Agonies Of A House Girl – Episode 5
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Episode 5
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I woke up in the middle of the night and heard madam and her
husband whispering in hush tone.
“Give it to me ha-rder,” madam whispered breathing heavily.
My heart skipped some beats as I thought madam was in distress
but I kept calm and listened further.
The squeaking sound of their be-d increa-sed and madam’s voice
filtered once again into my room.
“Ouusss…mmm…ahhh,” she m0@n ed.
At that point I knew what was happening.
Madam and her husband were at it again and another baby could
soon be on the way.
Some minutes later madam’s husband started gro-an ing aloud and
everywhere went quiet afterwards.
“Darling you’re so wonderful,” my madam said.
“And you too my queen,” the husband responded and let out a
short laugh.
I didn’t know when I sle-pt off and by the time I woke up it was
morning.
I got up immediately and went to do my morning function.
Within one hour I was throu-gh so I sat on the mortar in the
kitchen waiting for my madam to wake up.
p@rt of the warning madam gave me was that for no reason
whatsoever was I to sit on the padded seats in the sitting room.
“If you feel like sitting down,” she instructed. “Sit on t©p of the
mortar in the kitchen and never in the sitting room.”
For no reason whatsoever was I to t©uçh the remote controller in
the sitting room no to talk of putting on the television.
The dining room was also out of my bounds so I ate in the
kitchen and on t©p of my mortar.
Madam woke up very late that morning around 11am and c@m£
and inspected everywhere but saw nothing to complain about yet
she wasn’t satisfied.
“Who put on the toilet light?” She asked frowning her face.
“I don’t know ma,” I replied.
A very ha-rd knock landed on my head and I shouted in pain and
ran towards the toilet to off the light.
Then she went back into her room.
“Darling I suggest you take it easy with that young girl,” I
overheard my madam’s husband admonishing her.
“That girl can be very annoying,” my madam replied. “Can you
imagine that she hasn’t scru-bbe-d the toilet uptill now,” she added
which was a very big lie.
“Just be patient with her,” my madam’s husband insisted. “I
believe she will learn,” he added.
“I hope so,” my madam responded.
I felt very bad.
The toilet my madam lied that I didn’t scru-b was actually the first
thing I scru-bbe-d that morning.
Why my madam was being so wicked to me was what I couldn’t
explain. I was doing all my best to plea-se this madam of mine yet
it seemed like all my best wasn’t good enough.
I swallowed ha-rd and let the annoyance pas-s.
By noon, madam ordered me to prepare and esc-rt her to the
market.
Her husband stayed behind with the baby and waited for us to
come back.
We boarded a bus and madam sat down while I continued
standing.
A pas-s£nger alighted at the seventh bus-st©p and left a free seat
which out of exhaustion I decided to sit.
Madam’s ha-rd b!ow on my th!gh s£nt me to my feet in no time.
“Who gave you the permission to sit down?” She fumed ogling a
me. “Will your dead father pay for the seat or your wretched poor
mother in the village?” She asked still staring at me ferociously.
Her words hurt me as much as the b!ow on my th!gh but I
endured.
“Madam plea-se take it easy,” one man sitting behind us pleaded.
“She will learn with time.”
My madam kept mute and didn’t utter any word in reply.
When we got to the market, Madam bought everything we went
to buy and I carried them on my head till we got to the house.
“Wash those vegetables and cut them,” my madam instructed.
“Cos I’ll cook soup this evening.”
With tiredness and exhaustion I set to work immediately.
Within 30minutes I was throu-gh with the vegetables. Then I
proceeded to cut the okro as well.
When I finished, I was very tired so I went into my small room to
rest for a while…
Agonies Of A House Girl – Episode 6
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Episode 6
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I didn’t know when I sle-pt off in the course of resting till a very
heavy lash of wire landed on my back and s£nt me to my feet in
agony.
I rose to my feet immediately and soon saw where the lash of
wire was coming from.
My madam stood infront of me looking very mean and angry.
The time was around 4pm in the evening and I was supposed to
have cleared the dustbin by then.
“Who are you waiting for to clear the bin?” My madam asked
raising her hand very high to unleash another lash on me.
Just then the doorbell rang and my madam held her hand in
check.
“Go and see who’s at the door,” she commanded.
I ran to the door and swung it open.
An old man and woman stood infront of the door.
“Are your people around?” The old man asked.
I kept silent a bit confused of what to answer.
I remembered that there were times when my madam didn’t like
seeing visitors and often instructed me to tell whom-ever it was
that she wasn’t around.
I was battling with my confusion when madam entered.
“Ah daddy,” my madam g@sped as soon as she saw them.
“Daddy good afternoon, mummy good afternoon,” she greeted
immediately.
“Ah my daughter,” the old man replied. “Good afternoon nwam.
He added.
“plea-se come inside,” my madam invited.
I gave way immediately and the old man and woman entered the
house.
“What of your husband?” The woman asked.
“He’s gone to work,” my madam replied.
“And the children?” The woman continued.
“They’re slee-ping inside,” my madam replied. “Adaeze!” She
called.
“Yes aunty,” I replied and ran to answer her.
“Go and buy drinks,” she instructed handing some money to me
I ran to a nearby shop and bought the drinks without wasting
time.
Then I served it before the guest and went back into the kitchen.
I then carried the dustbin inside a polythene bag and went to
dispose it.
I went over to my friend’s compound to call her.
Chidimma was a househelp in the neighbouring compound and
we always went together to dispose our refuse.
We gisted on the way as we went.
Chidimma narrated to me of how ruthless her madam was. Of
how her madam uses the sole of her high-heel shoe to hit her on
the head when she makes a mistake.
She even revealed to me of how her madam’s husband sneaks
into her room at night to have car-nal knowledge of her without
her madam knowing.
All these weighed down on her and she wanted to let it off by
confiding in me.
I consoled and encouraged her not to lose hope that things would
one day change for the better.
She thanked me profusely for my words of encouragement
without knowing that my own madam at home was as ruthless
as hers if not more; only that her husband doesn’t sneak into my
room.
Nonetheless I acknowledged her gratitude and encouraged her not
to lose hope.
Then we disposed our refuse and headed home…
Agonies Of A House Girl – Episode 7
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Episode 7
My madam’s parents had gone by the time I c@m£ back to the
house.
My madam was seated in the sitting room with her baby and
children when I entered.
Something about her composure told me that she wasn’t happy
but I pretended like I didn’t notice.
I dashed across the sitting room to go into my room but she
called me back.
“Why are you coming back now?” She asked frowning.
I kept silent not knowing what to reply.
“Are you not the one I’m talking to?” She asked still looking intently
at me.
I remained silent not knowing what to reply.
My mouth opened and closed but no sound c@m£ forth.
“Don’t worry,” my madam continued. “By the time you go
hungry this night, you will talk,” she concluded.
I stood there ogling at her.
“Will you get out of my sight!” She barked.
I ran into my room instantly without wasting time.
That night, my madam refused to give me food and I went to be
on empty stomach.
Sleep refused to come.
ha-rd as I tried, I couldn’t sleep.
Hunger pangs kept gnawing at the walls of my stomach and I
wondered if I would survive till morning.
I woke up the next morning and went to do my morning work
irrespective of the hunger.
I was still doing the work when my madam woke up.
“Are you now re-ady to tell me what kept you so long yesterday
when you went to dispose refuse?” She asked staring at me.
I sprang up from the toilet-floor I was mopping.
“You’ve started having b©yfri£nds outside haven’t you?” She
asked.
“No ma,” I replied.
“You will not eat anything in this house again till you tell me what
kept you outside,” she continued.
“I was waiting for Chidimma,” I replied.
“How many times have I warned you about that Chidimma of a
girl?” She asked.
“I’m sorry ma, I won’t do it again,” I pleaded.
“Sorry for your stupid self!” She snapped…
Agonies Of A House Girl – Episode 8
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Episode 8
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Madam didn’t give me breakfast that morning and by noon I was
disoriented.
My tummy was on fire and the hunger pangs in my stomach has
increa-sed ten folds.
Madam handed her little baby to me around eleven o’clock that
morning.
I carried the little baby from that time till around four in the
evening on empty stomach.
Even the pap I was to give to the baby, I drank half out of hunger
I nee-ded to quell the pangs in my stomach and any edible could
do.
Madam woke up around 4.30pm in the evening and collected her
baby from me.
She didn’t even mention anything about giving me food and this
piqued me.
I didn’t know what to do.
I just sat in the kitchen de-ep in thought. I had no money on me so
I couldn’t think of buying food. So I just sat there hoping that a
miracle would happen.
Around five minutes past five, madam called me and gave me
N200 to go to a nearby supermarket and buy bathing soap for
her.
I took the money and left immediately.
There was a woman selling freshly prepared Okpa along the road
and the sweet aroma of the woman’s Okpa suggested new ideas
into my hungry mind.
Before I knew what was happening I bought two wra-ps @ N50
each and sat at one corner of the road to devour it.
The Okpa was very h0t yet I ate it quic-kly and hungrily.
When I finished, I bought sachet water and augmented the Okpa
and my stomach returned instantly to normal.
Then I started thinking of a believable narrative to tell my
madam…
Agonies Of A House Girl – Episode 9
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Episode 9
I concluded to tell her that I got to the supermarket and couldn’t
find the money again which after looking for it everywhere I
couldn’t find it.
I knew the story may not go down well with her but I had no
other option.
There was no way I could tell her that I used her money to buy
Okpa out of hunger so I had to tell her somethingelse and face
whatever consequence that would emanate.
Madam was sitting in the sitting room with her baby when I got
home.
“Where is the soap?” She asked immediately.
“Let me tell you what happened ma,” I stammered nervously. “I
lost the money on the way ma so when I got to the supermarket
I couldn’t find it again ma.”
“You lost which money?” My madam queried.
“The soap money ma,” I replied.
“You must be very stupid,” she barked. “Come closer and open
your mouth!”
I guess my madam had suspected rightly that I used the money
to buy something to eat so she wanted to confirm or disprove
her suspicion.
With trembling legs I drew closer and opened my mouth.
Madam l@yher baby gently on the cushion and smelt my mouth
“Ohoo,” she exclaimed. “So you used my money to buy Okpa?”
She asked. “And you had the audacity to lie to me that you lost
the money?”
Madam descended on me with all the fury her muscles could
muster.
When her hands started aching her, she reached for her wire and
continued.
I cried out in pain and agony but madam continued undaunted.
A white woman living in the opposite compound was driving by
and overheard my voice and st©pped to check out what was
happening.
She was a lawyer and worked un-der one Human Rights
Commission.
Without knocking she swung our door open and saw my
madam red-handed flogging me with a piece of wire…
Episode 10
“Jesus!” The woman screamed and my madam froze with shock
My madam wasn’t facing the door so she hadn’t seen the woman
enter and therefore didn’t know that the woman had seen her
flogging me with a long piece of wire so she was shocked by the
sudden and unfamiliar voice.
“I’m gonna report this to the Human Rights Commission!” The
woman barked with foreign accent and stormed out of the house
My madam stood rooted to the sp©t for some minutes visibly
shaken.
She didn’t know whether to go after the white woman that just
stormed out of the house or to continue flogging me from where
she st©pped.
She stood still totally confused.
I stood still too not wanting to infuriate her with any sudden or
unplanned movement.
She turned abruptly and walked into her room.
Around 3pm in the afternoon, the white woman returned with
some police officers to arrest my madam.
My madam called me and asked me to look after the house that
she was going to be back in a jiffy.
The woman examined my hands and legs and noted the scars all
over.
Then she left with my madam and the police…
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My madam c@m£ back later in the night with her husband.
I guess her husband must have bailed her that evening from
police custody.
That night, I overheard her husband talking to her about the way
she treated me.
He advised her to take things easy with me and st©p attra-cting
public eyes into his family.
My madam kept silent and uttered no word.
She reduced her aggression towards me and took things easy
with me.
But then her change of attitude was not to last very long and the
next day soon marked her return to aggression and bru-tality…
TBC