Wretched Flower

"Ebiere. Ebiere speak to me, wake up"! “Shes gone Ebikeme, she shes gone. Ebikeme remembered the day his sister died of typhoid and malaria in the hospital and how he and his parents mourned. The doctors had refused to treat her because his father and mother had no money to pay for her treatment. His fifteen years old sister laid helplessly on the sick bed the day before she died. He remembered how she smiled to the funny jokes he cracked to entertain her; having a very high fever that could stop anyone from laughing at the funniest jokes though, she still struggled to put on a smile because it was her beloved brothers jokes; she would never trade that smile she gave to him for anything in the world. But she was gone, she was no more. On the last night, Ebikeme sat beside her and told her all the plans he had for her and their parents, to set them free from poverty. He said that he would study hard to gain admission into the university and make sure he graduated with the best grades so that he would become a big man and save them from poverty. He said that he would study hard to gain admission into the university and make sure he graduated with the best grades so that he would become a big man and save them from poverty. He also told her that he would further her education to any level and he would build a family house for them and make their father and mothers business of fishing a big one; people would fish for them and the fishes would be sold and lots of money would be made; paying the workers their monthly salaries; life would become easy and smooth, all these he had promised and told her on her sick bed, and she smiled as always, with happiness and hope in her. Even though she was sick to death, hearing these promises from her brother made her happy, but she didnt live to see any of his promises come true; she was dead and gone. Ever since then life for Ebikeme and his family had never been the same. Even though they were poor they were still happy because they had each other and that was the greatest wealth they had, but death took that away, and now Ebikeme is the only child in the family with no one to have fun with; with no one to wait for the little delicacy his mother would be making; no one to perceive the aroma and guess what food it was; no one to predict the time his father would be coming back home; no one to play games with, and no one to call ”little Sis”. He felt alone and depressed. He laid on the five years old mat that was looking wretched in the self-contain apartment they lived in as their home, the room was painted black with the darkness of the night, his father and mother were not yet back home. Ebikeme was 20 years old; his biggest dream was to set his family free from the b*****e they had always been in. He knew he had this blood of poverty running through his veins but he was willing and determined to change it. He had a great desire to school in the University ever since his parents managed to sponsor him through secondary school at age 17, but there was no money to further his education to that level and so he remained at home helping his parents with house chores and sometimes followed his father for fishing. Ebikeme was a writer, he wrote poems and short stories; that was his gift of the pen, but he has never been given a chance to show it to the world so he just wrote on piece of papers and read it to himself, appreciated himself, scored himself and congratulated himself. His mother came into the house; into the little room, with a short candle that was getting to the end of its life, the little flame threw light into the little room. He wiped the tears on his face as he stood up from the mat on the floor to greet his mother. "Mummy bode"? He greeted in their native language “Izon”. "Inyoo, I'm back. Are you the only one at home"? She asks as she walks to a short plastic table that was filled with the solids of candle tears to place the brief candle on it. "Yes, Daddy is not yet back, I thought you'd be coming back with him"? "No o, your father go hustle for market side". "Where you come go na? He asks back in Nigerian pidgin English as he walks to a door that led into the bathroom to pee". "I just walked around town to see if I could get dinner, but nothing good came out, everyone is behaving as if they dont have anything to spare". Hearing these words of his mother bled his heart, the urine coming out couldnt come out freely anymore as his emotions rose higher. He came out with his trouser zipped. "let us wait for your father and see if he is going to come back with something. Did you ask Papa Okosu for anything"? He asked, trying to hold his emotions. "Papa never try? He has done his best for us, we have asked enough from him". "Where you able to find something to eat today"? He asked, blinking his eyes to prevent the tears that were swelling in his eyes from dropping. "Eat"?! She asked with rising sadness in disguise of anger." You give me food chop? If I had gotten something to eat do you think I wouldn't come back home to share with you"? Ebikeme couldn't hold his emotions anymore and he started crying like a baby. "Mummy my sister is dead, she is dead, she she would have been with me at home and we we would have waited together for your return". His mother couldn't hold back her emotions too, she walks to him with tears and hugs him, patting him on the back. "No dey do like dis, I know that it hurts, I know that she is dead". She says, trying to keep her emotion down, but her emotions grew stronger; the daughter she gave birth to and have spent many years with was no more. "But why did she die? Why should my daughter just die like that"?! She laments as she walks away with tears streaming down her eyes. "Mummy its okay, don't cry, na me don make you cry again". He says as he walks to her to clean her tears but she still laments. "We don't even have food, its not that we have a good house to call home, but the only person we have that keeps our happiness burning, death has taken her too, death can't leave that one for us". Ebikeme struggles with his emotions to be strong for his mother, wiping her tears and hugging her until she could stop crying. The bulb in the ceiling brightened up all of a sudden like someone that have been sleeping for a long time and was awakened to see what was going on. "Nepa don bring light". Ebikeme says as he releases her from his hug. "Thank God Papa Okosu payed the light bill for us". She says as she wipes the tears off her face with her hands. His father comes in with a black bag in his hand, his black trouser folded up to his knee, and his tee-shirt having some torn holes on it, Ebikeme looked very much like him. "Daddy Do o, bode"? Ebikeme welcomed him. "É do. So, we have light in this house"? He says with a little happiness, seeing the bulb's light. "Sweety welcome o". "Thank you honey, tubrra ke lade a"? "Fiai ye ke lade o, you carry anything come"? "Yes o, I was able to buy three robbers of garri and three dried fish after carrying some loads for people; lets just drink garri this night and sleep". "Sweety thank you, you've tried". She said, as she and her son check what was in the bag. "Daddy thank you". Ebikeme says with his hungry stomach wanting to have the fish and the garri digested already.