Mother's wrath

MOTHER'S WRATH

Richard!!!!," I heard my mother

calling me with so much venom in her voice

I remained in my hiding place.

"Where is this idiot, bastard, scallywag?"

Still I remanded in hiding.

Then I heard footsteps. They were my mother's . I

began to shiver. I knew what to expect when she

catch me. Instant and merciless punishment. I had

broken one of her ceramic cups while washing the

mountainful of plates I have been washing for over

an hour.

The footsteps got closer.

I shivered. My heart began to beat in a sporadic

pattern. My pulse increased and beads of tears

broke down on my skin. My feet wobbled and

shook terribly. I couldn't control the motor

movements of my limbs.

In that moment, I wish I could be teleported to

another planet to avoid the recompension that was

about to befell me. It was not magic but mere

intuition.

My mother's cane landed on my back before I had

the chance to ran away from her. She whipped me

again and again," gba, kpo, gba,kpoooo."

"You idiot!!! , you broke my ceramic cup,"she

shouted at me.

"I'm sorry , mama, it was an accident. It slipped

from my....."

"Shut up, You nitwit. He-devil. Useless child, how

can you break my precious cup if you are not the

devil himself?"

The cane landed on me again and again. I cried out

loudly, screaming at the top of my voice but my

mother continued to beat me without a trace of

mercy.

She held me in her iron fist and cane me to the

point I realised I was about to collapse. Then my

Father burst onto the scene and blocked the next

Stroke of the cane from landing on me.

She looked at my father with wild eyes and said,

"You are the one spoiling this bastard."

"No, I'm not. He's just a child of 16 years. Show

him some love. Its true he made a mistake by

breaking your cup but just because he broke a cup

doesn't mean you should sentence him to

everlasting whipping."

"He made a mistake indeed, why wouldn't he make

a mistake. Like Father like Son,"my mother retorted

and stormed out angrily.

"I'm sorry son,"my father consoled me, "be very

careful next time so that you won't invite

unnecessary punishment upon yourself. Who

knows? Next time , she might killed you!!"

My Father spoke like that because he was not

aware of the countless abuses I had to endure in

the house in his absence. In this situation, I was

just lucky he was around to serve me from the

claws of the "monster" I called my mother.

My Father is a lecturer at the University of Ghana,

legon, Faculty of International relationship and my

mother was a nurse at 37 military Hospital.

As a teenager growing, I have encountered so many

abuses from the woman I called my mother. It was

rather ironical. In my own little mind, I thought men

are more wicked than women but my mother

seemed to constantly proved my theory wrong.

If you cough accidentally in her presence, she will

slap you, You made a little noise, she will scream

at you. You delay in the washroom for five

seconds, she would scold you and if you break

something as has just happened , she will give you

10 strokes of the cane.

?One month later?

For the next one month, the home was peaceful. I

was beginning to relax. One Evening, Ghana

Electricity Company caused a power outage. I was

in the house but since I was not prepare for this

"Dumsor" I didn't have my rechargeable Lamp

around. I groped in the dark in search for the

rechargeable lamp when my feet hit something. I

fell headlong and smashed into a mirror.

My head was bruised and was badly hurt. Luckily

the lights came on just five minutes after the

incident.

I was shocked when I realised I have broken my

mother's mirror she cherished so much.

In that moment, I knew I had signed my death

warrant. My mother would surely kill me for

breaking her mirror.

**That Night**

My mother returned from her workplace. She was

in a happy mood. I shivered. I knew I was standing

on a time bomb, waiting to explode.

Then I heard my mother entered her room. It took

just three minutes for her to notice her broken

mirror. Then I heard a wild scream, "Richard!!!!!"

I had prepared for this encounter already. I

removed my sandals and took to my heel just in

time to see my mother coming from her room with

a knife. She threw the knife at me when she

realised I was escaping. It missed me by half an

inch.

I dashed out from the room but I heard her saying,

" if I don't kill you tonight, then it's not me Akosua.

That

you foolish father Ben will bury you soon."

Uncharacteristically, my father came home late that

night. The sound of his car was unmistakably

loud.I came out from my hideout and met him. He

was surprised. "Richard , what are you doing

outside?"

I was almost teary and find it difficult to talk. It

took a lot of energy from within me before I

managed to say, " Dad, you need to tell me the

truth, why did mum hate me so much?"

She almost stab me with a knife because I broke

her mirror when the Electricity Company of Ghana

cause a power outtage.

My father shouted, " What! She almost stabbed you

because of a mere mirror? "

"Yes, dad, she almost did"I answered.

"Hmm,"My Father was lost for words but it was

apparent something else was eating him up.

Then my eyes chanced on a picture in my father's

hand. I got curious and asked him, "Dad, whose

picture is that?"

[Narration from Richard's Father's Point of view]

When my Son, Richard, asked me whose picture I

was holding, it sent me down the memory lane. I

could recall it vividly though it happened about

twenty years ago.

~Twenty years ago~

I met Akosua when I visited a cousin of mine at

the Divine Touch Hospital. She was a trainee nurse

and I took a liking to her. By then I was doing my

Doctorate Programme at Cape Coast. When I

finished with my Education, I got married to

Akosua Afriyie. The wedding was full of pomp and

flamboyance. Thousands attended the wedding

ceremony. Cars were parked at the Entrance of the

Royal Chapel International as if they were auctioned

for sale.

The wedding night was awesome. We had bouts

and bouts of sex. I remembered myself geared up

that night and hit her at the right spots.

Sad to say, all my carnality yielded no results. Our

happy marriage began to crumble when it was

obvious that my wife couldn't conceive. We tried all

forms of medications both herbal and the hospital

medications but all our efforts proved futile.

Akosua became very hostile to me. She didn't care

if I eat, sleep or die. I tried to reason with her but

she became more and more aggressive. At a point

in time , I became afraid of my own wife. I have a

feeling she wanted to kill me because I questioned

her on her involvement with a certain doctor called

Vincent. She denied it vehemently and even

threatened to kill me if I ever question her fidelity

again.

But secrets don't stay secret for long. She got

pregnant for Doctor Vincent. She told me since I'm

not man enough to plant a seed in her and my

fellow man has been able to achieve that fit, she

had no other option than to move on with her

life.She packed all her belongings and left me

alone with our housemaid Sika, a modest but

beautiful girl from the Volta Region. Sika proved to

be a home maker. She did virtually everything in

the house. In fact , she worked as if her muscles

were made of iron.

The more we stay alone in the house, the closer we

got. The law of attraction began to work. After all ,

what do you expect to happen when a woman leave

her matrimonial home for a maidservant who was

twice as beautiful as her?"

One day I returned from my bathroom ,n*de, and

was applying some pommade on my body when

my door swang opened and guess who

materialised through the door, it was Sika.I knew

the stage was set for the inevitable event that was

supposed to have happened long ago." Sir, I know

I shouldn't have banged in on you like this but over

the years, I have come to realise that women like

madam Akosua don't deserve men like you."she

stood by the entrance of the door gazing at my

n*ked body.

"Can I come in?"Sika asked.

It was just a mere formality. Before I could decide

whether to allow her in or not, she came in, closed

the door and moved closer to me . She held my

hands and pulled my body close to hers.Then she

removed her clothes and directed my hands

towards her n*pples. She started giggling when she

looked at my face. "I know you like me too but you

are just trying to be principled.

Sika, I love you but I'm married to ......."

"Please stop it,"she cut me off, In case you have

forgotten, she's pregnant for another man. Your

marriage is gone. I'm here to ....

......"she trailed off and then continued,"Make you

happy. Stop pretending and let's enjoy it."

"I can't," I cut in.

Sika looked at me surprised. She stood up and

left.

She was sad.I felt sorry for her.

The next day, Sika left me. She went back to her

village Lokorpe in the Volta Region. She left before

I woke up. It was from the letter she wrote down

before leaving that I got to know she left to her

hometown. Luckily she left her phone number and

address down.

I didn't bother to call her. I hired another

housemaid. Unfortunately, she was not as hard-

working as Sika. Within two months , I fired her.

I was beginning to miss Sika. I realised I loved her

more than I thought. Quickly, I took her phone

number from the letter she wrote down and call

her.

Me: Hello Sika.

Sika: Hello, Please who's this?

Me: Sika, can't you recognise my voice?

Sika: No, I can't. I'm sorry , this is a wrong Line.

Me: No, no, no, no. Sika, don't do this to me. It's

Mr. Ben kuma .You used to be my housemaid in

Accra, Airport Residential area.

Sika: OK. I got it. So why are you calling me now?

Me: I want you to come back.

Sika: I'm Sorry, Sir. I can't.

Before I could utter another word, her line went

dead.

~Two weeks later after the call~

Sika returned to the house. I was so elated

.Staying in the house alone was like being in

prison. Sometimes, it takes the absence of certain

people in our lives to appreciate their presence. It

takes loneliness to appreciate companionship.

I welcome her with open arms. It was a default

action. She rushed into my arms like a daughter

who had missed her father for one hundred years.

We hugged. I kissed her. She looked surprised but

responded by giving me a more passionate kiss.

Without saying another word, I carried her to the

bedroom.

She reached for my "joystick" and c*ressed me

softly . I felt aroused. The blood within my body

surged furiously like a wild beast released from

prison. My adrenaline pulsated sporadically.

We connected eventually sending a sporadic wave

of pleasure running concurrently through our bodies

like electrical currents not willing to be

disconnected any time soon.

After that night, b*nking her became a habit. The

following month, the inevitable happened, she got

pregnant. I was quite happy I was going to be a

father but underneath my joy, I have a feeling

something bad was about to happen.

It was as if I have the gift of Clairvoyance, the

following week,my wife returned home. I was

expecting to see her baby but there was none.

She later explained to me that her child died just

two hours after delivering him. Doctor Vincent was

very angry with her and even called her a witch. He

threw her out of his house telling her to go back to

her impotent husband.

I felt pity for her and accepted her back to her

matrimonial home. Technically, she was still my

wife since I have not divorce her when she got

pregnant for the doctor.

I told her Sika , our housemaid was pregnant for

me too. She looked shocked but didn't say a word.

I knew she was planning something evil.

Sika knew her stay in the house was dangerous.

Once again, she ran away from the house.

About a year later, We woke up early in the

morning to meet the cry of a baby. I opened my

door only to see a three months old baby in a

basket in front of my door, on the doorstep. I took

it in and handed it over to my wife. There was a

letter attached to the baby. It was from Sika.

Dear Ben,

Words cannot expressed how I feel right now. I just

want you to know that my love for you is priceless.

I cannot erase the sweet moments we share

together. It was deeply etched into the secret

recesses of my memory. It break my heart to leave

you when your wife arrived but I can't stay in your

house with your wife. But remember , I'm with you

in the spirit and I'm sure you have seen the fruit of

our love .I put him at your doorstep.

Your love

Sika.

I cried when I read her letter. I hide the letter from

my wife. To her, the baby was a gift from God

since she had not being able to conceive any child

again after the fist one.

She took very good care of the child until she

chanced on the very letter I had hidden from her

over the years. She grew very bitter with me and

the child. It was at that point that she hated

Richard.

"Dad, dad, talk to me, whose picture is that you are

holding?"

My son brought my memory back from the

memory lane. Dear reader, don't tell my son the

details of all that I told you . I will find my way to

tell him the secret I have been keeping from him

for 16 years.

"My son, ...."

[Narration from Richard's point of view ]

I woke my father from his reverie. He said, my son,

the woman in this picture is your mother. Her

name is Sika Ametamemanya. I'm sorry I kept this

from you all this while.

I was angry at my father from keeping that secret

from me and also cheating on my

...."mother?"...erhhh. Akosua.

But dad, why did you cheat on her. Now she is

angry with me because she saw me as a bastard

and the evidence of your infidelity. No wonder she

hated me so much.

My father said, "son, don't be in a hurry to

conclude. It might interest you to know that she

cheated on me first.

"How , father?"I asked.

It's a long story but listen, I will tell you, My father

said and began recounting his story. He said It all

started some twenty years ago. He met Akosua

when he visited a cousin of his at the Divine Touch

Hospital. She said Akosua was a trainee nurse then

and he took a liking to her......."

I listen with rapt attention until he finished telling

me the whole story. After recounting the story to

me, I felt sorry for him. I also admire him for

having such a forgiving heart to still accommodate

a woman who got pregnant for another man, left

him and stayed with the adulterer for close to a

year only to come back empty handed.

Honestly , I don't know what I could have done in

such a critical situation. My heart melted for my

father.

Though Akosua , the woman I had come to know

as my mother maltreated me, I still love her. She

was the only mother I knew.

We received the shock of our lives when one day,

We received the news that Akosua was involved in

a fatal car accident when she was returning from

work. Her body was deposited at Korle-Bu Morgue.

One of the things found in her bag was bottle of

poison. What she had wanted to use it for was

unknown but I can guess. She wanted to poison

My father and I and take over his properties but

nature has its own way of metting out punishment

to the evil ones.

Her body was deposited at the hospital. Family

meeting was summoned and three weeks later ,

she was buried after a short funeral ceremony.

Something else happened at the ceremony. I saw a

woman starring at me curiously. I stared back at

her. Then my mind went back to the picture I saw

my father holding when I went to his room to

explain why I was outside the house when he

returned from work. Involuntarily, I shouted ,

"mother! !!"

I ran towards her and she also ran towards me

saying, "my son, I miss you so much"

The tears in our eyes began to flow ceaselessly as

we remained in a hugging position. My father was

at my back. Guess what , he was smiling at his

wife's funeral.

EPILOGUE

Mr. Benjamin helped Sika to further her education.

She became a science teacher in Accra Academy.

After graduating from the university, He got married

to her. They now have their second child Emma.

Richard was happy he has met his real mother.