EPISODE 4
It wasn’t even up to a week my mom was buried, my step mom had already started maltreating me, and my father turned a blind eye towards it.
My step mom stopped me from attending lessons, and then i started hawking for her.
Every morning i will wake up as early as 5am to start doing house chores, the same way i saw mom did when she was still alive.
After my house chores, my step mom would then filled a rubber with tied ice water, and placed it on my head to hawk, giving me a warning never to return with any remainder.
Most times i hawked bread and groundnut, sometimes fruits and vegetables.
I was never given good food at all, my little self worked all day and ate little portion of meal that wasn’t even up to a handful.
I was looking so malnourished, and I wore rags as clothes, sometimes I wore my father’s clothes that he dumped at the refuse bin.
Most of my little short knickers had several hole’s on them, which i kept patching, even the only slippers i had was worn out.
The last time I complained to my father that I needed some new clothes and shoes, he simply told me he doesn’t have money for it.
But i watch him spent lavishly on my step mom everyday.
He would always buy her expensive clothes, jewellries, and other feminine accessories, but i wouldn’t dare complain.
Eventually my step mom gave birth to twins, which was a boy, and a girl, and they were named Kenneth, and Katherine.
Months after she gave birth, my work load increased, I now did both house chores, hawking and looking after the babies.
Soon after the children,(Kenneth and Katherine) started school after they were both two years, and I was still at home, not yet schooling.
I didn’t like the fact that my step siblings were already schooling while I was at home.
I was very brilliant in my studies, and always wished that I could be in school like my mates.
One cool evening, I decided to talk to dad about going to school, while he was relaxing at the verandah of our house.
I walked up to meet him and surprisingly, he didn’t chase me away as he usually does, he paid attention to what I was about to say.
I told my father about my wish to Go back to school because I want to amount to something good in life.
My father nodded his head like he agreed with me, and he then told me to go back inside, and he will think about it.
I happily went back to the small room i once shared with mom, i was glad that my father at least listened to me.
Few minutes after i got to my room, i started hearing noises and then i came out from my room a little bit and I peeped.
Surprisingly it was my step mom raising her voice at my father.
She was telling my father, she will never allow me go to school, she was even trying to make my father see reasons not to send me to school.
Just then, to my surprise, my father flared up at my step mom, making her see reasons why he would allow me go to school.
“Philomena stop this nonsense you are trying to do, alex is also my flesh and blood, my first son for that matter, so why are you making him feel like an inferior before me”?
“Look Philomena whether you like it or not, alex is going back to school, he is still my son”……….my father blasted angrily.
My step mom didn’t say any more words, and she angrily left my father outside, went to her room.
Few days later, dad took me himself, and registered me in the same school my step siblings attended.
I started from class one at the age of 10 years, but I didn’t mind, i was simply happy that I was finally in school.
My step mom tried her possible best to stop me from going to school, but unfortunately it didn’t work out for her.
Every morning she would make sure I hawk for her first before going to school which I happily did, and I was always late to school.
My father later stopped my step mom from sending me to hawk in the morning, my step mom wasn’t happy about it, but she couldn’t do anything.
I was now hawking immediately after i came back from school.
My step mom did that so that I wouldn’t be able to read my books, but unknown to her, i always woke up at midnight to read, with the little oil lamp in my room.
After exams for that term, we were given results and I got several A in my results.
When my dad saw my results, he was very happy with me, and he then got me some good clothes and shoes.
My step mom got really jealous of me, and started placing hatred in the heart of her children against me.
She could no longer use my father against me, instead she started using her children against me.
To be continued
Written ✍️ by Martha