Hello nairalanders,


I've got a story to tell, hope you guys read it and enjoy it. I'm an
upcoming writer and this is going to be my first story here on nairaland.


Shout out to all those i've read some of their works...Keep it up and to all nairalanders


Your criticisms and corrections are highly welcome. Please don't get
bored, just sit back, relax and let's begin....


Love y'all



Copyright (c) Ezenwa Amarachi .S. 2013


This work solely belongs to the Author and is protected under copyright laws.


All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, trasmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the author .


DISCLAIMER: Characters included in this story are all products of the Author's imagination. No similarity to any person either living or dead is intended or should be inferred.

:::::::PROLOGUE:::::::

I lived in our small village Obinabo in
Anambra state with my mother, Ada (as her friends call her) and my
younger brother Ebuka. My dad had passed on earlier in the year.My dad
had been a strong man, healthy and full of life , a man of honour until
that fateful thursday which marked the beginning of our misery as a
family without a head.

The previous day i had asked him for my school fees and that of my brother, "daddy, they asked us to pay our school fees before monday, and you know how that headmaster behaves, he doesn't care who you are or what your reason for late payment is, he'll just embarrass you there in front of everybody" i said to him
" ah, how can he do that? as a teacher he has to respect the students too and their parents" my dad replied, "but you know, it's good to respect your teachers and those in authority, because the bible asked us to and that's the right thing to do" he added in his nice of way trying not to paint anybody black or give his children the impression that they can do whatever they wished even the wrong things.

Space the replies, following sha....

"woosh!"

* cleans brow with the nearest handkerchief, gives a sigh of relieve*

"had a hard time uploading that"

Joanee: Space the replies, following sha....

sorry didn't get u... throw more light pls

your corrections are still welcome

Oh how i loved my dad, the best dad in d world. He was loving, caring, patient and soft hearted. A father i knew who would cry with me when i cried. He made Ebu (my brothers pet name) and I feel like a Prince and a Princess which went a long way to boost our confidence and we never felt inferior. He loved my mum very much, she was his Queen, "nwanyi oma" (which means good woman) and "nne oma" (good mother) was his pet name for her.

Oh, daddy, daddy, Mazi Martins how could death snatch you away from us. You were simply the best!

"i know, but i don't like the way our headmaster embarrases people" i told my father that night.

After a long discussion which included advice and full of love with him, he promised to give me the fees when he gets back from the market on saturday.

The next day been thursday, i went to school along with Ebu knowing that my dad would fulfill his promise. I was in school that fateful day or rather tragic thursday when...

When? Downin ma dubic and watchin

Wesslier: When? Downin ma dubic and watchin

dnt worry dear, u'll get to know tmrw. still need to do some editing before i post....

still need to know where i shld make corrections from y'all

tnx alldsame for takn time out to read....

Waitin expectantly...

[quote author=Amyjustin]I lived in our small village Obinabo in
Anambra state with my mother, Ada (as her friends call her) and my
younger brother Ebuka. My dad had passed on earlier in the year.My dad
had been a strong man, healthy and full of life , a man of honour until
that fateful thursday which marked the beginning of our misery as a
family without a head.

The previous day i had asked him for my school fees and that of my brother.

"Daddy, they asked us to pay our school fees before monday, and you know how that headmaster behaves, he doesn't care who you are or what your reason for late payment is, he'll just embarrass you there in front of everybody" i said to him

" Ah, how can he do that? as a teacher he has to respect the students too and their parents" my dad replied, "but you know, it's good to respect your teachers and those in authority, because the bible asked us to and that's the right thing to do"
He added in his nice of way trying not to paint anybody black or give his children the impression that they can do whatever they wished even the wrong things.

I guess you can space them like i did, i have not written any story yet but am writting, just want your work to be neat and not scattered....

I lived in our small village Obinabo in
Anambra state with my mother Ada (as her friends call her) and my
younger brother Ebuka.
My dad had passed on earlier in the year.My dad
had been a strong man, healthy and full of life , a man of honour until
that fateful thursday which marked the beginning of our misery as a
family without a head.

The previous day i had asked him for my school fees and that of my brother.

"Daddy, they asked us to pay our school fees before monday, and you know how that headmaster behaves, he doesn't care who you are or what your reason for late payment is, he'll just embarrass you there in front of everybody" i said to him

" Ah, how can he do that? as a teacher he has to respect the students too and their parents" my dad replied, "but you know, it's good to respect your teachers and those in authority, because the bible asked us to and that's the right thing to do"
He added in his nice of way trying not to paint anybody black or give his children the impression that they can do whatever they wished even the wrong things.

something like this i guess, i have not written any story yet but am writting, just want your work to be neat and not scattered....

Joanee:
something like this i guess, i have not written any story yet but am
writting, just want your work to be neat and not scattered....

noted! tnx

...our headmaster came to my class and
asked me to pick up my things along with my brother and go home. I was
surprised because it wasn't yet time for school to dismiss and he had
never talked to me personally.

Then i remembered the school fees issue

"Sir don't chase us away, you gave us till monday to pay our school fees
and my father has promised to give me the fees before then" i pleaded
with him
"we'll pay sir"

He shook his head and said
"it's not about the fees, that can wait for now, you and your brother
need to go home dear"

"then what's the reason" i asked him baffled at the calm and caring way
the headmaster talked to me, he even called me 'dear'. I've never heard
that from him before, not to his students anyways.

"some one just told me that your mother needs your help at home" he answered
" then there's no need for my brother to go with me, i can help her" i insisted in my usual way of not giving up easily, though people call it 'being stubborn' but i think it's 'not being stupid' or 'not being taken for granted'

I wondered what it was my mother wanted that she couldn't wait for us to get back home after school

After some persuasions from him, i finally conceded and called for Ebu in his class and we went home

gud one gurl keep it up bt dont keep us waitn

This is touching. Keep it up sis!

On getting to the house, i saw so many
people there in our compound looking gloomy. Ebu and I were confused and
he said to me
"Amaka i think there's something wrong o"

I agreed with him and we managed to get into the house where we saw our
mum sitting on the floor crying out her life, some women holding her and
weeping also and a few relatives standing, all looking really sad.

Ebu immediately went to my mum, i followed suit, i couldn't even utter a
word. I didnt know where to start from or whom to talk to, i just sat
there.

Ebu finally said,
"mummy what's wrong, why are you crying?" he asked her.
But my mum kept on saying things like,
"who do we turn to", "how can i take care of this children alone", "God
where are you" while the other women consoled her,
and i thought to myself "where's my dad, if he was around, he would have
helped atleast".

Then one of my uncles standing in the room called my brother and i towards were my relatives were seated and said to me
"Amaka my daughter, this is the time to be strong for your mother, and help take care of things for her", he turned to Ebu

"My son, you also have to be very strong for your mother and your sister, you are now the man of the house" he said

"uncle my dad is the man of the house" Ebu ignorantly replied
My uncles in different sad postures shook their heads and one finally said
" water has gotten stuck in between our teeth, your father has gone to sleep"
and i thought to myself "sleep? what kind of sleep" because i was beginning to get some frightening thoughts, so i made a kind of confused gesture to them.

honeydion: This is touching. Keep it up sis!

tnx for d encouragement

i'll try not 2 keep u guys waiting

Then an aunty said, "my brother, your
father has gone to eternal rest!" and she wept
Finally i got the message and i let out a loud scream, "cheeiiiii, it's
not true" i fell on the floor and they rushed to hold me. I later learnt
that my dad passed on through a heart attack while attending to a
customer in his shop.

I cried all morning and afternoon, my mum cried more and Ebu also cried
but i'm not sure he understood the gravity of my father's death or the
vacuum it would create in our lives because he still had time to gist
and laugh with his friends that day. He was still very young, a child at
that time.

Though i had cried all day, it was later at night when most sympathizers
had gone home and i sat all by myself that i thought and really felt
the seriousness of what had happened,
because my father never came home that night...

I felt and understood the whole situation, then i decided to "trust in
God" because i knew that was what my dad would have said in such a
situation.

My father, my daddy, my mentor has gone to eternal rest.I loved him and still do.

I cannot say all the terrible things we went through after my dad passed on, from our so called relatives. My mother went through hell if i must say, i couldn't feel her pains enough because personally i can't bear. Up till his burial it was pain after pain, she lost everything except her children and her God.

Eya... Shud i say sowi or continue ur story? Which eva... Just ride on....

i feel ur pain,keep it up

Soon after my dad died, Ebu and I had to stop going to school, we couldn't pay our school fees and my mum couldn't afford to see the both of us through our secondary school. We stayed at home.

Touched by our present condition, Mr Jude, our school headmaster had to plead with the villagers especially those from our kindred. He asked them to join hands and send us to school because, according to him we were very intelligent, he didn't want to loose his best students and also, so we could have a bright future.

But our kinsmen developed cold feet, saying "education is not everything". They said my brother could help in the farm while i learn a trade and probably be married off some day. The same people that squandered all my father had acquired and left my mum penniless.

:::::::CHAPTER 1:::::::


Fortune shined on Amaka's family as it seemed then, a distant relative of her father came back from the city, she was a wealthy woman with no husband or children. Nobody in the village knew her source of income.
This woman whose name was Rhoda heard that "Ada's husband" had passed on, so she decided to visit 'her'. When my Ada saw her, she couldn't believe it was Rhoda she was seeing. She was suprised she came to visit.

"Ah Rhoda, longest time"
"Yes o, my dear, it's been long, I've being so busy that I haven't had time to come to the village" Rhoda replied.
"Thank God you've come back at least" Ada said to her. "let's go inside".
"Ok, thank you"

They both went inside the house and Ada gave Rhoda a bottle of mineral and some biscuits.
"Ada, what did i hear that happened?" Rhoda asked her referring to her husband.

This is so interesting and touching, ride on..

tnx to all of you

"My sister, it's life o, but we thank God everything is over, Hmm" Ada
sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry, hmm, this world eh" Rhoda said shaking her head, "so, what
about your children?"
"Rhoda, they're fine o, Amaka went to the stream, Ebuka went to... I don't even know where he is, maybe he's outside. They are trying for me,
without them and God what would i have done? I don't know how i would
have copped" Ada replied sadly.

They both kept quiet, Ada thinking about her family and what they've
being passing through lately. But Rhoda didn't know what to think, she
just kept on looking at the floor. After a while, Rhoda decided to break
the silence,

"so how are they coping with the lose, I hope it's not affecting their
school work in any way?" she asked
"Hmm" Ada shook her head pitifully and adjusted her wrapper "Rhoda
did you say school? School? Which school?"
she shook head again and said "there's no school o, they don't go to
school anymore!"
"ah ah, why?" asked Rhoda baffled. Ada answered her almost screaming, "there's no money!", then she
rested her chin on her palm, "no money , no money, no money to send them
to school"she added quietly.

Rhoda who was now short of words just looked on.
"Rhoda my children who are usually best in their class won't go to
school, I can't send them to school because i don't have the money" she
said tearfully
"what about your husband's siblings can't they take care of the
children?" Rhoda asked,
"have you forgotten that he was the only child? No brother, no sister.
The other kinsmen said they have their own responsibilities to be
bothered with mine" she paused for a while
"they said education is not compulsory, my dear i can't tell you all
that i've gone through here" she continued

"my sister don't be bothered about my problems, I know with God I can
handle every situation, I know everything would be fine" Ada said looking
towards heaven and beating her chest.
Rhoda looked outside and said "my dear it's even getting dark, i should
be going"

nice one gurl bt permit me if i ask is dis fictn or 4 real?

Where's d OP U ave a nice story here, dunno y u stopped. Pls kum nd contine, dnt run off.

Where are you na com and continue abeg

Where's d OP U ave a nice story here, dunno y u stopped. Pls kum nd contine, dnt run off.

Didn't actually run off, lost my phone nd ws without a phone 4 over a month. Nw i'm using a touch screen, cnt really type with it.

Joanee: Where are you na com and continue abeg

I'm very much around o. Sowie, jst didnt knw hw 2 get back 2 d story after keepn y'all waiting. I might start updatn frm tmrw ...




Sowwwiiiieeeeee

:::::::CHAPTER 2:::::::


Three days after Rhoda's visit to Ada, Amaka had gone to a neighbouring village to borrow some money from her mother's friend because there was nothing left to eat in the house. Fortunately for her,when she got there, the woman was at home and she willingly gave Amaka the money when Amaka explained to her that she was sent by her mother.

The woman knew that if she was the one that had gone to Ada to borrow some money, Ada would give to her. Bearing this in mind she gave Amaka the money which was one thousand five hundred naira.

After receiving the money, Amaka went back home, on getting to their house, her mother who had seen her from afar was afraid that her friend had not given Amaka the money.

So, when Amaka got into the house, Ada rushed to the door to meet her

"Ah my daughter welcome, how did it go?" she asked
"Mummy it went well, she gave me the money " Amaka replied "Mummy, you have good friends, she gave me the money without much questions " she added

"My dear, we thank God, may He bless her"
Ada counted the money, it was one thousand five hundred naira and she was satisfied,

"at least we can use it for this week and nextweek, by then i would have bought the little things to sell"

"Mummy, where is Ebuka?" asked Amaka
"He's outside"
"Ebuka, Ebuka, Ebuka" they both called but there was no answer...