her all sort of names.. Papa could be termed an INGRATE..few months ago, mama had told me one day that she wants to divorce papa, he threatened to kill her and nobody will ask of her as she's worthless,, papa is a devil i had thought.." Nnam , mama continued as tears flowed freely down her beautiful cheeks, i can't withstand mama's tears anymore, there n then i decided to deal with papa.. I Will kill him, that's how much i love mama..i was deep in thought mama's voice jolted me back to reality" Nnam what do you think?"
Stay for us mama pls i started as i consoled her....
I woke up the next morning with a severe headache. I kept it to myself as mama has a way of making a mountain out of a mere hill. I managed to fetch two gallons of water, my siblings shared the other chores amongst themselves. I was already in the bathroom when mama came calling my name she wanted me to go with her to the shop. I had forgotten that it was Saturday, i heaved a sigh of relief as i scooped the water on my body allowing it to romance me freely.few minutes later i was already on my way to mama's shop.
That evening as papa came home drunk as usual. As we ate supper i kept assuring mama that everything will be alright. While we prayed mama remembered papa in her prayers to my greatest surprise Could this be love?? I asked over an over again. We kept echoing Amen as mama made the intercession.
That night i saw myself crying in a dream, papa had died he slept n couldn't wake up.mama's voice woke me up ..Nnam Nnam wake up , i opened my eyes to see her peering her eyes over my face.we prayed together after sharing the dream with mama.i warmed the leftover beans n plantain we had the previous night for breakfast. It was 10: am when we got to church, we attend St Edmund's Catholic church Nkisi.That Sunday a new priest that was posted to our parish reported for duty. His preaching really touched me, he preached on forgiveness..my conscience was pricked i decided to forgive papa. Papa came back later the evening i greeted him while he pats my back. He relaxed on his chair outside resting while mama brought his food which he ate happily as he discussed with mama .i was very happy i thought papa has changed but he proved me wrong.
That night around 2:am i heard mama's wailing, papa was beating her, she had refused to lend him the #1000 he asked for.. I tried stopping papa but he was more powerful than i was .he had stopped when he finally became satisfied. We cried with mama. I was enraged papa has finally pushed me to the wall.papa must pay for this. The next morning mama's face was all swollen with the cheeks purple like the color of avocado pear. Mama was in pain i rushed to a nearby chemist shop to get her a pain reliever which she took thereafter. I later went to shop while my siblings stayed with mama as we all cancelled the idea of going to school even though it was Monday...
One week later mama has fully recovered and back to her feet again. I was greatly overjoyed. I love mama so much. Papa couldn't apologize for what he had done instead he continued causing her more pain.. I wasn't happy with him. Only if he had known.
On a Saturday evening, I was coming back from mama's shop when i saw a man selling rat poison and insectisides,The best n easiest way to kill papa i smiled to myself. I bought it and headed home eagerly waiting for him.he came back almost immediately, i quickly carried out my assignment. Papa was all smiles as he consumed the concotion.i felt satisfied n fullfiled. Mama came back few minutes past 9pm.she ate her food n took her bath after which we prayed. I asked God for forgiveness though i had no regret poisoning papa.
The next morning, we found papa in his bed dead with a foam like substance at the corner of his mouth, mama's shout invited the neighbors , everyone was shocked who could have done this.. My siblings cried, i cried but inside of me , i was a fullfilled man. The End.
Epilogue
Two months after papa's burial, i had called mama one night and told her what i did .she couldn't believe her ears. She wailed and cried calling me all sort of monstrous names, i nearly regretted while i killed papa but when i remembered that i did it for mama , for the love i have for her i however congratulated myself. Mama didn't talk to me for almost a week. She had later called me one night after supper she said to me," Nnam am sorry. I over reacted it's just that i was shocked that my chidi HSS turned into a monster but when i realized that you did it for me my heart softened.. Never you think of such again " she concluded and hugged me .tears streamed down mama's cheeks wetting my shoulder.
