Rejected At Birth
Episode Eight
As I looked down, I spotted a big lizard staring at me.
I asked myself, “Could this be the reason she ran away?” I used a little stick to chāse it away.
I couldn’t scream her name because no one would hear me.
I had to search the back of the shop we were sitting in, but she wasn’t there.
It was already late, and I lost my appetite, so I dropped the food.
I just sat there, thinking about where else to find her, but she seemed to be nowhere.
I wasn’t sure if she had gone home because I had warned her about Aunt Kate.
She was scared of Aunt Kate and wouldn’t go anywhere near her.
I just sat there, staring at the food. I was extremely hungry, but I couldn’t eat because I was supposed to eat with my sister.
How would I explain to people on the road if I couldn’t talk?
I just prayed silently that God would protect her for me. She was all I had.
I felt like I wasn’t even a good brother to her because I couldn’t perform my brotherly duties.
Just taking care of her seemed impossible, and now she was missing because of me.
I blamed myself for everything. At one point, I even wished I hadn’t gone in search of food, “but then what would we have eaten to sleep?”
That was another thought on its own.
I was exhausted. Everyone had packed and closed their shops, and it seemed like I was the only one outside in the middle of nowhere.
I didn’t even want to leave the place because I knew my sister would come back.
Everywhere was extremely dark. I just dropped the food and lay down on the cold floor.
I noticed she had left our bag of clothes there.
I had given up on looking for her, but I knew she would come back somehow.
I didn’t even want to eat without her. I just wished I never left her all alone, knowing I was her only source of strength.
The food was not as important as my sister, and I wished to kick it aside and find her.
But I didn’t know where else to look. I didn’t have a choice but to get up and eat a little, as the worms in my stomach were causing pain.
When I was done eating, I left some for Julian, hoping she would come back.
I sat down again, thinking about where she would go.
Julian was not the type to follow random people because grandma used to say,
“If you follow strangers, they will take you far away from the house, and you won’t see anyone you know ever again.”
I regretted leaving the house. I lied down to sleep again, and the mosquitoes were feeding on me like they had just discovered a new prey.
I expected it because the place was close to a swamp.
I had to sit up and hīt the mosquitoes on the wall of the shop.
I planned to get up early the next morning and leave before the owner of the shop came to open it.
I couldn’t even sleep. I had to get up and put the leftover rice in our bag of clothes.
It was meant for Julian, and I didn’t want anyone to take it. I didn’t trust those people on the street.
I woke up to the owner of the shop screaming at me to get up and leave her shop.
“What are you doing here? Does this look like your house?”
she yelled at the top of her voice, attracting people on the street.
I didn’t even notice that it was already late in the morning.
A group of people had already gathered, staring at me.
Some passed by and stared, as if I was some kind of street child. But I looked like one because I wore a tattered top with a shirt and torn trousers.
They might have mistaken me for a mād woman’s child.
I just moved a bit out of her shop, taking my bag with me.
I didn’t even get enough sleep as I was thinking about the whereabouts of my sister all through the night. I missed her a lot.
I didn’t want to leave the shop completely because I knew she would come looking for me there.
I just sat somewhere in another shop close to the woman’s shop.
She started packing things outside the shop, and at intervals, she stopped to look at me. I didn’t mind.
I had it in mind to act like I was dēaf if she spoke to me again. I wasn’t ready for another round of hūmiliation.
I had sat there for hours when I saw some children playing.
I lifted my eyes to see them screaming at the top of their voices.
I saw Julian among the children. She was following them closely.
“Is that not the person I have been looking for?” I asked myself.
I was in complete shock, and I waited for the car to move, then I crossed the road to meet her.
When she saw me, she ran away and entered a woman’s house along with the children, shūtting the door.
It looked as if she had found a new family overnight.
Thessycute Ekene
