Episode 2

MYRAH.

I stood out of the crowd under a tree just a few meters away from where everyone collected,

I watched my dad being buried, I gradually swung into dejection as my brother and uncle Fred,

swung the casket into the grave, cries sprode amongst the crowd, I could do nothing to keep myself from crying.

I wept sorely with bitterness, i limped to a squat and reclined to the tree near me, and coiled my

self up, drips of tears smeared all over my elbows, my throat went dry and i gulped on a dry

throat, I kept wiping my tears with my hair that was limp on my shoulders, astride my neck.

I wept and said repeatedly, ''dad don't leave us'', knowing pretty well his death is carved on

stones.

I had to be strong and blink my tears away and not cry myself into anxiety.

He has gone and he is never coming back.

Ever again.

At least I've got his son to carry me through,

The only problem is we are left destitute and am counting on his siblings to assist us.

I picked myself up and and kept forcing myself not to weep.

Leon

After dad was buried, I left the grave and made a beeling for my sister, I saw how sad and

perplexed she was, I assumed many discomforting thoughts were crowding in her mind.

I went and embraced her warmly, just to make her feel she's not alone, am here for her and will

always be.

But she wept uncontrollably and bared all her soul to me.

''I don't know if I can be strong, I miss him so much''. she cried out with so much passion.

'We can, we have each other, we will get through this.'' I encouraged her, but that didn't stop her

from lamenting.

''We are destitute, we have nothing, tell me how we are supposed to cope with that'.''

Tears kept rolling down her cheek, I brought out a hankie and gently wiped her tears,

She took the hankie from my hands and wiped her eye briskly, she crumpled the hankie,

afterwards, and threw it away.

''Don't worry about our financial capability, am sure aunt mellisa and uncle fred, will assist us

financially, I said.

'' finance isn't the only problem we have, armella have been assigned to be responsible for us'',

she said and wiped her tears repeatedly with the back of her hands.

''She will bind us to her rules and she might refuse to spend a dime on us.'' she added.

All she said were practically possible outcomes, if armella is left to care for us, she might deviate

the money's purpose, and spend it on her desires, and aunt Melissa won't support us forever, one

day we will depend on Armella's income, I just pretended that all will be well.

But I said in my mind.

We must have survive this, and survival demands we always fight for ourselves, we adapt, we

will have to make sure that the money is used on the most pressing needs.

A forecast of how things would be was born in me.

Myrah

I wiped my tears in a hustle, I descried Armella and Melissa approaching us, they seemed as

though they had something to apprise to us, I hoped it would be something that 'll redeem our

conditions.

They reached where we were.

''Children'' aunt Melissa called me and my bro.

''Don't be apprehensive of what will happen in the days ahead, considering your dad's death has

left you destitute of finance, but I've promise to provide all you need financially, and armella has

committed to taking care of you two.'' She said, casting pitiful smiles at us.

The financial support was a redeemer, but assigning armella to care for us, blemished

everything,

''I will take good care of them Melissa, I promise, they are both lovely children, and they deserve

much care.'' Armella assured Melissa.

I kept scowling at her, and her deceitful courteous behaviours, right there, she was putting up

those goodly behaviours to deceive aunt Melissa and to deceive us into thinking she has changed

her mind concerning us.

I am too much a cynic to believe she would keep to her promises, I already know she's

campaigning for this role because, money for the upkeep of our households, will always be given

to her, that would practically make her to never go penniless in her life, I just concluded in my

mind that Melissa's financial support won't be used on household upkeep and also our upkeep.

since the money will be managed by Armella, we might be left to provide financial support for Ourselves.

But I promised to never let that happen, we will always fight for our right in that house, if we want

to survive her plague.

We received condolences from other relatives, until the ceremony was over, we went home,

looking forward to what happens next.

           A week later

LEON

On a monday morning.

I woke up very weak after a sleepless night, a night full of sad thoughts and bereavement.

Myrah sat dormant on her bed with her legs straddled and her hands on her jaw, she was

bereaved of the prevailing joy she normally has every morning.

She has occasioned her mornings as time for grief.

She has replaced blissful morning activities with desolateness and stillness, she now devotes

majority of her time to distressful thoughts, worry and rumination.

That's unhealthy for a person know to be blissful and chuffed with every condition she finds

herself in.

I felt there is a need to curtail her devotedness to thoughts, because more than just sad thoughts

could be going on in her mind, she might start thinking of wrong ways of making money, or she

might get one anxiety disorder, such as clinical depression or bipolar disorder, i can never

underestimate the way thoughts flicker.

Now i miss the old her, I can't say her erstwhile behaviours were the best, but they are

preferable, than her current behaviours.

Before, she'd always wake me up with breakfast,

She'd come to my ear and shout ''wake up sleepie head,'' I would grumble and cover my ears

tight with my pillow, but she will persist on troubling me,

next thing, she will open the curtains very wide so the sunlight would wake me up, just pestering

around and making me uncomfortable.

I've asked her reasons for that, she said she normally wakes up very early in the morning and

just sits around doing nothing, and if she becomes too bored, she would wake me up to see

somebody to talk with.

But since dad passed on, she's been acting different, sometimes I miss her morning troubles, I

know it's not normal to want trouble, but sometimes you would want them to happen again, it

makes you feel your life is still normal.

What scares me the most about myrah currently is the brooding silence she keeps, I barely notice

her presence in the room, I have never known her to be a silent keeper, but now she keeps more

silence than a slug.

Her awkward silence wasn't a studied attitude, neither did she cultivate it in herself, it's all

caused by being always in trance, and beating your brains out on painful thoughts, I hated

seeing her that way, I decided to bring up a conversation to detour her from her thoughts.

I scooted leisurely, to her own bed, whilst sitting on mine, i was being careful with her, because i

doubted she'd be on speaking terms with anybody,

She looked furtively at me, as i neared her bed, I caught a look of wonder in her, she has scented

a bug was nighing, she folded her hands in preparation to what I had to say.

She had made it an inconvenient time for me to say what I had, when I finally sat beside her, I

dithered cause I lost the courage to say what I wanted.

I was forced to say something else contrary to what I really had in mind.

''you've been quiet all this while ?,'' I asked. in a smokey tone.

''Nothing, just saying my morning prayers'' she answered, she was very raw of emotions, and

looked barely attentive

''You don't look like you are praying, to me you look bereft, did you even sleep at night?.'' I

inquired.

She didn't reply, she only squinched up her brows, and it was the nearest approach to an answer

I got from her, and she kept silent.

I grabbed one of her hands out from fold, i patted it again and again I had a tactical purpose for

it, to calm her down and get answers, I laid my eyes in wait for her look, my target was to have

an eye contact with her, it's another tactical way I could use to calm her down, she quickly

glanced at me and dodged an eye contact,

I tried looking into her eye, her head kept fluttering to sides, she kept avoiding it, I gave up

seconds later, and had to prioritize dialogue.

''You don't look okay myrah, you don't eat, you don't talk to me anymore, all you do is think, talk

to me, tell if you are okay.''

I said in an alluring gesture, she took her hand away from mine.

'' go away leon, just let me be'' she lashed at me.

''Don't worry about a thing myrah, all will be well,''

''Says God.'' She replied with profound sarcasm, she couched on her bed and curled her self up,

she didn't want to hear a word from me again, the conversation lapsed after that. and bringing it

up again had become unattainable.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***