21/22
MOTHER’S LOVE
in-sert…21
I was on my way to the kitchen the following morning when I met Florence’s son in the hallway and he shook with fear upon seeing me, I felt sorry for the little boy because he was caught up in his mom’s drama. He greeted me almost bowing down and I couldn’t take it then I knelt so I could reach his level and I looked at him with his trembling in fear
“Don’t be scared of me, I’m a good person and we can be friends if you want to”
I told him and a smile crept on his face ex-posing his perfect white teeth probably because of excitement
“So can I call you my sister like I call Monica?”
He asked excitedly
“No, no, no I’m not your sister just call me your friend, okay?”
He slowly nodded his head with disappointment written all over his face, he walked away and I made my way to the kitchen where I found Florence and Monica laughing their lungs out but the room immediately went silent when I walked in. I boiled myself some milk and I could feel Florence’s eyes on me until she finally spoke
Florence: Lucy, can I talk to you?
“God, plea-se not this early morning” I complained to myself and it was like God heard my cry coz the milk got boiled and I gulped it down not minding how it burned me just so I could leave the place before she could say anything else, I rinsed my cu-p and quic-kly walked out then I heard her sigh but I really didn’t mind. I locked myself up in my be-droom the while day when Monica c@m£ knocking at my door and I allowed her in then she sat on the edge of my be-d and looked at me
Monica: sis
Me: yeah
Monica: why do you hate Florence?
Me: did you really love mom?
Monica: yes I did
Me: do you remember what our Sunday school teacher taught us about the dead watching over us?
She slowly nodded her head
Me: so how do you think mom feels each time you’re around that woman especially calling her your mom?
She looked down and answered in a low tone
Monica: bad
Me: you’ve got your answer, that woman isn’t what she se……
Speaking of the devil, Florence decided to enter my room without knocking then Monica excused herself and she sat on my be-d
“This woman wants the worst from me” I thought as I took my phone and logged in my Instagram account
Florence: Lucy, I’m sorry for what I said to you yesterday, I said all that out of anger and didn’t mean it
She said sincerely
Florence: I know how much you loved your mother and I’m not trying to replace her in any way all I’m trying to do is shower you with the motherly love she would have given you if she was still alive
Me: the door is wi-de open you may leave
Florence: I’ll give you time to get your mind off things and when you do I’ll be waiting for you with open arms
Me: leave my be-droom this instant
She stood up and left but I felt bad for what I did, I brushed away the thought because I knew that woman to be a green snake in the green gras-s better than anyone…….
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Months pas-sed and things between Florence and I remained the same but I was glad that she stayed out of my way, she neither spoke to me nor said anything about me which I really appreciated and I also never paid attention to her so to me she never existed. I could finally say that I was at peace just that it hurt me when I saw her and dad pl@ylovey dovey. Our exam results were out and I got distinctions in all the subjects which brou-ght me so much joy coz I’d soon go to the university and be independent afterwards so I wouldn’t have to depend on dad and his “wife” anymore. Dad had frequent business trips and was rarely home but when he was there he’d make time for “his family” coz I wasn’t included, I’d either be locked up in my be-droom or at Austin’s place. I remember when I woke up one morning and found Florence, her son, dad and Monica in the lounge who seemed so happy and dad was almost leaving to go to work and he told Kelvin and Monica to be obe-dient and take care of their mother. I was standing by the door all along watching them and my eyes bu-mped into dad’s and he had a guilty look, I knew he had noticed how distant we were because of that woman and he tried saying something but I walked away. I stayed in my room and went on WhatsApp were I found Austin online and I told him what was happening and I could tell that he felt bad for me, there was a time dad returned from his trips and brou-ght her beautiful dresses then Austin told me to gather all of them and take them to him since Florence was a problem to me. I did what he told me and I took the dresses to him then he led me to the market where we saw a beggar and we gave her the dresses, she was really thankful and couldn’t st©p wishing us the best. Florence never asked me about them and I thought she was lucky coz what I’d prepared to tell her would s£nd her back to her parents house….
I was hungry since I’d skipped breakfast so I decided to go to the back house and check if the girls had prepared their lunch yet, I got to the lounge and what I heard captivated my attention
“She’s a spoiled br@t that nee-ds to be taught a valuable lesson, if it were in my place I would have long put her in her place or even made sure she doesn’t enjoy her father’s wealth”
The voice spoke and I recognized it as Florence sister’s and something told me to record what she said, Florence was about to say something when I walked in
Me: it’s better to be a spoiled br@t than depend on a gold digging sister
I said as I went in and I could see that she was shocked, she trued saying something but was st©pped by Florence
Me: birds of the same feathers
I cli-cked my ton-gue and went to the backyard where the girls and I talked about Florence since they also hated her for their own reasons, I stayed with them till it was late and had supper at their house and went back to the house to go to be-d where I threw myself on the be-d and let sleep take over me…………
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in-sert…22
I left Nancy and Mapalo’s back yard house where I had my supper and went back to the house, I went straight to my be-droom and threw myself on the be-d and let sleep take over though it was difficult as I still thought of Florence and her sister until I got some shut eye
I was tied to a tree in a forest I recognized, the forest dad left me at some sp©t in search of Monica but what was I doing there? A woman I knew very well approached me, the one who chased me with a machete knife but how did she get to me because I didn’t remember getting tied up?
Me: plea-se don’t kill me Florence
Florence: I’ve long warned you to stay out of my way but you never listen and all you do is cause trouble and become a nuisance, you escaped the last time I almost killed you but there’s no running this time
She laughed out loud and I could feel my heart beat very fast then I couldn’t breath properly, it got worse by each step she took and when she got to me she lifted the knife up and I saw it’s edge shine then she stabbe-d my heart and I screamed. I woke up with a painful che-st and had a blurred vision then I blinked a couple of times and saw Florence in my be-droom and the pains got severe as she approached me
Me: s…stay…away…fr…from..m..me….
It was lights out for me as I’d run short of breath…..
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I tried opening my eyes but they were heavy and light was very bright so I closed them and opened them again then I heard Florence shouting that I was awake and that someone nee-ded to call a doctor, I looked at her as the events of what happened pla-yed in my mind and I got scared until dad walked in with a doctor and I glanced at the clock on the wall which showed that it was 3am. “So he still cares about me?” I asked myself
Dad: baby, how’re feeling?
He asked as he approached me then I just shrugged my shoulders coz I really didn’t know how I felt then the doctor c@m£ to me and asked me how I felt before I pas-sed out and I explained to him how painful the che-st pains were when I was traumatized
Doctor: how often do you experience fatigue?
Me: I’ve been experiencing it a lot recently
He noted it down then nodded his head
Doctor: do you experience dizziness, fainting or abnormal heart rhythms?
Me: I do experience dizziness and abnormal heart rhythms but fainting only occurred on mom’s burial
Doctor: Mr Mulenga, some tests have alre-ady been run on your daughter so can we talk in my office?
Me: No, just say it right here but s£nd this woman away
I didn’t want Florence to be p@rt of our discussion so the doctor told her to excuse us then she slowly walked away and turned to look at me with hurt all over her face before she went out
Doctor: according to the tests we’ve run, I’m sorry to announce to you that your daughter suffers from a congenital heart disease
Me: con…. What?
Doctor: congenital heart disease, it’s a heart abnormality pres£nt at birth and is pas-sed on from one person to another which means your family has got a history of this disease, it runs in your family
Dad slowly nodded his head and I wasn’t hearing what the doctor was saying anymore coz I went numb
Dad: is it a serious problem doc?
Doctor: yes because the arteries and veins that carry blood to the heart and back out to the b©dy do not function correctly and it reduces or blocks blood flow which may lead to various heart complications
Dad: so what’re you going to do?
Doctor: in the meantime I’ll prescribe drugs for her that will prevent blood clots from forming and control irregular heart beats which is dangerous but don’t worry she’ll be discharged soon we just want to monitor her progress and make sure she doesn’t stress when she’s home
Dad quic-kly nodded
Dad: no, she won’t stress
The doctor walked out and dad c@m£ to my be-d where he sat
Dad: baby, what happened?
Me: I once dreamed of Florence trying to kill me before you even married her, the day you first introduced her to us and today when you were away on a business trip i had the same dream but this time I was tied to a tree and she successfully stabbe-d me, i woke up screaming and found her in my be-droom approaching me then I pas-sed out. The dream felt so real
I saw that dad was trying to digest what I’d told him then he held me closer to him
Me: she’s planning on killing me along with her relatives
Dad: Lucy, don’t involve other people
Me: I’m telling the truth dad coz I overheard her sister saying that if it were her she’d make sure that I don’t enjoy your wealth then this happens, I knew there was something weird about that woman
Dad: everything will be fine, sweetheart
He said as he brushed my back and I slowly got out of his arms
Me: dad, I dont want to find her in iyr house otherwise she’ll finish me off
Dad: shhh calm down.
Me: promise me I won’t and she shouldn’t go anywhere near Monica
Dad: you won’t…..
Tbc…