Adulteress; Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Amara stroke the cheek of her little child tenderly. She had watched her being tortured and treated wickedly for three months already. To her, it felt like thirty years. Agony has a way of making time seem longer than reality.

Amara touched the bruised eye of her poor child and stifled a sob. She feared to wake the innocent. It came out anyway, in a coarse, loud voice, but the child was not disturbed.

"I'm sorry," said she, "I'm sorry. I never wanted you to live this life, my life." She broke off with weeping here. "I never wanted you to feel this pain and suffering. I never wanted it for you! I wanted to protect you, to love you, to want you. You were to be mine and Desmond's. You were to have a happy life. I... I did this to you. I did! I'm suffering for it now. It's painful! It's like hell..."

Amara wept.

Amara wept too, in her sleep.

The repentant mother looked at her child regretfully as she rolled and sobbed such innocent sobs. The mother could feel the pain of the child. She felt it so acutely. Not only was her daughter suffering for a crime she was innocent of, she was also reliving her own painful childhood.

"Oh, God! I've seen enough. I've seen enough! Please, put an end to this! Save this child! I don't care what happens to me. Just save her! She doesn't deserve to suffer! You said that children would no longer suffer for the sins of their parents! Look! The father ate the sour grape and the child is the one that bears the taste! God, please don't let her suffer anymore! Please! I'm begging you, please!" Amara wailed sorrowfully to the Heavens. Her wails could touch the hardest heart, but she was dead.

Her prayers went unheard.

Dead Amara continued the punishment of watching her child maltreated and abused. Every curse, every wound, every pain the child suffered, Amara suffered more.

One day, Mrs Okonji left the children alone. Her children use the opportunity to show Amara just how much they hated her. They hooted at her, called her names and beat her. Even the little one threw sand at Amara as she washed the pots in the backyard. What did they know? They were simply living the life their mother had taught them.

Amara did her best to ignore them. She knew what a reaction would cause. Once, she had yelled back at them, and they had lied to their mother that she had beaten them. Amara was deprived of food for nearly a week and her new loose tooth had been beaten out of her mouth.

The spectre wept endlessly as she recalled how she had been harassed by Madam Okon's children. She wished dearly she could chase the children away, but she was punished to stand and watch helplessly. All this was because she had leaned on the Devil reincarnated, named Robert. Even when a painful second chance had been given to her, she only held on to the bitterness and in the course of liberating herself from her woes, she had brought misery to herself, and to others.

Little Amara quietly brushed the sand from her head and dodged the stones that were aimed at her. She decided to leave the dishes and go to her room. If she stays there, the brats wouldn't be able to harass her. As she was leaving, the eldest spat on her and gave her a rude push from behind. Amara had been taken unaware. She fell with a painful thud and scratched her jaw on the ground. It began to bleed.

"Amara!" the spectre cried and ran to her child's side. She brushed the sand that mixed with the blood but her daughter did not feel her touch.

"Stop it!" the mother screamed as the children began to shower spittle on her and her daughter, calling little Amara bad names.

As she comforted the child as best as she could, another memory came to her. She remembered that something like this had happened to her too. Madam Okon's son had given her a blow, wounding her jaw. She had fought back out of frustration, and had scratched his eye. Madam Okon would have killed her if she hadn't run away.

She looked at her daughter. The same look of frustration was in her little eyes. "No," she cried, "Amara, please ignore her. Go to your room. No. Don't hit her back! Please! I won't be able to protect you! Just go to your room, darling! Eh, nwa m. My child. Listen to me, please!"

It was in vain. The young girl gave a scream of frustration and charged at her oppressive sister. The girl ran in fear but Amara caught up with her and hit her mercilessly. The little ones were too scared to help their sister, but they did throw stones.

By the time Amara's rage had calmed, the eldest had a nasty scar on her temple. The girl screamed and ran away as soon as Amara released her. Amara didn't need their threats and curses to know that she was in big trouble.

When the children had taken refuge in their room, Amara fell on the floor and began to wail. Her mother fell beside her and wailed too.

They wept, the two victims, and gave rent to bitter emotions.

Amara stopped when she heard her daughter speak in between sobs; "Mummy. My mummy!"

"Yes, dear. I'm here!" Amara cried and embraced her, stroking her injured jaw tenderly.

"Mummy... I hate you!"

"No! My baby, please, no." A fresh wave of pain, more oppressive than before gripped her.

"I hate you. I hate you!" The child sobbed some more. Then she said in a deep voice, "You never cared about me. You hated me. I wish you had aborted me when I was in you. I wish you had killed me!" More heart piercing sobs. Then she stopped and said in a malicious voice, "Then, I'll hunt your soul and make you suffer."

"No. No," the spectre whimpered, holding her daughter even tighter.

"I'll make you suffer! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" Amara screamed and convulsed passionately.

"No! My daughter, please." Amara felt like a dagger had stabbed her heart. The more her daughter spoke, the deeper the dagger went. "Stop, please. I'm in hell already. Amara, I'm sorry. Forgive me. Ohh God, forgive me!"

So, mother and daughter wept, the former loving, the latter hating.

To be continued.