UNOMA PRAYS TO GOD FOR A CHANCE
"Unoma, come here at once," Aunty Ijeoma shouted in a voice that clearly showed that trouble awaited her.
"Yes, aunty?" Unoma anxiously said when she came to the kitchen. She was washing some bed sheets at the back of the house when her aunt called her.
"Unomo, who did this?" Aunty Ijeoma asked turning the pot of soup for Unoma to have a better look at it.
"Aunty, I don't know," answered Unoma. She was surprised because she had warned the soup very well last night.
"You don't know, are you trying to tell me that some spirit cane and removed pieces of meat from this soup?"
"Aunty, honestly, I don't know. I'm surprised because I warmed it..."
"Mummy, mummy she is a liar, I saw her taking some meat from the pot as I was going to urinate last night. She pretended to be washing plates" Chioma, the only girl among Aunty Ijeoma's children said.
Unknown to Unoma, Chioma was jealous of her because of her Intelligence. Chioma's performance at school was average despite the fact that she was never allowed to do any work at home. Again, Unoma was prettier than her despite all the old and tattered clothes she wore most of the time.
"Aunty, it's not true, I never..."
"Aha, I said it, she will bring the same ugly behaviour that killed her parents into mu house."
When Unoma was reminded of her parent's death it was as if a sword pierced her heart with many sorrows. She fell down and started crying as if her heart would break.
"Liar! If you like, cry buckets of tears. You will pay for the meat whether or not you claim to be innocent. "Aunty Ijeoma said and started beating Unoma. All Unoma's cries fell on the deaf ears.
"Get out of my sight and let me not hear any noise from you again." Aunty Ijeoma said kicking Unoma as one would kick a dog out of one's way.
"And for your information, your meals will be serves with this soup until it finishes." Aunty Ijeoma said as Unom, who was quietly sobbing, left the kitchen.
Chioma who had stolen the meat caused the soup to become sour was secretly happy at all that happened to Unoma.
Unoma was seeing hell in her Aunty's house. She cried most of the time and wondered why God created her to suffer much pains and hardship.
"God could have allowed me to die with my parents Instead of this suffering." Unoma thought.
One day Unoma came back from selling vegetables. Her aunty had packaged vegetables worth one hundred and eighty naira for her and she had finished selling all of them because it was during the dry season. She therefore happily went home not knowing that trouble awaited her.
"Unoma I'm asking you, how much money did you give me?"
"Aunty, one hundred and eighty naira."
"Look, I tied vegetables worth two hundred and fifty naira for you, where is the rest of the money or where are the unsold vegetables?"
'It seems that nothing I do can please this woman, she likes manufacturing trouble for me,' Unoma thought.
"Aunty, honestly you tied eighteen bundles for me which I sold at ten naira each."
"Lie, white lie, where is the rest of the money?" There was silence at Unoma failed to reply.
"The cat got your tongue? Okay you'll see," said Aunty Ijeoma furiously.
"Thwack! Thwack!! Thwack!!!" She proceeded to flog Unoma. As Unoma tried to run away the cane caught her on the forehead and gave her wound which bled profusely. The blood dropped on the settee near Unoma.
"Oh my God, my settee, this stupid idiot has stained my settee," Aunty Ijeoma screamed in noticing the bloodstain. She almost killed Unoma that night. The neighbours came and rescue Unoma when they heard her piteous wailings.
After this episode, Aunty Ijeaoma reduced her habit if beating Unoma at the slightest opportunity. She did so because her neighbours had started seeing her as a wicked Jezebel.
One day Unoma went to wash clothes near the tap where the people in their compound normally did their washing. There, she net Rita, the house-girl to the family living bewr them.
"Happy survival, I heard that your Madam nearly killed you," Rita said.
"My sister, God is merciful," said Unoma, turning to wash her clothes. She hated gossiping.
"Wha-a-at??? Don't tell me you are washing your Madam's underwear. It is Unhygienic as they can contain a thousand and one disease." Rita said touching her nose in distaste.
"I have no choice," Unoma replied.
"Look, if I were you I will deal with mu Madam." Unoma didn't ask her how she would do that.
"I will make life uncomfortable for her," Rita continued as if she didn't notice Unoma's reluctance to talk.
"They deserve to be punished for their wicked ways," Rita advised.
"Oh no, Rita, it's not good to behave like that. I would rather pray to God to help me out of my ugly situation than to do a thing like that," Unoma replied.
"Miss Do Good, continue praying until you die at the hands of your wicked mistress. As for me, if my Madam tries to beat me up, she would smell hell from me."
Other househelps came to fetch water at the borehole. After fetching water they started exchanging news and gossips.
"Hmmm, do yoy know that Amaka has run away?" One girl called Sylvia told the others.
"No wonder, I no longer see her around these days," Rita said.
"She dealt with her Madam very well," Sylvia continued.
"Eeh, shou, is that so?" Asked one boy called Afam.
"Yes, she left with some of her Madam's expensive dresses. Then she cut into pieces those she left behind. Besides, she made away with her madam's money and expensive jewelry." Sylvia volunteering the information with the superior air of one who knew more than the others.
"Ha, Ha, Haa, serves that wicked woman right. I wish all the cruel Madam will be taught the lessons of their lives." Another girl called Adaobi said.
"My Madam is maltreating me but she is not finding things easy as I make life difficult for her." Rita said.
"How?" Adaobi asked.
"As she is very lazy and usually leaves everything for me, I make sure that her children always go late to school and that food is not cooked in time. This makes her husband to be angry and quarrel with her."
"There was a day my Madam dealt with me because one of her children broke her China 🇨🇳 plate. She concluded that I was the one that broke it. I told her that I was innocent but she refused to listen to me. She used the pointed end of her shoe to wound me. I was so annoyed that I went and stuck pins in the bar soap she wanted to use to wash her clothes. You need to hear her cry of pain when the pin pricked her. I laughed and even though she beat me I did not feel it because if it was any of her children that did it I will still be beaten," Sylvia narrated.
Afam narrated how he added too much Pepper to the soup of the younger brother of his madam's husband. He knew full well that the man didn't like pepper because he was an ulcer patient. This caused a lot of problem as madam's husband scolded her and angrily 😠 left with his brother for a restaurant.
They all laughed at the stories. Only Unoma had no story to tell. Later she tried to advise them against their wicked and naughty acts.
"Please my dears, it is not good to repay evil for evil. We should rather pray for our madams to have a change of heart ❤️ and for a God to make things better for us. I believe that..."
"Pastor Unoma, since you have been praying has your Madam changed?" Adaobi asked in a mocking voice.
"Please, I am going, let us leave the foolish girl to her stupidity." Rita hissed, carried her jerrycan and left. Others followed her leaving Unoma behind.
Unoma went home that day very thoughtful. At night before she slept she knelt down and prayed.
"Oh God of heaven and earth. You are a father to the fatherless and a mother to the motherless. You have seen my ugly condition, please deliver me and make life better for me." God must have answered Unoma's prayer because two weeks later Unoma was selling pure water along Ogui Road when something happened.
TO BE CONTINUED UNOMA THE ORPHANAGE CHAPTER 4....