Rejected At Birth
Episode Six
Grandma was so kind to change my diapers while they both whispered things to each other that I couldn’t even hear.
I only heard her daughter saying she should return us to where she found us because children like us were bad luck and might cause pain to anyone taking care of us.
Grandma agreed, saying there might be some truth to what she said.
After all, if there wasn’t something wrong with us, why would our parents abandon us in the bushes instead of leaving us where someone could find and help us on the roadside?
“Now you’re getting my point,” Aunt Kate said as Grandma started wrapping us in two separate wrappers to take us back to where she found us.
I had thought about Aunt Kate and how dirty that bush looked.
“She would have let us diē rather than let us experience happiness and then bring us back to sadness.”
Grandma noticed that I wet my pants, so she had to change my clothes and replace my diaper with a napkin, which made me feel uncomfortable.
“Aren’t you going to take them away?” Aunt Kate interrupted Grandma while she was admiring me.
“I know you’ve been wanting a male child, Grandma.
I’ll give you one, but these children are ēvil. Let’s not inherit someone else’s problems.”
Those words struck my ears, and even though I may have forgotten a lot of things, I didn’t forget them.
When Grandma was done with me, she checked on my sister who was lying there so peacefully, unaffected by everything that was happening.
Maybe she couldn’t understand the world the way I did.
I felt like I wasn’t an ordinary child because I understood everything that the adults did or said.
Grandma then carried us just like she did when she brought us in and went outside.
The other children rushed out when they noticed Grandma taking us away. “Grandma, where are you taking them?” they all asked in unison.
I felt as if they could understand me. They all followed Grandma in groups, with three of the children holding onto her leg, not wanting her to take us away.
Grandma understood the unspoken message, and deep down, I knew she didn’t want to let us go either.
She turned and went back to the house where Aunt Kate was.
She said, “I will take care of the children. I cannot return them to a bush My mind won’t allow it.”
Aunt Kate was silent. I wondered what we did to her that made her advise Grandma to take us away.
In the evening, Grandma cooked native rice in a big pot. She put everything in a big bowl for all the children to eat.
They all squatted down to eat from the bowl, playing and fįghting with each other for more food.
I was waiting for milk. Aunt Kate was feeding her daughter with milk, and I hoped she would leave some for my sister and me.
But when Grandma went to take the milk, Aunt Kate screamed, “I’m not going to feed someone else’s child.
I’m not their mother. They can stārve to death.
I don’t care.” That was the last time we drank milk in the house. Grandma didn’t say a word to her.
She went inside to get a plate and scooped a little rice for my sister and me. We weren’t even old enough to eat such food.
My sister didn’t eat, but I ate everything Grandma fed me.
After realizing there was no other option, my sister ate too.
Days turned into weeks, which turned into months, and months turned into years.
We had already spent five years with Grandma without good clothes to wear, no education, and consistent farm work.
Grandma only made money from tending people’s farms.
They would give her a large portion of the farm to wėėd, but would only give her a small amount in return.
My sister and I could hear when Grandma or anyone else called us, but we couldn’t respond.
It made me feel really bad that everyone else in the family could speak except us.
Aunt Kate only tolerated us because of Grandma, and she thought we were usėless because we did all the work while she and her daughter did nothing at home.
Whenever Grandma talked about us going to school to Aunt Kate, she ignored the conversation and asked, “Which school will accept two dūmb children?”
She would laugh and mock us, and my sister would cry while I tried to console her.
My sister and I had a special way of communicating through hand signs.
I became her protector, shielding her from Aunt Kate.
One time, when Grandma went to church, we hoped she would take us, but she refused and went alone.
Aunt Kate took the opportunity to ask us to tend the farm someone paid her for, saying, “That’s the only thing you’re good at.”
We had no choice but to tend the farm from morning until evening.
We were soaked with sweat and extremely dirty when Grandma came back and saw us tending the farm.
When she asked why we were tending it,it was obvious we were tired, although I asked my sister to rest while I did all the work alone.
Aunt Kate interrupted by saying we had both agreed to help her.
We couldn’t speak, so there was no way to tell Grandma the truth.
My sister tried using the signs we had learned from each other, but Grandma didn’t understand.
She was disappointed as her eyes were soaked with tears.
It was a Sunday, and we were all getting ready to go to church when her daughter, Princess, pushed my sister, and she pushed back.
We didn’t notice when she fell and hit her head, resulting in a big injūry.
Aunt Kate used that as an opportunity to flog my sister, leaving visible lines on her body.
I tried to intervene, but she pushed me away. Grandma was weak and just kept screaming for her to stop, but she didn’t.
I felt so pained seeing my sister hurt like that.
I pushed Aunt Kate because I was ready to do anything to protect my sister.
I went inside the house and grabbed the few clothes we had with us.
Without waiting for her to kick us out, I grabbed my sister’s hand, and we walked out of the compound together.
I didn’t know where we were going, but I just wanted a better life for my sister.
I knew I was meant to protect her.
Thessycute Ekene
