TEARS FOR A LIFETIME (EPISODE 2): THE START OF MY WORST NIGHTMARE!
On the 20th of April, 2001. I watched two coffins go down in the ground side by side and I didn’t understand what to do. I couldn’t stop crying. ‘Where will we go? What do we do, lord? God, why didn’t you just take us with them?’ I cried and cried. I looked at my three sisters and I realized that we were indeed orphans. The next day, this Aunty woke me up and asked to wash up with my sisters and come out to meet them. I didn’t know who ‘them’ stood for but I did as they said.
On getting there, I saw at least 5 men and maybe 7 women sitting at the balcony. I stood far with my sisters. I was scared; i didn’t know any of them. The older man who they called Baba motioned to us to come to them. We did. He spoke ‘Now that our son Augustus and his wife are no more, we had to decide how to take care of you. Rita and Kemi will stay with Jide and Toyosi. Funke will stay with Yemi and Kike. Doyin will stay with Tunde and Wemimo.’ Whenever he mentioned any names, he would point to the couple.
My sisters and I were crying. They must have been thinking same as me – Orphans going to live with relatives. Our lives had become one of those films we would watch anytime we went to visit Uncle Chike (mom’s brother). I don’t know about them but I remembered that the orphans were always maltreated and I cried harder. He continued ‘Rita and Kemi will stay in Lagos, Funke will be at Kaduna and Doyin will be moving to Port Harcourt. We cried even harder.’ He said, ‘Don’t cry my children. Your uncles are your fathers. They will take care of you and protect you. Take them as your second parents. My children, it will be well. Tomorrow, your uncles will be going back to the city and you’ll be leaving with them.‘ He asked us to leave.
When we got back to the room, I hugged all my sisters. Funke, my immediate younger sister, looked at me and said ‘Riri, I won’t see you again?’ And my heart broke into two. I’ll never forget the look on her face at that moment. Never. I said ‘Funke mi, don’t say that. I’ll come to visit you every time.’ I held my tears in. As soon as my sisters had cried themselves to sleep after much cajoling, I let myself outside and I let my tears fall freely. I cried for my sisters (a 7yr. old and a 6 yr. old going to live with strangers in a new environment), I cried for myself, I cried for the loss of my parents. I cried and cried until I could do no more than groan.
The next morning was one of the most difficult ones of my life. I don’t want to relive that time and how much it hurt so I’d just say I let my sisters go with their respective families and a weeping Kemi and I got into Uncle Jide’s car and headed to Lagos. Little did I know that we were heading to my worst nightmare.
Click here to read the next episode •••>> "http://lovedoctorkollar.blogspot.com.ng/2017/01/tears-for-lifetime-episode-3-love-story.html"
On the 20th of April, 2001. I watched two coffins go down in the ground side by side and I didn’t understand what to do. I couldn’t stop crying. ‘Where will we go? What do we do, lord? God, why didn’t you just take us with them?’ I cried and cried. I looked at my three sisters and I realized that we were indeed orphans. The next day, this Aunty woke me up and asked to wash up with my sisters and come out to meet them. I didn’t know who ‘them’ stood for but I did as they said.
On getting there, I saw at least 5 men and maybe 7 women sitting at the balcony. I stood far with my sisters. I was scared; i didn’t know any of them. The older man who they called Baba motioned to us to come to them. We did. He spoke ‘Now that our son Augustus and his wife are no more, we had to decide how to take care of you. Rita and Kemi will stay with Jide and Toyosi. Funke will stay with Yemi and Kike. Doyin will stay with Tunde and Wemimo.’ Whenever he mentioned any names, he would point to the couple.
My sisters and I were crying. They must have been thinking same as me – Orphans going to live with relatives. Our lives had become one of those films we would watch anytime we went to visit Uncle Chike (mom’s brother). I don’t know about them but I remembered that the orphans were always maltreated and I cried harder. He continued ‘Rita and Kemi will stay in Lagos, Funke will be at Kaduna and Doyin will be moving to Port Harcourt. We cried even harder.’ He said, ‘Don’t cry my children. Your uncles are your fathers. They will take care of you and protect you. Take them as your second parents. My children, it will be well. Tomorrow, your uncles will be going back to the city and you’ll be leaving with them.‘ He asked us to leave.
When we got back to the room, I hugged all my sisters. Funke, my immediate younger sister, looked at me and said ‘Riri, I won’t see you again?’ And my heart broke into two. I’ll never forget the look on her face at that moment. Never. I said ‘Funke mi, don’t say that. I’ll come to visit you every time.’ I held my tears in. As soon as my sisters had cried themselves to sleep after much cajoling, I let myself outside and I let my tears fall freely. I cried for my sisters (a 7yr. old and a 6 yr. old going to live with strangers in a new environment), I cried for myself, I cried for the loss of my parents. I cried and cried until I could do no more than groan.
The next morning was one of the most difficult ones of my life. I don’t want to relive that time and how much it hurt so I’d just say I let my sisters go with their respective families and a weeping Kemi and I got into Uncle Jide’s car and headed to Lagos. Little did I know that we were heading to my worst nightmare.
Click here to read the next episode •••>> "http://lovedoctorkollar.blogspot.com.ng/2017/01/tears-for-lifetime-episode-3-love-story.html"
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