Find Her

Acceptance

A day after Tasha got to the village, she called her dad. Mr Oluwa was so happy to hear from his daughter. He really missed her and promised to visit them soon. They had a long chat about how the program went. She narrated everything to her dad and Mr Oluwa was glad that his daughter had a good time over there and encouraged her to keep the positive energy and implement all that she was taught.

Tasha asked about her dad's business and Mr Oluwa was positive about how things were picking up.

Tasha did not go to school that day because they were asked to take the day off and rest. She asked permission from her mother and took the opportunity to visit her friend Nuna and presented her with the gifts. Nuna was not happy that Tasha could not tell her of a good news like that and had to hear it from another person. She felt really betrayed and untrusted. But Tasha apologized and told her she was obeying the orders of her mother. Nuna really knew how strict Ms Betty was so she understood that Tasha could not have disobeyed her mother's instructions. She accepted the gifts and was appreciative. The two friends had a good chat and Tasha narrated all that happened at Philadon academy. Nuna was smiling throughout the conversation and wished he was the one presented with the opportunity.

Nuna came to the village not so long ago. She lived with her mother at Akati, the town where Tasha's school was located. Her mother used to sell at the canteen in Opam academy and Nuna sometimes comes to the campus to help her mother. So he had met Tasha many times before on the campus but they were not friends.

Nuna's mother found a new cooking job in a town called Finte not far from the capital city, Acada. Nuna had to relocate to live with her grandmother at Agasa since there was no other relative at Akati. Nuna visited her mother just once and her mother took her along to Acada to shop for some goods. That was the first time she stepped foot in the capital city. Her mother hardly visits them in the village of Agasa because of her work so they mostly talked on the phone.

Nuna had not met her father before because her mother said he was an irresponsible man and did not accept responsibility for her pregnancy. Since then, her mother had nothing to do with her father so she did not know the man called father who was responsible for her existence. So Tasha and Nuna became friends after she relocated to the village.

Tasha got back to the house to help her mother prepare dinner. When she got home, her mother was not around but only her siblings riding bicycle in the neighborhood. She decided to have some rest before her mother got back. She got to the room and realized how unkept the room was so she decided to tidy up the place. She quickly tidied the room before taking her rest.

After a while she woke up but her mother was still not back.

She gathered her siblings and started the house chores. She made Teni to sweep the kitchen and also wash the plates whiles she and Tobi went to fetch water at the riverside. Jerry, their step brother was very stubborn and decided not to help but continued riding the bicycle.

Not long after, their mother got back and found Jerry playing whiles his siblings were working. She really gave him the appropriate punishment.

Ms Betty was impressed with how her daughter decided to take control of the home and put things to order. That evening after dinner, Mr Boku got back from work and Jerry reported what happened to his father. Mr Boku got angry at his wife and decided not to eat the meal.

Ms Betty could not understand why a child should not the trained in the right way. Jerry had always been lazy and stubborn because he knew his father would defend him.

His actions always brings quarrels between Ms Betty and his father and Ms Betty was getting tired of his lifestyle because she cannot give him a special treatment different from how she treats her own

children.

Tasha made sure her siblings took their bath that evening so that their mother would not get angry with them. She also took her bath and decided to pack her school materials because she would be going back to school the following day.

She also made sure her siblings read their books before going to bed.

She promised herself to take control of her leadership position as the eldest. As the eldest she needs to lead her siblings on the right path and she was determined to do that. After the constant evening learning at Philadon academy, she was used to it and was ready to implement it on her siblings since they were lazy at learning in the evening.

That evening she drew up a timetable for them and also made one for herself. She realized that her mother treats her as a child because she behaved so. Therefore she was ready to change her ways and act as an adult so that her mother can accord her that respect. Because she knew that if her mother continues to scold and disgrace her in the presence of her younger siblings, they would also not give her the respect that she wanted.

She knew she had a lot to work on including her academics.

She finished packing her bags and also packed the gifts for Joan. She packed one of the motivational books Mrs Halira gave her. She promised to read a bit of it everyday at school to occupy herself and also boost her confidence. She also took one of the story books because she doubts if the library in her school would be opened.

She was determined to make a positive appearance at school even though she was anxious of how it would go.

Tobi and her siblings could not learn much because they fell asleep. Tasha woke them up and packed their books into the room. She was about to lock the door when she heard some footsteps, it was their father, Mr Boku. He left the house after the quarrel and had returned after his wife went to bed. Tasha left the door opened for him and went to bed because she had to wake up early for school.

The following morning, she did not have to go to the riverside to fetch water because they fetched enough the previous day and it was enough to take them through the morning. She prepared breakfast and made sure her siblings took their bath. She ate her breakfast and also took some for her lunch because she knew that her mother would not give her money for lunch at school.

Soon the bus arrived and she left for school.

They arrived in school on time and Tasha went to her classroom. She looked out for Joan but she had not arrived. She wondered why Joan would be late because she lived not that far from the school and had a bicycle. She looked out for Adina too but could not find her. She became a little anxious because these two were her new friends and she was hoping to see them at least to give her a little confidence and also had a good chat about all that happened when she was away.

She remembered the words of Mrs Halira and got hold of herself. She waited a bit longer but there was no sign of Joan. Soon the bell rang for the morning break and still Joan had not arrived and she knew it was too late for her to come to school. During the break she searched for Adina who was in a different class but she had also not reported to school and Tasha almost became paranoid.

This was not how she envisaged the day and she felt alone. She began to feel a little unsecured but tried to renew her mind to be positive about the day. It was a very difficult moment for her.

After the break, classes began again and her class teacher officially welcomed her back. Before the morning break, her class teacher did not come to class because she was in a staff meeting with some other teachers. During that time, the whole class was noisy as the students were just chatting because there was no learning going on. They were chatting with their friends but Tasha had no one to chat with. Her only companion did not come to school.

During lunch break, she did not visit the canteen because she had nothing to do there. She ate her home made meal quietly and went back to the classroom. She almost forgot about the books she brought. She took them and tried to read but could not concentrate. When she was at Philadon she thought she had taken control of her fears but it looked like everything had fallen apart within the twinkling of an eye.

The mere sight of Abena was intimidating enough to resurrect all her fears. That little girl was worse than a witch, she said to herself.

Abena tried to pull some pranks on her but she remained steady and did not mind her. She was just hoping for the day to end quickly and finally the closing bell rang. She was the first to run out of the classroom and entered the bus.

She got home with a moody face and went straight to her room. Luckily her mother was not at home to notice. She was disappointed in the day and disappointed in herself. She felt like a failure and wished not to go to school the following day.

Later that evening she made dinner for the family and made sure her siblings read their books and did their assignments.

Even though she had a bad day, she encouraged herself that the following day will be better.

She went to school the following day but her friends still did not show up. She had to take control of the day whether her friends were there or not. She spent most of her years being caged to her fears and it was now time to free herself. It's now time to live the life she had wished for. She needed a new self.

She decided to focus on only positive things and ignore all the negatives. She spent most of her free hours reading her story book and motivational book and that kept her company.

The week went by without Adina or Joan coming to school. She was worried because they were always punctual in school and wondered what might have been wrong with them.

The weekend was a long one for Tasha because she spent most of the day resting. Her mother had traveled to their hometown, Shai to visit her sick grandmother and she would be back on Sunday. There was not much to be done at home so Tasha spent most of the day resting. Nuna paid her a visit on Saturday and they took time to continue their chats about what happened at Philadon academy.

On Sunday morning she got the fright of her life as she saw Mr Asiba at the back of their house. It had been a long time since she saw him. He traveled to another town for some business deals. It was some sort of an illegal business and they were reported to the police. They absconded and this made him to flee from the village. So he returned after the issue had died down.

Tasha was really afraid to see him because she remembered how he sexually harassed her.

He approached her and tried to harass her again but Tasha withdrew. Even though she was still afraid of him, she mastered courage and confronted him.

She promised to inform his wife about his actions and also inform the police of his whereabout. Mr Asiba was shocked about the way Tasha confronted him because he never saw it coming. He knew her to be the timid type and she was always afraid of him. So he wondered how she become bold to the extent of confronting him.

He quietly left the scene after he realized that he would not be able to have his way.

She run quickly to seek refuge in the room when Mr Asiba left. Tasha was gasping for breath as if she had run at a distance of 500 meters. She never taught she could do what she did. She realized that self pity was not going to help her overcome her fears but rather courage and determination.

Even though she was still afraid, she was happy she did something good that helped her.

Later that afternoon, she saw Mr Asiba at a distance but he did not come closer to her.

She made sure she packed her bags for school and also prepared dinner before her mother got back in the evening.

It was Monday and Tasha got to school with the other students in the bus. She got into the classroom and met Joan. What a relief! she said to herself. She was happy to see Joan finally. Joan was not in school because she fell sick. She was admitted at the hospital due to Typhoid fever. She was discharged over the weekend and was fit to come back to school. She was happy to see Tasha again because they had not been able to speak to each other since she left for the exchange program.

Tasha presented the gift to her and also narrated all that happened at the program.

During lunch break, Adina found Tasha and they both went to the canteen to eat. Adina bought her some food from the canteen and the two friends had a good time. She explained that she did not come to school throughout the previous week because she just decided to have a good rest. Their classmates were surprised to see both of them together because they were not known to be friends previously.

Two weeks after their arrival from the exchange program, the team from the NGO visited the school again. This time, they brought certificates of participation, the pictures that were taken during the tour, and others things to the twelve students that participated in the program. They were really excited especially for the pictures. They also gave a special award for the most outstanding participant and the award went to Tasha. Her mates were really shocked upon hearing this and wondered how it could be because they knew who Tasha was and could not comprehend how she became the most outstanding participant.

This moment gave Tasha the confidence that she had been looking for. She did not know how to continue to live the life that she lived at Philadon academy since the environments were different but the award gave her something to stand on to re live that life. She had to accept who she was and that was the only way others would accept her. She had to believe in herself if she wants others to believe in her. She had to accept her weaknesses and strengths and tried to make her strength dominate instead of her weaknesses. She had to accept that she was not perfect but she can be as perfect as she wished to be. She had to accept that she was worthy of being among her peers and she does not have to be at the mercy of others. She had to accept that she was equal or even more equal to her peers and she was not less of a human and she promised not to let anyone torment her whether physically or psychologically again.

She promised to love herself, cherish herself, and heal from all old wounds. She looked for the activities she had with Mrs Halira where she wrote her abilities and strengths. She pasted them on the walls in her room. She pasted the awards from the football team from Philadon and the one for the most outstanding student also on the wall. She wants to look at them everyday and remind herself of who she was and who she could become if only she was willing to exhibit boldness. If she was able to do it at Philadon academy, she could do it here too, she told herself.

She asked her mother to help look for a home tutor for her but this time, she wanted a female. Luckily one of her teachers from Agasa was available and willing to take up the job. Mr Oluwa paid her tuition fee so she could start her lessons.

Exams was just some few weeks away and she had to start preparing. After the exams, she would be progressing to the final year and she was no longer a kid so she had to become serious.

She was happy with the new tutor. She did not have to worry about being abused. Mr Mark, her former tutor left the village after he got frightened. Tasha was sent to buy some foodstuffs at the village market and she bumped into him. He followed her to the market just to enquired if she had told her mother about what happened because he learnt someone came to look for him when he was not around and he was told it was a teacher but they could not tell if it was Ms Betty. Tasha lied to him and said she told her parents and her dad reported the case to the police so he would soon be invited to the police station. He was really frightened by what Tasha told him and left to his house. After some few days she realized she had not been seeing him in the village and was told he left for the city when she asked Nuna.

Tasha was able to bond well with her new teacher, Miss Alicia. She was very patient with her and made her give off her best. Tasha saw herself becoming more receptive. Miss Alicia was really helpful.

A week to the examinstion Tasha visited her dad at Shai. She had to visit her dad because her cousins Leila and Didi got back from India. Leila and Didi were very close with Tasha when they were young. Tasha was like their younger sister since they were older than her. They used to babysit her when Ms Betty was not around. They left Abisaka to join their father in India after Ms Betty got transferred to Agasa.

And after many years, they got back to Abikasa but were residing in the capital city, Acada. They decided to pay a two day visit to their hometown, Shai.

Mr Oluwa told Tasha about it and she really wished to see her cousins before they left for the city. Leila and Didi would have wished to visit them in the village but their schedules would not permit them. Therefore Mr Oluwa had to ask permission from Ms Betty so that their daughter could quickly come to Shai instead.

Ms Betty was happy that Leila and Didi were back but was skeptical about Tasha's visit. Tasha pleaded fervently with her mother to grant her permission. Tasha was really happy not only because she would be seeing her cousins bit also because she would leave the village once again and also visit her dad. She left on a Friday and would return on Sunday so that she would prepare for school the following day.

She arrived at Shai and her dad met her at the lorry station because she was only a little girl when she left the town so he feared she might get lost. And it was true because Tasha had not visited Shai ever since she left as a little girl and she could not recognize most of the places.

Her dad met her at the lorry station and took her home. She was finally back home. It had been long since she left but it still felt new as she could find many of the dolls she left behind. Most of her toys were still in the room and the feeling was all nostalgic.

Due to the dusty nature of the road, she had to take her bath before having her lunch. Her father escorted her to visit her cousins after the lunch.

There were tears of joy as the three of them met. She was just a little girl when her cousins left but she remembered how they loved her and always showered her with gifts.

Leila and Didi were amazed to see how the once little Tasha had grown into a young lady. Her cousins would be going back to the city the following and so they had just that day to catch up on old things.

They planned a night out later in the evening and it was super awesome. Tasha had never been to a restaurant and that was her first time. They had good food, drinks and ice creams and she was super excited. She was really happy to see her cousins again and they were happy to see her too.

Before Leila and Didi left the following day, they presented her with a lot of gifts which Included dresses, shoes, bags, some cash for her mother, etc. She wished she would not go back to the village but she had to because of her school. Her dad promised she would come and spend the vacation with him after her exams.