An act of the devil… the end is near…
Hadassah would wake up craving a snack and Wanda had always warned her about groping around the kitchen late night or wee hours of the morning, she didn’t want her daughter suffering childhood obesity something she had to survive… She was 5 and half; 6 in a few months and already she had a mind of her own.
Hadassah and her brother Andrew were born 11 months apart, the two had yet again heard mum and dad the night before but this time mummy didn’t come to their room, “maybe they weren’t arguing this time”
…Wanda always wished Oiza saw her children, they would totally love her and she would have spoilt them silly. Oiza and Nicolas had married about 4 years ago and it crushed Wanda she couldn’t attend… the two hadn’t seen in 7 years.
Florence and Offy had moved to Canada and Charis was running a second degree there, they had asked Wanda to come holidaying severally but of course ‘the Tyrant’ Jude always refused. Their wedding was almost a year after Flo and Offy’s and even before it everyone knew the marriage was a mistake but it was her choice and Jude did a good job pretending to have changed.
Running down the stairs Hadassah noticed mum lying in a corner and it looked like she had spent the night there…”should I wake mummy or just run back upstairs?” as if whispering to herself as she moved closer, trying hard not to wake up the whole house “mummy, mummy” Wanda was a light sleeper but she wasn’t responding, not even her normal “go back to bed stare or grunt”, it was then Hadassah noticed the blood, she switched on the light and let out a loud shrill
….Jude was woken by the noise he glanced at his newly acquired digital clock it was 4:25 AM even the neighbours had heard it “isn’t it too early for this children to be causing a nuisance?” when the sobbing wouldn’t stop he got up already working a temper…storming down the stairs there was no telling what could go down that early…
——Jude had attended 5 Primary schools and 3 secondary schools he moved around a lot as a child and had different upbringing styles. Orphaned at age 7 Omafuwe his older sister was 12 so she had a better understanding of what had happened. Uncle Efe and his wife had picked her (they needed help with their triplets) but nobody wanted a little boy, what use would he be to them? He remembered the drive to Lagos, Uncle Rona had taken him after much talk, he was due to resume school in a few weeks but that never happened Mercy, Uncle Rona’s wife made sure.
After a year of doing every chore possible they had a rethink and the closest government school to the house was the only option.
He was finally rescued that christmas living with his aunt in Ibadan didn’t seem so bad, he wasn’t physically abused but he had to watch her get beaten weekly by her drunken husband who owned a series of mechanic outfits and was quite the catch so aunty Esther endured, “for the sake of the children” she’d always say.
Jude knew his numerous girlfriends, they always hungout at the workshop but he would never hurt his aunt that way, “what would telling her do?” Three years rolled by quickly and his world was altered, aunty Esther left her husband and he had to move, now in primary 6 with common entrance exams to write….finally he was shipped to Enugu, the Ezeigo’s had offered to cater to him, their parents had been good friends and taking Jude in was their way of honouring their friends.
It was in Enugu that Jude would take a downward spiral…no one knew what struck the chord that changed him…
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