Life imprisonment Episode 8

LIFE IMPRISONMENT 8

WRITTEN BY: GRACE OLAYEMI

Mr Adel lost his job after a fire from an unknown source burnt down the company where he worked as a sales representative. He tried everything in his power to secure another job after that but luck was not on his side. His wife took up the responsibility of taking care of the household expenses and along the line, she got overwhelmed with the load.

“When you were working, our salaries combined was barely enough to take care of our expenses and now you have decided to be a liability. I’m tired of having to be the one feeding you and clothing you. Other men are the ones taking care of their wives but the reverse is the case for me.”

All your mates are out there doing everything possible to see that they bring something to the table but you are here just sleeping and snoring away your life. It’s almost one year since you lost your job and you have become totally useless to us. The children are being sent out of the school because they have not paid their fees. I have gone to their schools more than twice to beg the management to be patient with us but you have not even deemed it fit to go there once.”

“I’m the one bringing the money yet you can’t help with anything in the house. Even to wash plates is impossible for you. I will be the one to work for the money, go to the market, cook the food, wash the plates and still clean the house. What kind of bad luck is this?” She burst into tears.

That was the daily nagging Adel received while his wife got ready for work and also got the children ready for school.

“You should know that I’m trying my best,” he said to defend himself after a few minutes of silence.

“You are trying your best indeed. Your best that has not brought a dime into this house for almost a year. Your best that can’t even help to tidy up the house. Your best that will see what need repair and will still wait for me to come take them to the repair shop.”

“I’ve gone to almost all the companies in this town and beyond, yet, I have not even gotten as little as the post of a gatekeeper. And I have…”

“Spare me the excuse! The truth is that you are a lazy man. If those companies have refused to hire you, can’t you work with your own hands? There are people selling things in traffic, who employed them? There are people selling in shops, kiosks and some even sell on their shoulders. Those are hardworking people that are not excuse givers like you. I’ve been asking you to think of the business you want to do so I can request for a loan at the office and set you up but you can’t think of anything to do.”

“Lazy man! Useless man! When other women were choosing good husbands I got there late and got the left over.”

She continued to hurl insults on him and he just took his cap and walked out of the house. His wife had been submissive, though high-minded, she hardly insulted him or called him names. But since he lost his job, she had changed completely and had become a thorn in his flesh. His friends had told him that once a man cannot bring money into the house he would automatically lose his place as the head of the family.

“Go ahead and meet those your useless friends that can only give you money to drink but can’t talk sense into you.”

* * * * * *
Oluwarantimi, Comfort and Edward entered the house tired and hungry. Edward, who was the youngest rushed into the kitchen but he met all the plates and pots washed clean. He checked the cabinet, shelf, flasks and even the microwave but he could not find anything edible.

“There is no food in this house,” he hissed and left the kitchen.

“You don’t mean it,” Comfort said and went ahead to look at the kitchen properly to fetch out something for them to eat.

After eating a measly loaf of bread before school they were all hungry and had thought they would at least have something tangible to eat in the house.

Comfort came back from her fruitless search and crashed into the sofa in between her two brothers. Edward was already in tears while Comfort held on to her stomach as though she could collapse any minute. Ranti was also hungry but knew that he had to find something for his siblings to eat before he considered himself.

Mrs Adel had left the house for over two months and had not returned. She didn’t call or text and her children have even stopped worrying about her. They assumed she had gone to look for a better life and coupled with what their father told them that she had gone away with another man, they no longer looked forward to her return.

They had to withdraw from the private school they were attending and enrolled at a public school that was cheaper and even with that, they still couldn’t pay up their fees as at the time when due.

Ranti changed into a t-shirt and short and told his siblings to remain put while he looked for what they would eat. He walked for a long distance before he got to a busy street that was used as a mini-market and there were a lot of traders and buyers alike. Begging was not an habit he had imbibed and so he could not bring himself to start begging for alms.

He saw young boys carrying loads for the women and he immediately looked for a woman that might need his help. He was able to help about five women to carry what they bought to where their vehicles were packed. He smiled as he counted the money he made and was content that he had enough to buy food for his siblings for that afternoon and even for dinner. He kept the money in his pocket and went to where he would buy beans and bread for himself and his siblings. He placed his order and it was neatly packed for him in a polythene bag; he put his hand in his pocket to bring out the money to pay but he was met with a rude shock. His pocket was empty!

Ranti and his siblings slept that night on an empty stomach and he kept wondering what had happened to the money he made. He had cried and searched for it but he could not find it and he had to go back home when it was getting dark. His siblings had gone to the neighbours to beg for garri and under normal circumstances, he would have chastised them for begging but he could not do that on that day. They looked hopefully at him to give them what to eat for dinner but he just narrated his ordeal to them. When Edward began to cry, he joined in and they all cried together.

“I miss mum. I wish she had taken us along.” Comfort said amidst tears. That was how they all felt.

Their father would leave the house in the morning to return at night and would not even ask if they had had anything to eat. He would come back drunk and sometimes in the company of a prostitute.

Ranti had confronted him about it and told him that his siblings were too young to be witnessing their father making out with a prostitute but he just slapped him and called him a bastard. Ranti was hurt and made up his mind to take care of his siblings with or without his father’s help.

He had always ran errands for their neighbours and they would pay him with food which he would share with his siblings. The afternoon he decided to look for another means of catering for his siblings had left him wounded and hurt. All his body ached from the loads he carried and when he was to enjoy the money he made, he could not find the money.

He was only fifteen and he had two younger ones to look after. The burden of the responsibility was telling on him and he wished someone could help him. He cried bitterly that night as he remembered that there was no one that could help them. His parents had absconded from their own parents to marry one another because they didn’t get the approval of their parents and that was why they were not in contact with any extended family. All his mother’s friends had also distanced themselves from them since his mother left.

To be continued…

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