Story of a Survivor - Season 1 - Episode 6

5 years ago

Story of a Survivor - Season 1 - Episode 6

My mother was taken back to the Psychiatric Hospital while Mrs. Joana helped us to secure the Batcher in the Barracks as we waited for Mummy to recover. Meanwhile we were left with nothing! Nothing at all to start with, saves for Caroline that had some Money on her. Madam Joanna tried her best by getting us some old clothes, a giant size mattress, cooking utensils, and some food stuff. She was there for us until
her husband had to warn her to choose between her own Children and us. He told her when he came to our Batcher to pick her on his way from work. He said we were a burden too big to be carried. He was right and I bore him no grudge.

We were six Girls, the oldest was eighteen and
the youngest was eight years old, we were not working, we were not schooling, all we did was wake up, eat and pray that our Mummy recovers.

Madam Joana has been helping us to collect
mummy’s salaries but the bulk of it goes to
offset her medical bills.

On the first of April 1996, it’s been three years after the death of my Father, another “April fool’s” day; we were all in our Batcher reading novels when Madam Joana and her Husband came visiting. The bags under her eyes told me something was wrong. It was the husband that addressed us.

Ladies! He said, your Mother has passed on! I do not know a better way of saying it but that is the fact. She passed on this morning in her sleep and the hospital called my Wife. Your Mother you know has no Parent any longer and she was an only Child, so I will need to go to her village tomorrow to seek any surviving relative of hers and inform them so they can make arrangements for her funeral.

Please this is not time for tears yet; there is
plenty of time for that! Just hear me out he said.

We wiped our tears as we continued to listen. If I do not succeed there then we may have to
seek for the Army’s assistance, maybe they can bury her at the Military Cemetery.

We have made arrangements for Tochi and
Amara to be taken to an Orphanage! Caroline
screamed and rushed towards our two youngest Siblings, No! No! No! She shouted, I will take care of them!

Don’t be silly! He said, do you think I am enjoying what I am telling you? How will you take care of them? You can barely take care of yourself! It’s been three years that your father died and your Mother had been bed ridden for that long what have you been able to do with your life? You are twenty one years old now! When I married my wife she was barely eighteen years old! Now the mother you were waiting on is no more! Will you keep on sitting here and waiting for my wife to feed you and your siblings?

Nkechi my Daughter is in her part three at the university already!

Don’t you think about your own future? That is why I keep blaming my wife for indulging you too much, not that I hate you but she is spoiling you and she thinks its love for a Friend! Do you know that I an Orphan? I knew no Father, and my Mother died at my birth, my close relatives gave me up to the orphanage because they could not take care of an extra Baggage!

These two teenagers will go to the Orphanage!

The rest of you are old enough to fend for
yourselves! We shall try and collect your
Mother’s benefits for you and with that you are on your own! Welcome to the real world! I am sorry for everything that has happened to you but I want you to know that it could be worse! It cannot be worse Sir! This is the worst situation any human being can find herself Caroline burst out wailing. She asked several unanswered questions: How can life be so unfair to us?

Where do we start from? Six Girls! No father! No Mother! No Job! Oh God where are you?