Rose was the only child in her family and she lived with her mother because her father had left when she was two years old.
She was nine. She loved animals and had a little dog called Spoti.
She was short and dark-skinned.
One day her uncle Peter visited. When Rose saw him arriving, she ran from the neighbour’s house into their yard. There she noticed her uncle’s donkey standing under a tree — something
unusual.
“Hello, Uncle,” said Rose.
Her uncle picked her up. “Hello! How are you, my little princess?”
“I’m doing great. Are you going to take me with you for the holidays as usual?” Rose asked, looking into his eyes.
“No, my child,” her uncle replied with a smile. “This year I can’t take you. I have a lot of work, and you would be lonely because I will have to leave.”
She asked again, “Is that your donkey outside?”
Her uncle smiled and said, “Yes, it is my donkey. Do you like it?”
Rose also smiled and said, “Yes, uncle. It is very nice. It looks like a horse. Can you give it to me? I will give you Spoti instead.”
Her uncle laughed. “No, my child. You are still too young for me to give you the donkey.”
“Rose felt sad and went outside. She went to where her uncle’s donkey was sleeping. She patted and touched it. The donkey, not used to her, became angry. She teased it by pulling its tail. The donkey kicked her, and she began to cry. Her mother and uncle ran to her when they heard her crying.”
“Did you get hurt, my child?” her uncle asked as he picked her up.
He told her not to go near the donkey. Rose sat down and thought for a moment. Then she got up and climbed into the cart the donkey was pulling. She saw one empty bag while the others were full of maize meal.
She crawled into the empty bag so she could go with her uncle and see the donkey every day.
“Meanwhile, her mother and uncle were following each other in the vegetable garden. After a while, her uncle left his sister’s house.”
“On his way, the donkey walked slowly because it could feel Rose in the cart.”
“Why is this donkey walking so slowly? I am late,” Peter complained. He stopped under a tree to calm the donkey.
Inside the bag, Rose became scared and coughed softly.
Peter frowned. “Why is this donkey making a sound like a person? I have been suspicious of it since I bought it from Phillip.”
He continued his journey and arrived home safely. His wife, Lucy, met him as usual.
“Why are you walking like that? Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Because Peter was tired, he did not answer his wife.”
“She went to the cart to unload the bags of maize meal.”Suddenly, she jumped back and shouted, ‘Ahhh, Peter! Why is your load moving?’”
Peter shouted, “Hey, Lucy! What are you talking about? Don’t you see I’m tired?”
His wife became angry. “Do you think I am joking? Come and see!”
Rose came out of the bag crying. She was afraid her uncle would be angry.
“Hey, Rose, is that you? Why are you making such a big fuss?”
“You are trying to cause trouble between me and my sister!”
While they were arguing, Lucy took Rose by the hand.
“Stop crying my child. Let’s go inside,” she said.
Rose said nothing. She was too scared and kept shaking her head.
Peter followed them angrily.
“Stop spoiling my sister’s child! Can’t you see she made a mistake?”
“She doesn’t even know Rose is with us—she must be looking for her all over the village,” he said.
“Don’t worry about my sister-in-law. I will talk to her on the phone. Calm down and stop scaring the child,” Lucy said, picking Rose up.
“Rose’s mother, Merry, went around the village looking for her daughter, but she could not find her. She then went to the neighbour’s house because the neighbour’s child always played with Rose.”
“Knock… knock…”
“Oh,it's Merry, you look worried. Is something wrong?” Emily asked with a smile.
“I came to ask Beauty when she last saw Rose,” Merry replied.
“The last time I saw Rose was when she ran to greet her uncle,” Beauty answered.
Merry’s heart sank. Just then, her phone began to ring. She quickly rushed outside and answered.
“Hello?”
“Sister, Rose is here with us. She was hiding in the cart,” Lucy said.
“Ah! This child nearly gave me a heart attack. I have been walking all over the village looking for her,” Merry replied.
“Remember, Rose is still just a child,” Lucy said gently. “Do not worry. She is safe with us, and we will take good care of her.”
“Thank you, sister. Sleep well,” Merry said softly.
“You too, sister,” Lucy replied before ending the call.
Emily smiled when she heard that Rose had gone missing.
“You saw how fast Merry ran out of here,” Emily said with a laugh. “She looked so frightened.”
“Merry is always quiet. She never speaks up for herself. Even when people trouble her, she says nothing.”
“Emily continued talking about Merry because she did not like her, and she also did not like her child, Rose.
Her husband, Thomas, laughed loudly and kept speaking badly about Merry.”
“That woman doesn’t handle things well. Now I understand why Rose’s father is no longer with her,” he said.
Beauty did not like hearing her parents speak that way. Quietly, she went to bed.
“I wish Rose would not come back,” Emily said coldly. “I want to see what Merry will do.”
