CHY'S DIARY

EPISODE ONE

"Oh Mama! I am going to kill Chidera today, ( m ga-egbu ya) how can she finish the garri? What am I going to eat now? My brother, Chiedozie screamed as he was trying to catch me

I laughed as I put the last one in my mouth, when he realised I have finished the cassava flakes he stopped pursuing me and burst into tears

I kept that cassava flakes last night with the hope of drinking or making garri this morning, Chidera went there to take it, just don't come back to this house today if you don't want me to kill you, he cried

My mother who has been watching us since began to cry, when my brother saw her crying, he quickly wiped his own tears and ran to her
Ginị kpatara ị na-ebe ákwá?..... Why are you crying Mama? Please don't cry, he said rubbing her shoulder

I am tired of telling her to stop crying, she cries every time

Whenever anything happens, my mother will just excuse herself into the room, lock the door and cry for hours before she comes out again

I felt so bad when I saw her crying that day but there is nothing anyone can say or do to make her stop

It has always been like that since my father died few years back, leaving nine children for my mother

I am the fifth child of my parents, I have four younger ones, they are all boys, three elder sisters and a brother

My mother got married to my father at the early of 16, she is a secondary school drop out, my father married her because she was pregnant, I heard my dad wanted to send her back to school to complete her secondary education but my mum was not interested
She was a full house wife, the only business she does is baby business, I'm not sure she rested for a complete year before getting another pregnant, my immediate elder brother is like my twin, he's eleven months older than me

We were not rich but a bit comfortable, my father made sure we got everything we wanted, we attended good schools and eat good food

I have heard my grandmother telling my mother many times whenever she comes visiting that she should start a business "You cannot just sit by and watch your husband do everything, Nine kids Vero,( nwee ọmịiko nwoke a) dey pity this man oooo"

He's not complaining Mama, what is his job if he cannot take care of me and the kids? The only business I have got is to give him children and raise them well, that one alone is a big work on it's own, she explained

I go dey talk my own sha, her mother muttered

Waking up very early, running up and down is not something I like, I think you know this, my mother expressed angrily

Verooo.....

Don't ever talk about this again Mama, please, biko, she interrupted her

It was like a dream the day some people came to tell us that my father was involved in an accident on his way back from work, he didn't make it to the hospital before he died

My mother almost ran mad, I never knew she could survive it, the only land my father left behind that was to be sold to pay our school fees was taken over by my uncle, he also tried to take over the uncompleted three bedroom bungalow my father built before his death but he was stopped by the family head who threatened to take him to court, we would have been sleeping on the road by now

We have been suffering ever since, we struggle and fight over food all the time, we were withdrawn from our schools, my elder siblings have started learning different works, I told my mother I will rather die than to learn work, she told me to go ahead if I can sponsor myself, two of my younger ones are in public school while the remaining two are at home

I have a plan to go to the city but I don't know how to go about it

I, Chidera Okafor ( m ga-aga ụlọ akwụkwọ) must go to school

Pop corn orders. Hope you want some?

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