Fiction

"Take the food and eat, useless girl!" She yelled at me, staring at me like she would rip my guts. 

"There is nothing you can do better than eating" she roared at me again...

 I wanted to open my mouth in defence when she shut me up.

 

  "For your information, that food was poisoned. Eat it and die", she said to me as she walked out, leaving me behind laying helplessly in bed. 

  

For the past five years, I have been living with my uncle. His wife and I were never friends. We were just like cat and dog or should I say, we were like day and night. Though, I loved her but she detested my presence. 

I can't still figure out the reason for her hatred for me, because she had been all caring and respectful to me before the death of my parents. 

On many occasions, our fight made the house hot like hell fire that even her husband can't sleep in. Uncle would come in to calm her but Aunty Shade was one hell of a woman. 

 On one fateful afternoon, my uncle gave her some cash for house keeping including food stuffs because he will be leaving for a business trip on the following day.

  

I was surprised and suspicious when she asked me to help her keep the money in her wardrobe. Things like that never happened, she hardly sent me to her room. Maybe she had changed. I said to myself. 

      

Before I went to bed that night , I asked if she had seen the money where I kept. She nodded positively . 

  

She woke in the morning with an alarm of the missing money. I was shocked when she came to my room and claimed that she never found the money where I kept it.  

A lot of thoughts flooded my mind. Is this a prank? And what is she driving at? I stole the money?!

Without saying a single word to her, I rushed to her room to confirm if the money wasn't truly where I kept it.

 

My eyes turned red, the money wasn't there. I broke down into a deep cry inside. Alas! I knew it, this was a trap. What will I say to convince my uncle that I kept the money where I supposed to, that I have no knowledge of its missing?

I got the worst beating from my uncle before he went on his trip. He threatened me to provide the money before his return. He told his wife not to give me food until I provided the money. 

I could see a joyous smile written on her face like someone that just won a long time battle. 

It is now five days without food, hunger had already taken the best part of me. I had to beg my uncle's wife to give me something to eat. Now she presented me a poisonous meal. 

 I had eaten the food, now I'm waiting, waiting patiently for death to knock on my door.

 

Nababa Maryam.

Reach her via: maryamnababa20@gmail.com