BUT Episode 21

 Episode 21 

"Aunty Leah promised to take care of us. She took upon herself all our needs, from feeding to school fees and other basic needs. Anyone who never met our mother would actually think aunty Leah was our real mother. The death of my mother made my father realise that while he was busy trying to feed the sheep out there, the ones at home were staving."

"My father started showing up for us in time of need, but he never visited the school until my graduation day. On my graduation day, he came with some church members. Aunty Leah prepared so much for the graduation that you would think it's more than secondary school graduation. Food and drinks were in surplus. She also distributed souvenirs ; pens, jolters, handkerchiefs and hand fans."

"Awwn that's so sweet of aunty Leah" Deborah said.

"In fact she didn't even make you guys feel the absence of mom at all." Selina added. 

"I got the award for the best student overall, plus I was called out for different subject prizes. Before I got back to where I was sitting, my name would have been called for  the next subject. At a point, my class teacher had to offer me an empty seat near the stage,  so that I won't have to be going and coming. Loud applause and cheering accompanied, as my name was called out for the awards. It was indeed a memorable day for me and I wish my mother was alive to witness it."

"Unfortunately, we never knew the care and attention won't last long. Immediately I finished my graduation, I started processing my university admission. I attempted my first university entrance exam in Senior class 2 but it didn't work out. While in senior class 3, I sat for the exams again, thinking it would click, but surprisingly,  I was told they only saw 2 subjects out of the 4 I wrote."

"Aunty Leah finally took over and she started showing her true color." Beatrice said.

"Took over? True color as per?" Selina the inquisitive asked.

"Yes, she somehow began to fill in the gap for dad in all aspect, even emotionally. Remember she was not married yet and she finally found a place she could call home. One thing led to another, but we never knew she could be pregnant at that age."

"Preg what? For who?" Deborah snapped out of the chair she was sitting on.

"She got pregnant for my dad and that was  when the reality dawned on me and my siblings. Dad decided to opt for a court wedding before the pregnancy became obvious. Now, mummy's friend ended up becoming our step Mom and that was  when I realized that the attention and  care she had been giving us was due to her ulterior motive of becoming my dad's wife. We knew we were in for a bigger trouble when she insisted that we must never call her aunty Leah but mom instead, so  we started regarding her as mummy. She withdrew a larger part of her contribution to the family, leaving my dad with the bigger part of the responsibilities."

"We thought our dad was broken by mother's death, but to me, there was no much difference from who he used to be and what he later became. My siblings were taken away from the boarding school to a nearby government school and all attention was shifted to aunty Leah, our new mummy."

"I began to attend a tutorial centre to help me prepare well for my exams. The tutors knew that I am a bright student, but not passing the exam made me feel like I was behind everyone else. Even those who never got any awards already got admitted into the university. I began to wonder why my case was like that. It seemed like I wasn't going to get into any school."

"Gradually, aunty Leah became aggressive. She would put 2 meat in dad's food, 2 for herself, then share 1 meat between me and my siblings. She started reducing the size of the food she cooked.Most times I would leave the potion of my food for my siblings so that they can eat to their fill, then sort out myself."

"I never saw a time like this coming at all. I cry to bed most nights and sometimes I would see my mother in my dream. It may have been my imagination, but a part of me felt like she was never away from us."

"Beatrice!!! Aunty Leah shouted my name one afternoon."

"Hope no problem?" Selina asked. 

"Well, you can make a guess." Beatrice said, smiling. 

What happened next?

Find out in the next episode.