Juhanah

Chapter two

CHAPTER TWO

Lack of financial stability, slowly terminated the peace of Peter's family.

Simple conversations quickly turned into heated arguments, their voices filled the house,insults, abuses, curses became common, which replaced the love, Peace, happiness, respect they once shared, Mornings began with complaints instead of greetings and kisses.

Little Juhanah, watched in silence, she got tired once it's 2pm, closing time from school, to her, it's like going into a zone she couldn't describe, Instead, she would stay under the mango tree, playing with her fingers or the leaves on the ground, slowly, she derived happiness doing it.

Poverty itself was the family's worst enemy, which deprived them of happiness and peace. They carried emotional wounds, hoping endlessly for the day peace would locate them again.

“All the time, you come home, then sit under the mango tree, can it feed us? Of course not, that's your daily routine.”

“ Really?, I'm better than you who do come home the same way you left, at least I come home with the little I could make…..” He would fire back.

“You're the head, remember? I'm proudly the tail” she replied.

“ Laugh out loud, Women can also be the head, but yours is different, you leave empty-handed and return the same, I can't believe you're the beautiful lady I married some years ago, you have changed, you look condemned, rotten and irritating to behold…….”

Those words pierced her heart, but it turned into anger.

“At least I'm not beautiful anymore, I married you as a poor man, nothing has changed, Instead you got poorer.”

Uncontrollably, harsh words flew through the room.

Suddenly, after the arguments, they would go silent and stopped talking to one another, they lived like strangers.

Mr. Peter would wake up, freshen up and leave without a Good Morning message.

Little Juhanah watched in silence as usual, she refused to ask for needs anymore, she was scared if her parents could get into another argument, she preferred keeping them to herself.

Suddenly, the house got cold, not because of the weather, but because love, respect, peace, happiness and communication had faded.

Little Juhanah, countlessly covered her ears with her hands afraid that her parents will never be happy, missed the laughter that surrounded the house, she missed her parents.

Silently, she watched her parents hurt each other.

Everyday, she wished for one thing, which is peace.

**********

On this fateful day, the argument was worse than normal.

“You wanna leave, without leaving a penny, how do you expect our daughter to eat?” She asked angrily.

“Excuse you?, I don't have money, and you know it, please just look for something else…..”

She took a long glance at him, then frowned, “Are you not ashamed of yourself?You're the head of this family and you don't act like one.”

“I'm late already, we'll discuss this when I'm back” He replied warmly.

“Discuss what??” She snapped,” Juhanah is hungry, she needs to eat, the landlord keeps asking for rent,my business isn't going well, then you keep saying when I'm back”

He took a deep breath, then continued,”I'm doing my best”.

On hearing that she laughed, “Best?, And you can't provide three square meals, you can't pay Juhanah's School fees, you can't pay rent, what have you done? Ohhh, your best is to watch us suffer.”

The words she spoke broke his heart.

He walked towards the door, and suddenly she held him by his shirt.

“You're walking away….”she spoke angrily.

Unfortunately, his shirt ripped with a long, tearing sound.

On seeing it, she stood akimbo.

“You've lost all your respect for me” He spoke sadly.

“Respect?Does it feed an empty stomach?”

Angrily, without another word,he walked away.

Mrs. Peter watched as her husband walked away.

Little Juhanah, quietly watched her father disappear down the dusty road, silently, she prayed her dad would come home with happiness.

***********”

Mr. Peter walked helplessly lost in thoughts.

He remembered how she cried for noodles the other day, how she wept when she saw her parents go into a misunderstanding.

“What kind of father can't even buy noodles for his daughter?” He thought silently, deep down he knew he had failed as a father.

Without realizing, he stepped into the roadside.

Suddenly, a loud horn pierced through his ears.

“Pooooooooooooommmm”

People shouted, “Move…Watch out”

Mr. Peter lifted up his head.

Behold, a speeding truck, just a few kilometers away, on seeing it, fear creeped him, he stood motionless.

Then……

Bang!

The impact threw him.

His body lay motionless.

“Oh God!”

As his breathing grew weaker, his lips closed silently.

“Juhanah…………….” That was his last statement.

His eyes closed slowly.